Author Topic: Studying Foreign Language for fun  (Read 8389 times)

VolcanicArts

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Studying Foreign Language for fun
« on: April 05, 2017, 02:09:49 PM »
Anyone else interested in retiring abroad someday and working on their language skills. I've been working ( very lazily) on Spanish for a few years and just got back into it. I think it would be good not just on a resume, but also long term if I move to Florida or somewhere in Latin America. Any thoughts?

nancyjnelson

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2017, 02:55:52 PM »
Actually, studying foreign languages is my idea of fun.  I speak Spanish, can defend myself in French, and (if you gave me 12 weeks in Tallinn for a refresh) am conversant in Estonian.

I took Scottish Gaelic for a year because - Scotland!!! - and there was a teacher not too far away (a guy taught on Saturdays out of his apartment).  I've never been to Scotland, I don't think if it will ever do me any good (although with Brexit there's always a chance).  But early next year I'm going to start traveling overseas and Scotland is first on my list. I hope there will be the opportunity to take more classes.

Riff

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2017, 03:00:31 PM »
Because of my love for Italy, I've started Italian lessons from a local teacher.  Three lessons in, and some of it is a bit overwhelming.  I don't know many people who speak Italian though, so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to use it when I'm not traveling there.

eueueu

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #3 on: April 05, 2017, 03:26:29 PM »
Once you get the foundations of your new language down and want to continue working on your verbal conversations skills, there is a wonderful site called conversationexchange.com to find a partner for a language exchange.

I have made some great friends through that site.

dougules

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #4 on: April 05, 2017, 03:27:49 PM »
I'm trying to learn Spanish.  Me gusta pasear en Latinoamérica y tal vez trataré de vivir en México despues de jubilarme. 

Trede

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #5 on: April 05, 2017, 03:58:22 PM »
Mr. Trede and I got it in our heads that visiting Sweden would be cool, and picked up the Rosetta Stone for Swedish when a deal came around.  We had so much fun that we expect to learn languages for entertainment in retirement... thought we were the only ones! 

P.S. Swedish is a fun language.  Little amusing things kept popping up, like how the word for vegetables is literally constructed from the words for "green" and "things."  :)

iamlindoro

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #6 on: April 05, 2017, 05:11:28 PM »
Grew up speaking French and English. Learned and speak passable Italian and German, and been taking Spanish classes for a few years. It's an awesome way to keep sharp, and having even basic language skills makes life and travel so much more enjoyable!

Seeing people light up when you unexpectedly speak to them in their language (or when you're both struggling and find a third language in common) never gets old, and has resulted in some unexpected and amazing adventures abroad. My wife and I have gotten  (and accepted) invitations to eat, gotten special insight into places we visited, and otherwise had so much more fun because we weren't afraid to speak up, even if we might make mistakes.  Language is awesome!

SwordGuy

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #7 on: April 05, 2017, 05:17:37 PM »
Teaching English overseas would be one way to cover some costs.

Valhalla

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #8 on: April 05, 2017, 05:30:44 PM »
Learning a second language or more can really sharpen your brain and critical thinking skills.  I highly recommend it.

BGordon

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #9 on: April 05, 2017, 05:39:03 PM »
Can't say I am looking forward to learning another language.  I wasn't very successful with Spanish back in high school and college.  However, being that I do plan on retiring in Europe I feel like I should at least make an effort to learn the language of the country I end up settling in.  Probably wouldn't hurt to learn a little of the neighboring countries languages either.

GreenSheep

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #10 on: April 05, 2017, 07:20:33 PM »
I've been working on learning Spanish (studied French and Latin in high school and minored in French in college but really haven't used either) on my own for the past two years. I do a little bit every day. Last month, I had some unexpected time off, and I had been wanting to go do a Spanish immersion somewhere. Unfortunately, my options were extremely limited because I had just sent off my passport for renewal! So I went to Puerto Rico, to a school in San Juan which was excellent. I had one classmate, who was tons of fun to hang out with after class. She's nearly 30 years older than I am and from a completely different (geographically and culturally) part of the US, but we had a blast together. We still text each other in Spanish. :-)

So yes, I thoroughly enjoy it, and it's opened doors not only to native Spanish speakers but also to other learners. I've traveled a fair amount in Central and South America, and I plan to do a lot more after retirement. It will be nice to be able to speak to people in their own language.

aspiringnomad

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #11 on: April 05, 2017, 07:49:37 PM »
Learning a new language is one of my favorite hobbies. I speak fluent Spanish, decent French, and am now learning Portuguese. Italian seems like the logical next choice, but when I eventually move on from Romance languages I think I'll try Maori.

