Second Language Acquisition

[Unkotare]

There is one tried and true method for learning a second...or third...etc..., language. It is....oddly enough....the very same method used by everyone to learn their first.

Consider that. How did you learn your first language? You listened. You listened A LOT. You didn't say anything for a long time. You didn't understand much either. But...you listened constantly.

After many many months of daily listening..you began to comprehend the meaning of some words. And...whether or not you understood the meaning...you began to repeat what you heard. next thing you knew...you were adding words to your vocabulary with ease. You had your first language. Piece of cake.

If you've got the time to commit to it....you can learn a second language with ease. Just do that again. Disregard your desire to know what words mean until you begin to comprehend without trying. IOW...don't translate as it adds an extra step that is unneccesary and inhibits learning. Simply listen a lot....and when ready....start repeating the words you hear. You'll be fluent in a matter of months.

.....

There is no "method" that will make you fluent in a new language in a matter of months. Anyone who says otherwise is fooling himself, or misusing the term "fluent."

 

[Unkotare]

There is one tried and true method for learning a second...or third...etc..., language. It is....oddly enough....the very same method used by everyone to learn their first.

Consider that. How did you learn your first language? You listened. You listened A LOT. You didn't say anything for a long time. You didn't understand much either. But...you listened constantly.

After many many months of daily listening..you began to comprehend the meaning of some words. And...whether or not you understood the meaning...you began to repeat what you heard. next thing you knew...you were adding words to your vocabulary with ease. You had your first language. Piece of cake.

If you've got the time to commit to it....you can learn a second language with ease. Just do that again. Disregard your desire to know what words mean until you begin to comprehend without trying. IOW...don't translate as it adds an extra step that is unneccesary and inhibits learning. Simply listen a lot....and when ready....start repeating the words you hear. You'll be fluent in a matter of months.

You can thank me later.

Anyone who has been around a baby knows it is anything but a silent observer. Babies make noises to communicate from the very first. The role of enriched input in the process of first language acquisition is far, far more complicated than any of the trite nonsense above would suggest.

 

[Unkotare]

There is one tried and true method for learning a second...or third...etc..., language. It is....oddly enough....the very same method used by everyone to learn their first.

Consider that. How did you learn your first language? You listened. You listened A LOT. You didn't say anything for a long time. You didn't understand much either. But...you listened constantly.

After many many months of daily listening..you began to comprehend the meaning of some words. And...whether or not you understood the meaning...you began to repeat what you heard. next thing you knew...you were adding words to your vocabulary with ease. You had your first language. Piece of cake.

If you've got the time to commit to it....you can learn a second language with ease. Just do that again. Disregard your desire to know what words mean until you begin to comprehend without trying. IOW...don't translate as it adds an extra step that is unneccesary and inhibits learning. Simply listen a lot....and when ready....start repeating the words you hear. You'll be fluent in a matter of months.

You can thank me later.

Language is about communication. Not trying to communicate is about the worst advice imaginable.

 

[Meathead]

In this dialogue of idiots, i have to agree with the OP. There is no easy method for learning a new language once a certain age is attained. Children obviously have the capacity to learn multiple languages as they grow up, and after that, the more dissimilar the language to what was learned as a child, the more difficult it is to master.

Here in the Czech Republic, other Slavic speakers can learn the language in a matter of sometimes months. For those like me, who already spoke three remotely related languages, it is an ongoing struggle.

Having said that, some languages are indeed easier to learn than others. Spanish and English are not that difficult. Czech, with it's seven cases and mind-boggling inflection is among the most difficult. Hungarian is simply impossible from what I understand. Greek, my second language, stands somewhere in the middle but people seem to be intimidated by the alphabet even though it is not that difficult.

 

[Unkotare]

There is one tried and true method for learning a second...or third...etc..., language. It is....oddly enough....the very same method used by everyone to learn their first.

Consider that. How did you learn your first language? You listened. You listened A LOT. You didn't say anything for a long time. You didn't understand much either. But...you listened constantly.

After many many months of daily listening..you began to comprehend the meaning of some words. And...whether or not you understood the meaning...you began to repeat what you heard. next thing you knew...you were adding words to your vocabulary with ease. You had your first language. Piece of cake.

