Best way to study a language?

**alrightgame** · 08-22-2009, 07:30 PM

I am going back to college for Psychology.
I am 24 and a bit dumbed down these days.

The college I'm going to requires 2 years of a different language. I took two years of Spanish in high school and was top of my class in terms of grades in the class. This was because the class focused heavily on writing Spanish and reading it.

When the teacher in high school started turning the course towards listening and speaking Spanish, I all but gave up on that aspect. I just couldn't listen hard enough to understand what was being said as a whole. I would catch words that I knew, but never could put it into context. I couldn't memorize how to say words in a sentence, although I could visualize it on a piece of paper one word at a time.

I am taking Hindi for my college language, and I feel like I have a whole new set of problems. Hindi uses an entirely different alphabet. This may interfere with my ability to truly excel at the parts of the course that I would be best at.

What is the best way to go about studying for a language like this?
How do I become a better listener and memorize sounds and their meaning at the same time?
How do I memorize the various curves of the script?

Also what is the best way to go about studying Psychology?

By best way I mean most effective, least time consuming, and best way to memorize what is needed to be known to continue on with the course without getting lost.

Thanks for the help.

**Night Runner** · 08-22-2009, 09:42 PM

I know two great ways to learn a foreign language:
1. Move to that country and immerse yourself in their language/culture. A "sink or swim" method, if you will.
2. Get a boyfriend/girlfriend from that country. It will make studying a lot more fun.
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**Luckeydavid** · 08-22-2009, 10:18 PM

Because of your familiarity with it, a better idea would probably be take Spanish instead. As for learning: lots of exposure, lots of practice. If you can't do what Night Runner said (true immersion), try watching Spanish with no subtitles and force yourself to understand everything.

If you're dead set on Hindi, then just do the same thing.

**TaiChi** · 08-22-2009, 10:38 PM

Pick a language you want to learn, I sincerely feel motivation is everything. Listening is particularly hard especially with languages as widely spoken as Hindi, Spanish, (throwing in Chinese as another good example) because there are different accents and accents are killer when learning a new language. Try listening to the music of the language (with the lyrics) and sing along as much as you can. If you can speak, you can listen, if you can write, you can read but not so much the other way around.

**alrightgame** · 08-23-2009, 01:53 AM

I wanted to take Hindi as it opens the door to other eastern languages, and it is a much easier language to speak verbally. Mandarin would probably be much too hard starting out. I also wanted to know a form of Sanskrit as this also opens the mind to a much larger culture.

The college course here isn't very popular and meets 5 days a week in the morning as well. I feel like the professor will be much more accessible then an auditorium Spanish class. During harvest season, Hindi food is also served, which sounds like a great plus.

Thanks TaiChi for letting me know about that stuff. I wish my Spanish teacher had told me that if I focused on speaking, that I would be able to listen. I never thought of that and it actually makes a lot of sense.

**BlizzarD** · 08-23-2009, 04:00 AM

	Originally Posted by Night Runner To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	I know two great ways to learn a foreign language: 1. Move to that country and immerse yourself in their language/culture. A "sink or swim" method, if you will. 2. Get a boyfriend/girlfriend from that country. It will make studying a lot more fun. To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

agree with thise one, and one more from myself
1. watch anime in that language, in my case it was english i learned it through tv and anime..
movies are good, but anime is better becous they speel words correctly and its easier to understand what they say
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**Ither** · 08-23-2009, 04:15 AM

A good way to learn to read is via detective novels. The vocabulary is limited and, because the text tends to be rather simple conversation and fast narration, one can often gather the meaning of words from the context. This helps eliminate hundreds of hours spent with the dictionary. Ultimately, learning a language is learning thousands of words.

**IntjLondonGirl** · 08-23-2009, 11:32 AM

Best and quickest way to learn a new language... move to the country that speaks the language you want to learn and take your language lessons/classes there. Cheapest way to do this is to work as a volunteer abroad, or to teach English abroad (there is a simple qualification that most people can get that would allow them to teach English in a foriegn school).

Even a little as six months immersed in a culture will get you up to a very proficient level of conversation...

Other than moving there... the other option is to watch lots of TV shows in that language. I always read about people who have come to live in UK, how they learnt the language by 'watching MTV' or some such...