VolcanicArts

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #12 on: April 05, 2017, 10:57:21 PM »
This site is great. It looks like a lot of Mustachians also realize the value of foreign language. I am relatively young and well-travelled. I have used Spanish both professionally and casually, and even though I'm not proficient it has helped a great deal and appears to have high marginal utility and roi. I'm thinking if I can study intensely 1 to 2 hrs per day most days of the week that should bring me up to speed. Once I FIRE I will have a lot more time and try a harder language like Russian ( previously took classes and read several books etc.)

aldrimer

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #13 on: April 06, 2017, 01:12:12 AM »
I speak Japanese! I still study it, as I find it mentally stimulating and great fun. I also dig Japanese comedy shows, which are great for study and laughing my ass off! :D

Romag

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #14 on: April 06, 2017, 02:34:12 AM »
I FIRE'd last year and am currently in Paris studying French at the Sorbonne for a semester. Good way to add a little structure to slow travel, and also allowed me to stay in the Schengen Zone as a student (with a visa) than I can as a tourist.

Mezzie

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #15 on: April 06, 2017, 05:47:24 AM »
I'm maintaining Spanish, learning German, very bad at Thai, considering Mandarin, and just found out there are free neighborhood Khmer lessons at my library. Tempting!

I also found out another local library does language exchanges every Saturday. I can't go this week, but I think I'll go next week. :)

big_slacker

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #16 on: April 06, 2017, 07:35:48 AM »
I dunno about for fun, I'm learning my wife's native language even though I won't have much chance to use it except with her and the kids. Duolingo is a great app for the basics, after that it's actually speaking with a native speaker, watching shows and reading books in the language, etc.

Warlord1986

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #17 on: April 06, 2017, 08:22:12 AM »
I'm learning Turkish. Having no ethnic tie to the place, never visited it, and only knowing a handful of people who have been there I get a lot of strange looks. Oh well. If I ever get the chance to spend a few months in a place, Turkey is first on the list. :)

GU

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #18 on: April 06, 2017, 10:21:33 AM »
I think one thing people should understand is that high school/college Spanish/French/etc. are not the same thing as "learning a language."  The courses you took in regular school were mostly memorizing vocabulary and grammar.  They were likely taught by an American who may not have even been fluent in the language herself, and who surely spoke the language with an accent.  Most people are not very interested in grammar rules, but a much larger percentage would be interested in actually learning a language

If you really want to learn a language, short of just moving to a foreign country, you need to take classes with a native foreign speaker, ideally one who also knows English and knows how to teach.  These classes can be pretty expensive, but give a lot of "bang for the buck" and once you get to intermediate status, it's a lot easier to learn on your own, use the Internet, etc.

For those interested in French, I've had great luck with Alliance Francaise courses. 

Valhalla

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #19 on: April 06, 2017, 01:33:34 PM »
I FIRE'd last year and am currently in Paris studying French at the Sorbonne for a semester. Good way to add a little structure to slow travel, and also allowed me to stay in the Schengen Zone as a student (with a visa) than I can as a tourist.
Your life sounds amazing.  Can you expand on your FIRE story and what you're doing?  This sounds marvelous.

Romag

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #20 on: April 06, 2017, 04:32:13 PM »
I FIRE'd last year and am currently in Paris studying French at the Sorbonne for a semester. Good way to add a little structure to slow travel, and also allowed me to stay in the Schengen Zone as a student (with a visa) than I can as a tourist.
Your life sounds amazing.  Can you expand on your FIRE story and what you're doing?  This sounds marvelous.

Thanks! It is pretty great so far. I retired from the Army in 2015 and worked for about another year, FIRE'd in Sept 2016. The contract I was working on ended and I had a pretty good fix on my expenses etc. I'm single, no kids, paid off townhouse and car, good pension, cheap health care and a decent amount of savings. I do a bit of low-sophistication credit card/travel hacking.

