Learning a language, beginning late? Looking for tips and experiences?
March 8th, 2010 | 
Author: 
Borntorune asked:
I’ve just finished my freshman year in college, and developed an interest in learning a language. My high school had a really horrible language program, I took 4 years of Spanish and can’t form a complete sentence.
I’ve just finished my freshman year in college, and developed an interest in learning a language. My high school had a really horrible language program, I took 4 years of Spanish and can’t form a complete sentence.
The languages I’m looking at choosing among are Spanish, Italian, and Russian. Spanish because that way I won’t have completely wasted my classes, Italian because I have a good friend who’s fluent in it, and Russian because of my High School physics teacher introducing me to a lot of Russian authors.
So my questions center not so much around which language to learn, but how to start learning one. Tips and tricks, mnemonics, experiences, common pitfalls, maintaining motivation, the works. Stories of how you went about it.
Learn Spanish Tenses
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Learning To Speak Spanish
1- Go for the language you’re most interested in. You can always set priorities, though.
2- You should attend classes. As a teacher, I can assure you nothing can substitute the work done by a professional, qualified teacher. And let me tell you, this is totally essential.
3- Motivation –
a- Use the language as often as possible.
b- Keep record of your own progress. For example, how many words you learn a day.
c- Plan on rewarding yourself when you become near fluent with a trip to a country where the language is spoken. You can start by saving right away by keeping all the quarters and dollar coins you’re given.
d- Try to make friends who speak the language. If not possible, try to find people who are learning it and schedule regular meetings with them, and you might even start a club.
e- Watch TV and movies in the language. First try using captions and you’ll notice you’ll find yourself checking whether the translation provided is accurate or not! It’s fun.
f- Read, read, read but remember to choose topics you’re interested in.
g- Get yourself a little notebook you can use to record the language you’d like to learn or for translations where you’re riding the subway or the bus.
h- If you drive, play music in Spanish to get used to the sounds of Spanish. You can also use an IPod.
Learn Spanish Numbers
Learning another language is not as difficult as they made it in school. Modern language education is easy and fun.
I would stay with Spanish – it is one of the easiest languages for an english speaker to learn. italian is not too bad – it is still part of the same family. I would avoid Russian – it is a completely different language family and you will probably find it too hard – until you have mastered spanish or italian, then you will have the confidence for Russian.