Last but not least (the cheapest method) is to get an 'Skype Friend'... someone who is looking to improve their english, and in return will help you improve your spanish or Hindi.

**Muadib** · 08-23-2009, 11:52 AM

Find someone who speaks that language who is a friend of yours...go hang out with them and only let them speak that language

**Roland Ansgar** · 08-23-2009, 01:32 PM

Immersion, as total and as deep as you can arrange.

But why Hindi? How is that helpful to a psychology degree?

**alrightgame** · 08-23-2009, 06:52 PM

	Originally Posted by Roland Ansgar To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Immersion, as total and as deep as you can arrange. But why Hindi? How is that helpful to a psychology degree?

The psychology degree is a means to an end. I'm taking it to get to Librarian Sciences. There are no psych jobs out there that would pay off a 100,000 dollar loan, and even those jobs are rare. My reason for learning Hindi was mentioned in an above post. The college here requires two years in a foreign language.

**Grizzly** · 08-23-2009, 09:39 PM

immersion and Study.

The immersion bit is easy provided you have the means to get there.
Its amazing how quickly you learn to speak when your hungry.

STUDY!!

Theres no quick way around it, and immersion will only take you so far.

After 5 years doing the Immersion thing in china, Ive gotten to a functional level but have since stalled.....3 years ago.
Theres lots of excuses, but none of them really work under any scrutiny.

**alrightgame** · 08-25-2009, 06:29 AM

I spent two hours in the library studying the first few consonants and how vowels move around the consonants. It seems to be a very easy language to write, actually easier to pronounce and memorize then other languages, although I still feel like writing roman is so much more effective in the time it takes to write it. I'm just waiting for those grammar rules that totally piss you off like verbs in Spanish. I totally butchered saying "my name" to the teacher. I am still very much a midwestern American.

As far as immersion, this seems to be out of the question. I simply won't be able to afford it, even with a scholarship, as I still have bills to pay at home. I guess my only route is to make friends with someone who speaks it fluently and study with them.

alrightgame added to this post, 735 minutes and 13 seconds later...

I think I found the class that is going to kick my ass the most.
I just took 3 hours of notes out of 14 pages of Bio Psych.
I've only had one hour of the class and I had to study three friggin hours.
I've also noticed these professors are terrible at making this stuff interesting. So much for getting my moneys worth (he also canceled three sessions because of appointments he had... I thought I was paying for these sessions but I guess I lose around 100+ dollars per session after interest accrued, and something tells me I'm not getting a refund).

Is there a way to get this stuff through my head faster?

**Americano** · 08-25-2009, 09:10 PM

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created an immersion environment for Japanese while at college in Utah. He became fluent in a little over a year and then landed a job in Tokyo as a computer programmer for a Japanese company.

**Skele Drew** · 08-26-2009, 02:12 AM

You can try a software such as Rosetta Stone. It immerses you completely in the language of your choice. And I think it's best at getting you to speak and listen to the language comprehensively. Also, try getting various media, i. e. music, video, texts, etc and as you study, try absorbing yourself more in them until you understand...

**Hadugh** · 09-03-2009, 05:17 AM

Get audio files for the respective language, which SHOW what is being said, both in your first language and the language, pronounce what is being said, put in the context (i.e. 'shopping, restraunt etc.') and then has a grammar/vocabulary/writing exercise at the end. From my experience, that's the best way to get in-tune with a language.

Once you reach intermediate/advanced level, go on an extended vacation to the country which speaks the language you're trying to learn; having random conversations which help deploy your language skills, say, for example, with a bartender.

**Malkavia** · 09-03-2009, 06:29 PM

As everyone else has said, immersion is the best way to learn however I am going to assume you can't do that.

I am now on my third year of Arabic and its hard but I love it. I would say buy Rosetta Stone, it is the top language program on the market and is used by many organizations including the US Department of State and the US Military. If you dont feel like spending money and have no problem with stealing torrent it.

If you dont want to do that then you will just have to take 30 minutes to an hour each day to practice above and beyond what the course wants you to do. It's hard but thats what happens when you choose a language that has a completely different writing system. The reward is amazing though so keep with it!

and if you don't want to take Hindi anymore go back to Spanish. It is one of the easiest languages to learn if you know English.