I lived in Africa and Europe for about six years each during my time in the military and I have friends and connections all over the place, lived in Paris for two years and fell in love with it, so I wanted to come back. I've been here since January, staying in an AirBnB studio apartment. I finish my course at the end of May then going to Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki before returning to the states. I'm a runner, doing the Paris and Mont-Saint-Michel Marathons while I'm in France. I spend large chunks of my day walking around the city, stopping for a coffee or a pastry when the mood strikes me.

I live near Buffalo, which is fantastic from May to September but less than ideal in the winter :) All the outside maintenance is taken care of by my HOA, so I can turn off the water, shut off the hot water heater, turn down the heat and be out the door whenever I want. I went to Hawaii for two weeks last December and plan on doing the same this year. My parents snowbird in Florida for the winter, so I plan to spend some time with them each January.

It has been great so far, I'm super happy and having a lot of fun!

Valhalla

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #21 on: April 06, 2017, 04:37:27 PM »
I FIRE'd last year and am currently in Paris studying French at the Sorbonne for a semester. Good way to add a little structure to slow travel, and also allowed me to stay in the Schengen Zone as a student (with a visa) than I can as a tourist.
Your life sounds amazing.  Can you expand on your FIRE story and what you're doing?  This sounds marvelous.

Thanks! It is pretty great so far. I retired from the Army in 2015 and worked for about another year, FIRE'd in Sept 2016. The contract I was working on ended and I had a pretty good fix on my expenses etc. I'm single, no kids, paid off townhouse and car, good pension, cheap health care and a decent amount of savings. I do a bit of low-sophistication credit card/travel hacking.

I lived in Africa and Europe for about six years each during my time in the military and I have friends and connections all over the place, lived in Paris for two years and fell in love with it, so I wanted to come back. I've been here since January, staying in an AirBnB studio apartment. I finish my course at the end of May then going to Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki before returning to the states. I'm a runner, doing the Paris and Mont-Saint-Michel Marathons while I'm in France. I spend large chunks of my day walking around the city, stopping for a coffee or a pastry when the mood strikes me.

I live near Buffalo, which is fantastic from May to September but less than ideal in the winter :) All the outside maintenance is taken care of by my HOA, so I can turn off the water, shut off the hot water heater, turn down the heat and be out the door whenever I want. I went to Hawaii for two weeks last December and plan on doing the same this year. My parents snowbird in Florida for the winter, so I plan to spend some time with them each January.

It has been great so far, I'm super happy and having a lot of fun!
That sounds like a great experience, some unforgettable life experiences. Enjoy!!  I need to plan something like this  :)

FireHiker

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #22 on: April 06, 2017, 04:42:28 PM »
I love learning languages! I was moderately conversant in French (four years in high school, and then travel to France where I got to practice), and took a year of German in college "for fun" as a break from my engineering classes. I've always wanted to learn several, but I've let other things get in the way for several years. One of the things I like the most about cutting cable and watching less tv is playing on Duolingo in the evenings. It's not the same thing as learning from a real, native speaker, of course, but it's a free starting point and better than watching tv.

We leave for Italy tomorrow (!!!) for a short vacation, and I've spent the last three months obsessively playing with Duolingo. I have a co-worker who is fluent so I've been talking with him too. My reading is decent enough that I can make out the gist of the information on most websites where we're going now. My speaking is pretty bad, but I should be able to be polite and order food at least, so that's a start. I picked up some workbooks for on the plane, and beyond. The thing I've realized is how much I love learning languages, so I'm going to focus more on that in my bits of free time again.

tralfamadorian

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #23 on: April 06, 2017, 04:47:30 PM »
I FIRE'd last year and am currently in Paris studying French at the Sorbonne for a semester...

I have this exact idea on my FIRE list.  Any tips about the Sorbonne?  Resources?  Things you didn't expect? 