If you've got the time to commit to it....you can learn a second language with ease. Just do that again. Disregard your desire to know what words mean until you begin to comprehend without trying. IOW...don't translate as it adds an extra step that is unneccesary and inhibits learning. Simply listen a lot....and when ready....start repeating the words you hear. You'll be fluent in a matter of months.

You can thank me later.

Not utilizing the language learning skills one acquired through first language acquisition, and not relating words and phrases from L1 to L2, is not only ridiculous but literally impossible.


Adults don't learn like babies, and you can't erase your first language to learn a second. You wouldn't want to if you could.

 

[Unkotare]

In this dialogue of idiots, i have to agree with the OP. There is no easy method for learning a new language once a certain age is attained. Children obviously have the capacity to learn multiple languages as they grow up, and after that, the more dissimilar the language to what was learned as a child, the more difficult it is to master.

Here in the Czech Republic, other Slavic speakers can learn the language in a matter of sometimes months. For those like me, who already spoke three remotely related languages, it is an ongoing struggle.

Having said that, some languages are indeed easier to learn than others. Spanish and English are not that difficult. Czech, with it's seven cases and mind-boggling inflection is among the most difficult. Hungarian is simply impossible from what I understand. Greek, my second language, stands somewhere in the middle but people seem to be intimidated by the alphabet even though it is not that difficult.

No language is "easier" or "more difficult" to learn in and of itself. The degree of difficulty is relative to a large number of factors in the language learner.

 

[Meathead]

In this dialogue of idiots, i have to agree with the OP. There is no easy method for learning a new language once a certain age is attained. Children obviously have the capacity to learn multiple languages as they grow up, and after that, the more dissimilar the language to what was learned as a child, the more difficult it is to master.

Here in the Czech Republic, other Slavic speakers can learn the language in a matter of sometimes months. For those like me, who already spoke three remotely related languages, it is an ongoing struggle.

Having said that, some languages are indeed easier to learn than others. Spanish and English are not that difficult. Czech, with it's seven cases and mind-boggling inflection is among the most difficult. Hungarian is simply impossible from what I understand. Greek, my second language, stands somewhere in the middle but people seem to be intimidated by the alphabet even though it is not that difficult.

No language is "easier" or "more difficult" to learn in and of itself. The degree of difficulty is relative to a large number of factors in the language learner.

You obviously have a superficial grasp of grammar as illustrated by what it is to "learn" as opposed to "learn in". Speakers of only unrelated languages (non-Indo-European) find it easier to learn Spanish and English than it is to learn Czech, to use the examples I gave.

You have a preconceived notion that all things must be equal which comes through in your self-righteous rants. That is not the way of things in the real world.

Get over it.

 

[Unkotare]

In this dialogue of idiots, i have to agree with the OP. There is no easy method for learning a new language once a certain age is attained. Children obviously have the capacity to learn multiple languages as they grow up, and after that, the more dissimilar the language to what was learned as a child, the more difficult it is to master.

Here in the Czech Republic, other Slavic speakers can learn the language in a matter of sometimes months. For those like me, who already spoke three remotely related languages, it is an ongoing struggle.

Having said that, some languages are indeed easier to learn than others. Spanish and English are not that difficult. Czech, with it's seven cases and mind-boggling inflection is among the most difficult. Hungarian is simply impossible from what I understand. Greek, my second language, stands somewhere in the middle but people seem to be intimidated by the alphabet even though it is not that difficult.

No language is "easier" or "more difficult" to learn in and of itself. The degree of difficulty is relative to a large number of factors in the language learner.

You obviously have a superficial grasp of grammar .......it.

Hardly

 

[Unkotare]

In this dialogue of idiots, i have to agree with the OP. There is no easy method for learning a new language once a certain age is attained. Children obviously have the capacity to learn multiple languages as they grow up, and after that, the more dissimilar the language to what was learned as a child, the more difficult it is to master.

Here in the Czech Republic, other Slavic speakers can learn the language in a matter of sometimes months. For those like me, who already spoke three remotely related languages, it is an ongoing struggle.

Having said that, some languages are indeed easier to learn than others. Spanish and English are not that difficult. Czech, with it's seven cases and mind-boggling inflection is among the most difficult. Hungarian is simply impossible from what I understand. Greek, my second language, stands somewhere in the middle but people seem to be intimidated by the alphabet even though it is not that difficult.

No language is "easier" or "more difficult" to learn in and of itself. The degree of difficulty is relative to a large number of factors in the language learner.