EDIT: Also I know that your learning Hindi to help you learn other eastern languages...but it doesnt work like that. Chinese is as different from Hindi as it is from English. The only thing it will help you with is that by the time you learn a different eastern language you will be used to learning new writing systems.

08-22-2009, 07:30 PM	#1
alrightgame Member [20%] MBTI: IXTJ Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 801	I am going back to college for Psychology. I am 24 and a bit dumbed down these days. The college I'm going to requires 2 years of a different language. I took two years of Spanish in high school and was top of my class in terms of grades in the class. This was because the class focused heavily on writing Spanish and reading it. When the teacher in high school started turning the course towards listening and speaking Spanish, I all but gave up on that aspect. I just couldn't listen hard enough to understand what was being said as a whole. I would catch words that I knew, but never could put it into context. I couldn't memorize how to say words in a sentence, although I could visualize it on a piece of paper one word at a time. I am taking Hindi for my college language, and I feel like I have a whole new set of problems. Hindi uses an entirely different alphabet. This may interfere with my ability to truly excel at the parts of the course that I would be best at. What is the best way to go about studying for a language like this? How do I become a better listener and memorize sounds and their meaning at the same time? How do I memorize the various curves of the script? Also what is the best way to go about studying Psychology? By best way I mean most effective, least time consuming, and best way to memorize what is needed to be known to continue on with the course without getting lost. Thanks for the help.
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08-22-2009, 09:42 PM	#2
Night Runner Core Member [148%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5,931	I know two great ways to learn a foreign language: 1. Move to that country and immerse yourself in their language/culture. A "sink or swim" method, if you will. 2. Get a boyfriend/girlfriend from that country. It will make studying a lot more fun. To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
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08-22-2009, 10:18 PM	#3
Luckeydavid New Member [01%] MBTI: intj Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 32	Because of your familiarity with it, a better idea would probably be take Spanish instead. As for learning: lots of exposure, lots of practice. If you can't do what Night Runner said (true immersion), try watching Spanish with no subtitles and force yourself to understand everything. If you're dead set on Hindi, then just do the same thing.
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08-22-2009, 10:38 PM	#4
TaiChi New Member [01%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 2	Pick a language you want to learn, I sincerely feel motivation is everything. Listening is particularly hard especially with languages as widely spoken as Hindi, Spanish, (throwing in Chinese as another good example) because there are different accents and accents are killer when learning a new language. Try listening to the music of the language (with the lyrics) and sing along as much as you can. If you can speak, you can listen, if you can write, you can read but not so much the other way around.
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08-23-2009, 01:53 AM	#5
alrightgame Member [20%] MBTI: IXTJ Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 801	I wanted to take Hindi as it opens the door to other eastern languages, and it is a much easier language to speak verbally. Mandarin would probably be much too hard starting out. I also wanted to know a form of Sanskrit as this also opens the mind to a much larger culture. The college course here isn't very popular and meets 5 days a week in the morning as well. I feel like the professor will be much more accessible then an auditorium Spanish class. During harvest season, Hindi food is also served, which sounds like a great plus. Thanks TaiChi for letting me know about that stuff. I wish my Spanish teacher had told me that if I focused on speaking, that I would be able to listen. I never thought of that and it actually makes a lot of sense.
alrightgame is offline post a comment