Ebrat

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #24 on: April 06, 2017, 04:51:23 PM »
I'm currently learning Italian and starting to familiarize myself with French. I'm not crazy about Duolingo, but my local library has a subscription to Mango, so I mostly use that. It's a lot of fun, and the husband and I can increase our ability to annoy other people because we now have multiple languages in which to make bad jokes :)

LearnTo

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #25 on: April 06, 2017, 05:17:33 PM »
I'm semi-retired & taking a Russian 101 class, with initial hopes of taking maybe 3 semesters.  The teacher is a Russian native who's been in the US > 20 years.
I don't have any delusion I would be conversational though, without some realtime frequent practice.
I would love to see Russia and even travel on the Trans-Siberian railway.
It's supposed to be good for older brains, but I'm finding it really takes more dedication than I had planned, ha.

Romag

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #26 on: April 06, 2017, 05:21:25 PM »
I FIRE'd last year and am currently in Paris studying French at the Sorbonne for a semester...

I have this exact idea on my FIRE list.  Any tips about the Sorbonne?  Resources?  Things you didn't expect? 

Hi Kelly,
It has been a really nice program. There is plenty of info on the CCFS website and there is also a FB page.

1. There are a variety of lengths and levels of intensity. If you want to stay longer than 90 days, you need to get a student visa and are supposed to study for an average of 20 hrs per week. The CCFS classic program is two hours per day of basic language class, two civilization seminars, each one per week for two hours and a phonetics/pronunciation class with a varying schedule depending on an oral assessment that totals about 30 hours (mine is an hour every day for the last 6 weeks). So a lot of days I am in class for two hours total, some days I have 5 hours. Homework is teacher-dependent, often just a few exercises from my prof.

2. You take a placement test when you get there and usually have some input in when you want to have your primary class. I go from 8-10 in the morning, which I think resulted in being in a class with more young working people than college students. There are about 15 people in the class. I'm 45, the oldest person in the class by 10 years or so, mostly 20s and 30s from all over the world.

3. The course is not very expensive in my opinion, but living in Paris is. I found an AirBNB reasonably close to the school (about a 20 min walk) that has worked out well, but it is pricey. I also needed to get supplemental health insurance that was about $300 to get the visa.

4. If you do the semester-long course, there is a two-week spring break (I am on it right now, in fact) and you can travel or whatever. There are a few three-day weekends as well, and a week or so gap between the placement test and the start of classes. My student visa is valid for 6 months.

5. I'm happy with it and I would consider doing it again - but I would probably do one of the shorter courses next time. I am at the intermediate level and I have definitely improved a bit and have a better handle on grammar especially.

Hope that helps, feel free to PM me if there is anything else you'd like to know.

AMandM

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #27 on: April 06, 2017, 06:58:03 PM »
I grew up in English and French, and studied Spanish in high school, Mandarin in college, and German off and on throughout.  German ended up being the new language I used most, because we lived in Germany three times, but now I live in a Hispanic neighbourhood and am thinking I should brush up my Spanish. I want to learn Italian next.

big_slacker

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #28 on: April 06, 2017, 06:59:52 PM »
Mówię po polsku. Because my wife is Polish. Duolingo is a good free app, once you know a few words find some shows in the language (kids shows are bet!) on youtube. Find a native speaker to practice with, that's the best.

tralfamadorian

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #29 on: April 06, 2017, 07:10:46 PM »
...Hope that helps...

This is so helpful!  Thank you! 

Bicycle_B

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #30 on: April 06, 2017, 08:38:09 PM »
Lots of places are great to visit, perhaps even live in.  Many of them have Spanish as the dominant language.  Knowing it helps you a lot there, I would think.

From friends:
1) Lots of places in Mexico are cheap, beautiful, fun, safe, with tasty food.  Like USA, there are places to be avoided too, but don't let that stop you from the great buffet of wonder that is available (I paraphrase). 

2) Uruguay is an especially nice place for one friend's taste.  Born to English speakers in USA, he learned Spanish as an adult.  Now he is moving to Uruguay - clean air, 95% renewable power, cheap rent, etc.  Might be good to visit or live in during retirement; very Spanish language dominant.

In FIRE, you could find interesting places that are cheap to live in, then try out the Spanish speaking ones.  For visits ahead of time, find likely spots via The Earth Awaits (not my site, but I think someone on these boards made the site) 

https://www.theearthawaits.com/

dougules

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #31 on: April 07, 2017, 10:49:36 AM »
Lots of places are great to visit, perhaps even live in.  Many of them have Spanish as the dominant language.  Knowing it helps you a lot there, I would think.