You obviously have a superficial grasp of grammar as illustrated by what it is to "learn" as opposed to "learn in". Speakers of only unrelated languages (non-Indo-European) find it easier to learn Spanish and English than it is to learn Czech, to use the examples I gave.

You have a preconceived notion that all things must be equal ....

No, I don't. I just happen to know about this.

 

[LoneLaugher]

I asked if the OP has ever tried my method. He knows it doesn't work...he must have tried it.

 

[Unkotare]

I asked if the OP has ever tried my method. He knows it doesn't work...he must have tried it.

No one has tried it.

 

[Unkotare]

I asked if the OP has ever tried my method. He knows it doesn't work...he must have tried it.

No one has tried it.

And no one will.

 

[Unkotare]

Is a life-long process. Anyone honest will tell you that any language they learned after the Critical Period is something they are still working on. However, the benefits of learning languages are many and well-documented. These benefits continue even (or especially) into later life. Couldn't hurt to take on one more.

.

 

[Unkotare]

There is one tried and true method for learning a second...or third...etc..., language. It is....oddly enough....the very same method used by everyone to learn their first.

Consider that. How did you learn your first language? You listened. You listened A LOT. You didn't say anything for a long time. You didn't understand much either. But...you listened constantly.

After many many months of daily listening..you began to comprehend the meaning of some words. And...whether or not you understood the meaning...you began to repeat what you heard. next thing you knew...you were adding words to your vocabulary with ease. You had your first language. Piece of cake.

If you've got the time to commit to it....you can learn a second language with ease. Just do that again. Disregard your desire to know what words mean until you begin to comprehend without trying. IOW...don't translate as it adds an extra step that is unneccesary and inhibits learning. Simply listen a lot....and when ready....start repeating the words you hear. You'll be fluent in a matter of months.

.....

There is no "method" that will make you fluent in a new language in a matter of months. Anyone who says otherwise is fooling himself, or misusing the term "fluent."

.

 

[Unkotare]

There is one tried and true method for learning a second...or third...etc..., language. It is....oddly enough....the very same method used by everyone to learn their first.

Consider that. How did you learn your first language? You listened. You listened A LOT. You didn't say anything for a long time. You didn't understand much either. But...you listened constantly.

After many many months of daily listening..you began to comprehend the meaning of some words. And...whether or not you understood the meaning...you began to repeat what you heard. next thing you knew...you were adding words to your vocabulary with ease. You had your first language. Piece of cake.

If you've got the time to commit to it....you can learn a second language with ease. Just do that again. Disregard your desire to know what words mean until you begin to comprehend without trying. IOW...don't translate as it adds an extra step that is unneccesary and inhibits learning. Simply listen a lot....and when ready....start repeating the words you hear. You'll be fluent in a matter of months.

You can thank me later.

Not utilizing the language learning skills one acquired through first language acquisition, and not relating words and phrases from L1 to L2, is not only ridiculous but literally impossible.


Adults don't learn like babies, and you can't erase your first language to learn a second. You wouldn't want to if you could.

.

 

[Unkotare]

Is a life-long process. Anyone honest will tell you that any language they learned after the Critical Period is something they are still working on. However, the benefits of learning languages are many and well-documented. These benefits continue even (or especially) into later life. Couldn't hurt to take on one more.

.

 

[MKlenn]

If you would like to acquire a foreign language without much effort and time is no problem, there is the functional method, which suggests using the target foreign language every day starting with some areas of your daily activity, e.g., reading newspapers, watching/listening news only, let’s say, in German (if German is to be the language you are going to acquire) for days, weeks, months, years. Start, let’s say, with 20 minutes, then, after 3-4 months increase it to 1 hour. Then expand using German gradually to other daily/regular activities – read only German language books, then try to get useful info (about the household etc.) only in German, find German native speakers and make friends with them and meet them regularly. Then, after 2 years or so, it’s up to you to go over to using German only or by 40 (50, 60) %. Then, after several years, your German should be fluent and you start to feel comfortable in it. It’ll be a part of yourself, not having made much effort.

 

[Unkotare]

If anyone ever tells you they have the secret to "easily" or "quickly" becoming "fluent" in a second language, hold on to your wallet and walk away.

 

[MKlenn]

Unkotare, I cannot "walk away" from myself. I have sucessfully used it.

 

[MKlenn]

"quickly"

...and the whole process had taken years (it had not been that quickly)