08-23-2009, 04:15 AM	#7
Ither Member [19%] MBTI: INTx Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 774	A good way to learn to read is via detective novels. The vocabulary is limited and, because the text tends to be rather simple conversation and fast narration, one can often gather the meaning of words from the context. This helps eliminate hundreds of hours spent with the dictionary. Ultimately, learning a language is learning thousands of words.
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08-23-2009, 11:32 AM	#8
IntjLondonGirl Member [02%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 80	Best and quickest way to learn a new language... move to the country that speaks the language you want to learn and take your language lessons/classes there. Cheapest way to do this is to work as a volunteer abroad, or to teach English abroad (there is a simple qualification that most people can get that would allow them to teach English in a foriegn school). Even a little as six months immersed in a culture will get you up to a very proficient level of conversation... Other than moving there... the other option is to watch lots of TV shows in that language. I always read about people who have come to live in UK, how they learnt the language by 'watching MTV' or some such... Last but not least (the cheapest method) is to get an 'Skype Friend'... someone who is looking to improve their english, and in return will help you improve your spanish or Hindi.
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08-23-2009, 11:52 AM	#9
Muadib Member [06%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 269	Find someone who speaks that language who is a friend of yours...go hang out with them and only let them speak that language
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08-23-2009, 01:32 PM	#10
Roland Ansgar Member [03%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 122	Immersion, as total and as deep as you can arrange. But why Hindi? How is that helpful to a psychology degree?
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08-23-2009, 09:39 PM	#12
Grizzly Member [04%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 194	immersion and Study. The immersion bit is easy provided you have the means to get there. Its amazing how quickly you learn to speak when your hungry. STUDY!! Theres no quick way around it, and immersion will only take you so far. After 5 years doing the Immersion thing in china, Ive gotten to a functional level but have since stalled.....3 years ago. Theres lots of excuses, but none of them really work under any scrutiny.
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08-25-2009, 06:29 AM	#13
alrightgame Member [20%] MBTI: IXTJ Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 801	I spent two hours in the library studying the first few consonants and how vowels move around the consonants. It seems to be a very easy language to write, actually easier to pronounce and memorize then other languages, although I still feel like writing roman is so much more effective in the time it takes to write it. I'm just waiting for those grammar rules that totally piss you off like verbs in Spanish. I totally butchered saying "my name" to the teacher. I am still very much a midwestern American. As far as immersion, this seems to be out of the question. I simply won't be able to afford it, even with a scholarship, as I still have bills to pay at home. I guess my only route is to make friends with someone who speaks it fluently and study with them. alrightgame added to this post, 735 minutes and 13 seconds later... I think I found the class that is going to kick my ass the most. I just took 3 hours of notes out of 14 pages of Bio Psych. I've only had one hour of the class and I had to study three friggin hours. I've also noticed these professors are terrible at making this stuff interesting. So much for getting my moneys worth (he also canceled three sessions because of appointments he had... I thought I was paying for these sessions but I guess I lose around 100+ dollars per session after interest accrued, and something tells me I'm not getting a refund). Is there a way to get this stuff through my head faster? Last edited by alrightgame; 08-25-2009 at 06:47 PM.
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08-25-2009, 09:10 PM	#14
Americano Member [07%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 297	To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. created an immersion environment for Japanese while at college in Utah. He became fluent in a little over a year and then landed a job in Tokyo as a computer programmer for a Japanese company.
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08-26-2009, 02:12 AM	#15
Skele Drew New Member [01%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 77	You can try a software such as Rosetta Stone. It immerses you completely in the language of your choice. And I think it's best at getting you to speak and listen to the language comprehensively. Also, try getting various media, i. e. music, video, texts, etc and as you study, try absorbing yourself more in them until you understand...
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09-03-2009, 05:17 AM	#16
Hadugh New Member [01%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 33	Get audio files for the respective language, which SHOW what is being said, both in your first language and the language, pronounce what is being said, put in the context (i.e. 'shopping, restraunt etc.') and then has a grammar/vocabulary/writing exercise at the end. From my experience, that's the best way to get in-tune with a language. Once you reach intermediate/advanced level, go on an extended vacation to the country which speaks the language you're trying to learn; having random conversations which help deploy your language skills, say, for example, with a bartender.
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09-03-2009, 06:29 PM	#17
Malkavia Core Member [235%] MBTI: ENXP Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 9,427	As everyone else has said, immersion is the best way to learn however I am going to assume you can't do that. I am now on my third year of Arabic and its hard but I love it. I would say buy Rosetta Stone, it is the top language program on the market and is used by many organizations including the US Department of State and the US Military. If you dont feel like spending money and have no problem with stealing torrent it. If you dont want to do that then you will just have to take 30 minutes to an hour each day to practice above and beyond what the course wants you to do. It's hard but thats what happens when you choose a language that has a completely different writing system. The reward is amazing though so keep with it! and if you don't want to take Hindi anymore go back to Spanish. It is one of the easiest languages to learn if you know English. EDIT: Also I know that your learning Hindi to help you learn other eastern languages...but it doesnt work like that. Chinese is as different from Hindi as it is from English. The only thing it will help you with is that by the time you learn a different eastern language you will be used to learning new writing systems. Last edited by Malkavia; 09-04-2009 at 09:59 AM.
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