From friends:
1) Lots of places in Mexico are cheap, beautiful, fun, safe, with tasty food.  Like USA, there are places to be avoided too, but don't let that stop you from the great buffet of wonder that is available (I paraphrase). 

2) Uruguay is an especially nice place for one friend's taste.  Born to English speakers in USA, he learned Spanish as an adult.  Now he is moving to Uruguay - clean air, 95% renewable power, cheap rent, etc.  Might be good to visit or live in during retirement; very Spanish language dominant.

In FIRE, you could find interesting places that are cheap to live in, then try out the Spanish speaking ones.  For visits ahead of time, find likely spots via The Earth Awaits (not my site, but I think someone on these boards made the site) 

https://www.theearthawaits.com/

I don't know if shou'd help shourself much by learning Spanish if you want to live in Uruguay.  I don't know exactly what that language they speak there is. 

tralfamadorian

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #32 on: April 07, 2017, 12:03:04 PM »
I don't know if shou'd help shourself much by learning Spanish if you want to live in Uruguay.  I don't know exactly what that language they speak there is.

They speak Spanish with some Italian influences.

Daughn

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #33 on: April 07, 2017, 12:22:49 PM »
Have you guys checked out Duolingo ? They have a website and an app. Both free.  www.duolingo.com   You can find the app on your phone or tablets app store. It's a lot of fun and easy to use.

VolcanicArts

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #34 on: April 08, 2017, 05:29:02 AM »
Have you guys checked out Duolingo ? They have a website and an app. Both free.  www.duolingo.com   You can find the app on your phone or tablets app store. It's a lot of fun and easy to use.

I've been using this site. Not bad at all considering it is free.

Well Respected Man

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #35 on: April 08, 2017, 10:46:22 AM »
I've always loved languages. While living in Holland, I took Dutch classes, even though everyone speaks perfect English. Right now, I've got 21-day French and German streaks on Duolingo. I looked up Mango, and my library has it, so I downloaded the app, and will give that a try. DW is trying to learn Italian on Duolingo as well. I always like to learn how to at least order one or two beers in the local language.

I find it easy to work in the time for app-based studying -- right after waking up, while working out, etc.

gaja

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #36 on: April 08, 2017, 03:30:01 PM »
I'm taking sign language lessons, although it is not just for fun but also to communicate better with my daughter. It is a fascinating way to communicate, and as a bonus you get better at general body language. I'm mainly learning NTS, but it is quite close to ASL so I'm watching a lot of music videos and short news stories on Facebook and youtube (https://dpan.tv/ is a good source). My daughter is also learning BSL, but I'm finding that challenging.

Studying at European universities is a very good way to spend your FIRE years. Especially since many countries don't charge tuition fees (or have very low rates): https://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/studying-abroad/where-can-you-study-abroad-free

StetsTerhune

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #37 on: April 12, 2017, 06:49:51 AM »
I speak (grammatically terrible, but very functional) German, and French well enough to get things done. I've spent 3 months or so in Spanish speaking countries in the last year, and have been very casually studying it (Duolingo, MosaLingua, books). I took a week of one-on-one classes in Ecuador (very affordable there), which was very helpful, though incredibly exhausting. Interacting one on one with anyone is exhausting for me in English, let alone Spanish. It helped enormously though -- before the class I could read fairly well but was totally useless understanding people talking. Now I'm only mostly useless understanding. Still pretty useless with talking.

Casually studying a language is really fun for me. Actually doing what it takes to actually be able to speak a language is not fun at all for me.

You can get by perfectly well traveling without speaking the language, but it is does definitely change the experience the more you can speak and understand. Being in England, or even Germany, where it's never a concern at all that I'll understand what is being said to me is very different than being in Spain where I know I will be able to get it, but it'll take some extra effort by both parties. I expect to keep working on my Spanish over the next few years and bring it slowly up to the level of my German, then perhaps going back and finally getting reacquainted with French.

