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Best System for Learning a Foreign Language?

Posted by Cliff on from the tu-hablas-español dept.

amrust asks: "I've set a New Year's Resolution for myself. Starting next year, I want to teach myself Spanish. However, looking in local bookstores and online, there are so many different programs and systems to choose from, that I can't decide which method is best. I'd like to learn the Spanish language itself, not just a few choice phrases and words, for traveling. I have a lot of patience for serious in-depth study, at home. I would prefer an easy-to-learn (but comprehensive) system that includes audio CDs, as well as textbook material, to follow along with. Which system can you recommend for someone just starting out, assuming they currently speak English, and have never previously taken a foreign language course?"

4 of 132 comments (clear)

  1. Pimsleur by Smidge204 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I have had some experience with Pimsleur language learning materials (Japanese though). I found the material started out pretty easy and got more difficult in later lessons, but was not unmanagable.

    It's also a tad expensive, but if you are serious about learning then combining this with other sources reading websites or other publications in the desired language, etc) would probably be a great start.

    (I personally wouldn't pay that much for it, though.)
    =Smidge=

    1. Re:Pimsleur by kherr · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I am currently learning Spanish using Pimsleur and it's very effective. Half an hour of audio work per day, and the retention of what you learn is very high. Successive lessons bring up material from earlier lessons, providing a rather organic conversational approach to the language.

      I only had two weeks to learn Spanish, so I went with the audio-only approach. There's a comprehensive entry at Kuro5hin on how to learn a language that covers other learning methods and technologies, providing a good overview of what options there are.

  2. Re:Classes by mjpaci · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've been with my German woman for 10 years and my German still sucks. I never take a deep enough breath for some of the words and I wind up wheezing through a short phrase...

    I learned passable Italian by taking a 4 week class and travelling in Italy for another 10 weeks. Northern Italians though my accent was southern and southern Italians thought my accent was northern. They were all quite suprised when I told them I was American -- they thought that if I were NOT Italian, I was Armenian.

      mike

  3. Re:Classes by Grab · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Erm, possibly learning the basics at home, then going on vacation to that country for 2 weeks armed with a really good English-to-whatever dictionary?

    I know that when I go to another country, as a minimum I'll always pick up a decent phrasebook at the airport and learn some basics. That way I've got a chance of at least saying "please/thank you/excuse me/yes/no" and working out how much checkout assistants are asking for, without looking like a complete tourist tosser. (And in Greece, being able to decipher the shop signs - I can tell you that you'll learn the letters for "TAVERNA" really damn quickly, cos there's some incentive there! ;-) And that's just on a basic holiday, without knowing any of the language before and no real intention to do serious language-learning.

    Grab.