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Self-learning a language

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Reply 20

jimface!

definitely want to learn Russian. I'm not sure if I'll ever master rolling my R's though. It puts me off learning it.

yeah i find rlling R is a bitch too, im starting to get the hang of it, but not very well :frown:

.. i know the cyrillic alphabet and a few russian phrases... a few of my friends think im a dickhead for wanting to learn russian, but i dont care.. i think im cool :biggrin:

Reply 21

renlok

Valour

any particular self-help books/materials to recommend?

i learnt french on my own was pretty easy learnt with michel tomas cds which i would highly recommend although my spelling/grammar is pitiful as i just learnt to speak it.

Reply 22

faber niger

Sure. I basically learnt Latin and Ancient Greek alone at uni with the almost insignificant contact hours I had. :biggrin:

Reply 23

Valour

Aelred

Well... why do you want to learn one? For pleasure? Because you like a particular country? To broaden your career horizons?

No particular reason actually. I have a 5-month long break before entering army

Yes..

Valour

No particular reason actually. I have a 5-month long break before entering army

Well, sod the army and join the French Foreign Legion. :biggrin:

Reply 26

Valour

jismith1989

Well, sod the army and join the French Foreign Legion. :biggrin:

In Singapore, all males have to serve 2 years of National Service

Reply 27

Earthly

jimface!

i really wanna learn russian its an awesome language :smile:

Go for it, I'm learning Russian, and it's brilliant!... if you want any advice, or want to be direct towards some decent course books, holla at me!

Reply 28

bun

Yeah, good idea go ahead with it. - I am going to study french and german at uni, then (and im already starting this) self teach myself spanish and italian

Reply 29

follow_the_sun

I think Chinese is very difficult to learn,isn't it?

Reply 30

Curtains

Earthly

Go for it, I'm learning Russian, and it's brilliant!... if you want any advice, or want to be direct towards some decent course books, holla at me!

*hollas* Any book recommendations would be great. I might start after Christmas.

Reply 31

Curtains

follow_the_sun

I think Chinese is very difficult to learn,isn't it?

From what I've heard is that its very difficult but if you're very focused and dedicated to the task its possible.
Obviously the great problem with it is the writing system. But I expect learning Mandarin just for speaking is probably not so bad. :yep:

Reply 32

Curtains

Valour

No particular reason actually. I have a 5-month long break before entering army

Perhaps something where you're going to be serving? Arabic or something if you've got some time.

Reply 33

Cicerao

DayneD89

Livemocha is a great and cheap way to learn a language.

This, a thousand times over. (Also, it's not cheap, it's free. :biggrin:

Unless you buy the silly add-ons, but they're mostly for people who want a quick travel fix. Everything you need for it to be effective is free.)

Also, Pimsleur. It's expensive, but it's in most local libraries. It is so, so effective. There are free samples on the net, give them a go.

Congratulations to you for having the smarts to learn a language outside an ineffective classroom! :p:

(I'm well aware of the ironies of this statement relating to my sig, but I do study outside the classroom and German is NOT my only language. :P)

Reply 34

faber niger

Valour

In Singapore, all males have to serve 2 years of National Service

Ah, I see. Sucks, eh? Well, it'd suck for me; maybe not for you.

Reply 35

Earthly

Curtains

*hollas* Any book recommendations would be great. I might start after Christmas.

This course book is excellent, make sure you get the CD's that accompany it!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Colloquial-Russian-Complete-Course-Beginners/dp/0415161401/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_a

Reply 36

Curtains

Earthly

This course book is excellent, make sure you get the CD's that accompany it!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Colloquial-Russian-Complete-Course-Beginners/dp/0415161401/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_a

Thanks. I've added it to my "to buy list" :smile:

It seems from the reviews that its not for complete beginners. But I'm not overly worried :yep:

Reply 37

style

I spent the summerholiday 3 years ago self teaching myself latin :indiff:

Reply 38

chicoinglés

I graduated last year with a 1st in Spanish and Italian and I did French AS back in 2003/2004. Lasy year while doing my MA in Translation Studies in Barcelona I also did a basic Catalan course (although my level of Catalan is higher than A2 (from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)). Then about a month ago I met a very nice Polish girl at a meeting at my old uni both for ex-Sussex students as well as international students looking to integrate into the British way of life, as well as improve their English (her English is excellent anyway, as she's now doing her second degree, in American Studies (she goes to America next year for her year abroad), and with her patience and one and a half hour lesson a week, I am learning Polish. I was having a look at personal pronouns yesterday, and let me tell you, they are very interesting (if not extremely tricky to get your head round!)