I think it would be very fun sometime to learn something with a non-Latin alphabet (Arabic is highest on my list), but I'm pretty sure I don't have the wherewithal to go very far into that.

golden1

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #38 on: April 12, 2017, 06:59:02 AM »
Does anyone else think studying foreign language is a waste of time for technological reasons?

I mean, it seems pretty obvious that in a few years they will have an auto-translate wearable that works passably well, and google can already auto translate written stuff. 

http://www.businessinsider.com/japanese-company-instant-translation-device-travellers-ili-words-languages-chinese-english-2017-2


I guess I just struggle with what the point is of spending all sorts of time and effort to learn a language unless you are actually living in the country? 

pbkmaine

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iamlindoro

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #40 on: April 12, 2017, 07:45:48 AM »
Does anyone else think studying foreign language is a waste of time for technological reasons?

I mean, it seems pretty obvious that in a few years they will have an auto-translate wearable that works passably well, and google can already auto translate written stuff. 

http://www.businessinsider.com/japanese-company-instant-translation-device-travellers-ili-words-languages-chinese-english-2017-2

I guess I just struggle with what the point is of spending all sorts of time and effort to learn a language unless you are actually living in the country?

Setting aside for the moment that machine translation is objectively terrible, and a long way from reliably translating anything in a readable and nuanced fashion, studying a language has all sorts of benefits besides the excellent ones in the article posted by pbkmaine.

The places where a language is spoken aren't constrained just by geographic boundaries-- any city of sufficient size almost anywhere will have a community of people that speak most major languages. Having the ability to express yourself, even if it's to a limited extent, gives you a powerful tool for making connections with people in that community. Case in point, I regularly speak Spanish in grocery stores, restaurants, and just with people on the street. Could we stumble through a conversation in English? Sure, probably, but having the ability to show empathy and try to make things just a little easier deepens my connections to others in those situations, and has led to friendships, invitations, good deals, and unexpected good will on countless occasions.

The above is doubly true when you actually go and travel someplace, be it for a week or a year-- it takes time to learn a foreign language, and it's not something anyone should pick up when they've already arrived in-country. Who is going to get the better reception, be invited into social circles, and have more experiences that they remember fondly-- the person with the universal translator, or the same person with a modest amount of skill in the local language?

Ultimately, it comes down to two factors: The personal enjoyment I get in tackling a task like learning a language, and the tools that knowledge gives me to show empathy and gain access to experiences I wouldn't have otherwise. So, so worth it to me.
« Last Edit: April 12, 2017, 07:48:07 AM by iamlindoro »

cerat0n1a

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #41 on: April 12, 2017, 07:50:11 AM »
Does anyone else think studying foreign language is a waste of time for technological reasons?

Is learning to paint or draw a waste of time, now that we all have cameras in our pockets? Is it worth learning multiplication tables, now that we all have calculators? Is it even worth learning to spell?

I think in purely rational or economic terms, for an English speaker, you're probably right. I've had successful business trips to many places where I don't speak the language. As native-speakers of English, it is pretty uncommon to have a practical need for other languages anywhere in the world, even without technology.

So, some possible reasons to learn a language:

I think practicality still does come into it for some cases - relationships, friendship, business or perhaps a love of a particular aspect of a foreign culture. I know a couple of people who have studied Japanese for many years - one because of Manga/anime, the other because of the game Go.

There can be a certain prestige associated with knowing other languages. Perhaps less true in the US, but for most Europeans, speaking multiple languages would be the mark of an educated person.

Identification with a particular culture, ethnicity or religion is another possible reason. One might learn Arabic, Latin, Aramaic, Hebrew, Sanskrit etc. for religious purposes, or the language of one's parents to preserve a culture.

One might learn languages because of an interest in the subject of linguistics, or an interest in reviving minority or dead languages. That's quite a powerful motive here in Britain, where Manx & Cornish exist only as revived languages and where the number of Scots and Irish Gaelic first language speakers continues to decline.

Learning for the sake of learning is a strong motive in my case. Many studies have shown the correlation between bilingualism and greater intelligence and the role of language learning in old age in improving cognitive function, so there is the argument that it's good for you. I think it's hard to appreciate a different culture without knowing something of the language. Literature, jokes, ways of thinking are the stuff that gets lost in translation. If you only know English, you don't appreciate some of its odd features.


Well Respected Man

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #42 on: April 12, 2017, 04:15:02 PM »
what the point is of spending all sorts of time and effort to learn a language unless you are actually living in the country?

See thread title.

rpr

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #43 on: April 12, 2017, 04:57:18 PM »
what the point is of spending all sorts of time and effort to learn a language unless you are actually living in the country?

See thread title.

:) and P2F.

COEE

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #44 on: April 12, 2017, 07:43:39 PM »
My family just got back from a trip to Morocco (Darijan Arabic) and Paris (French).  I took one semester of French in HS, and most things came back quickly - but with one semester - it didn't help a whole lot.  We took a language class in Morocco - that was fun - and we learned many greetings and things of the sort.  Pretty practical stuff.

Almost everyone in Morocco speaks French also - as it is actually the official language of the country - being a former French colony.  This got my wife and I wondering - if you were to learn 3 or 4 languages to hopefully communicate in a large portion of the world, what would they be?  I was thinking English (since I already have this language), Spanish (most of Central and South America and Spain.), French (lots of french colonies throughout the entire world).  So I think that covers most of the Americas, Europe, Australia, Pacific Islands, Caribbean, and I suspect most of Africa. 

It seems that Russian, Mandarin, Japanese, and a popular Arabic dialect language would round out most of Asia.  But I know very little about Asia and could be completely wrong.

It was a bit of a shell shock to me to find out that in Europe most countries have their own language.  I knew it - but I had never experienced it.  In the US everyone for 3000 miles across a solid body of land speak the same language.  In Europe - you go just about anywhere and they speak a completely different language.  In Morocco - you can travel less than 100 km and everyone is speaking a completely different version of Arabic.  It's a wonder how anything gets done in those places.

rpr

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #45 on: April 12, 2017, 08:00:48 PM »
Indeed, this summer I'm planning on taking some language classes if offered by the Continuing education program at the local university. I was in Europe recently for about three weeks and really wished I could at least communicate the basics.

One place I found useful in order to understand how names were pronounced was taking the metro and commuter trains in these cities. I could understand place names like Chatelet Les Halles, Montparnasse and Gentilly. :)

cerat0n1a

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #46 on: April 13, 2017, 12:32:45 AM »
It was a bit of a shell shock to me to find out that in Europe most countries have their own language.  I knew it - but I had never experienced it.  In the US everyone for 3000 miles across a solid body of land speak the same language.  In Europe - you go just about anywhere and they speak a completely different language.  In Morocco - you can travel less than 100 km and everyone is speaking a completely different version of Arabic.  It's a wonder how anything gets done in those places.

Even in Britain, we have multiple local languages, not just English. Queen Elizabeth I spoke something like 10 languages well, including Welsh, Cornish, Irish Gaelic & Scottish Gaelic.

The territory covered by the US has ~300 indigeneous languages. Papua New Guinea has something like  850 for its 7 million people. Most people in the world speak more than one language, and as far as we can tell, that's always been true.

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #47 on: April 13, 2017, 01:34:07 AM »
At least it's not a bad idea at all!

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #48 on: April 13, 2017, 02:56:43 AM »
I really want to learn to speak Bahasa Malay... I'm trying to get my brain in gear to get working on that. Hopefully once bubs starts sleeping at more reliable times I'll be able to get into it. I have lived in malaysia before so have a basic grasp of how is sounds and can order food, but it would be nice to be able to hold a conversation. I've previously had a crack at French, Japanese, and Cantonese. I've retained a lot of French, but nearly none of Japanese or Cantonese ☹️

cerat0n1a

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Re: Studying Foreign Language for fun
« Reply #49 on: April 13, 2017, 03:12:45 AM »
I really want to learn to speak Bahasa Malay...

I've heard it claimed many times (by locals and foreigners) that Bahasa Indonesia is one of the easiest languages to learn (and it's similar enough to Bahasa Malay that the standard forms of both have some level of mutual intelligibility.) Latin alphabet, 100% phonetic, no tenses, no verb conjugations, no declensions or cases and people are used to hearing it spoken as a second language, so forgiving of mistakes. Of course, speaking it well is just as hard as any other language,

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!