learning languages...again

[BrokenBiker]

i keep coming back tot he idea of learning another language.

i did try to learn german from a book, but by the end of the book i could say all the generic phrases that get you no where in a real conversation.

now, my son has started nursery and the teacher there is a fluent welsh speaker and they ecourage welsh speaking at all times there, which i think is a good thing as welsh is a dying (maybe dead) language and i only know 2 people that are fluent in it, both of which live in spain ironically...

ive realised that buying the average 'Learn welsh' book for 4.99 is going to be pointless as it will be the same as the german book, so im wondering if there are any text books that are used in schools, maybe for gcse level, that would be helpful? not necesarilly welsh, im open to any language really, i like travelling and france, spain and italy are on the list of favourite places so any of those languages would be handy

 

[cumbriasteve]

welsh is a dying (maybe dead) language and i only know 2 people that are fluent in it, both of which live in spain ironically...

It wasn't when I went for fish and chips in Conwy, all four people started talking it shortly after my accent gave away the fact I was not local, bad mannered and arrogant idiots, sad really considering I am half Welsh bloodline

Luckily it was a one off and the rest of my stay was enjoyed thanks to friendly people.

I keep meaning to have a go at Spanish, which covers most of my holiday locations, just not got around to it because I think the best way would be night classes, I should imagine it improves the chance of learning if you have to actually talk in a group

 

[colnerov]

Hi, My sister lives in France and she says that school boy/girl French is completely different to conversational French, so my suggestion would be to find someone who speaks a language and ask them to help you learn it.

Colin

 

[Freddy0309]

The Rosetta Stone courses are pretty good but not sure if they do Welsh or not

 

[BrokenBiker]

It wasn't when I went for fish and chips in Conwy, all four people started talking it shortly after my accent gave away the fact I was not local, bad mannered and arrogant idiots, sad really considering I am half Welsh bloodline

Luckily it was a one off and the rest of my stay was enjoyed thanks to friendly people.

I keep meaning to have a go at Spanish, which covers most of my holiday locations, just not got around to it because I think the best way would be night classes, I should imagine it improves the chance of learning if you have to actually talk in a group

well, with welsh i would have a chance to progress as my son does, apparetly 3 year olds pick languages up really quickly around here as the teacher sort of floats in and out of welsh and english as and when she pleases so they pick it up that way...

i did spanish in school and can get by in the touristy bits as the people im talking too can tell im a tourist, and i can fall back on english if i need to...

also did french but failed badly on the written part, and havent even tried to remember any of that.

The Rosetta Stone courses are pretty good but not sure if they do Welsh or not

ive seen them advertised but was under the impression that they were expensive and not much better than the other alternatives. havent really looked into them but will see if they have a welsh option on their site

 

[Freddy0309]

I'm told there's places on the internet where you can it for free......

 

[Cobbler]

I've been learning Spanish using the Dualingo courses available for free on the Internet, ok so far seems good, but a language teacher friend says that I won't master it properly without conversing with someone, which makes sense. I used a short disc based course before, that was helpful, it taught you complete phases that you were likely to need. Ordering in restaurants, beer or coffee in a cafe, this sort of thing. It really helped as you get a better reception from the locals even if you get it completely wrong, which I did most of the time.

 

[clift_d]

Apparently the Michel Thomas courses are quite good, although they only teach the spoken language and don't deal at all with the written word.

 

[bump]

@brokenbiker Have they stopped teaching Welsh in schools there? I friend of mine had to learn it in school (in Cardiff), She does a lot of Welsh language theatre for kids these days.

 

[Cobbler]

Apparently the Michel Thomas courses are quite good, although they only teach the spoken language and don't deal at all with the written word.

I bought the Michel Thomas course & couldn't get on with it. I don't say it's a bad course, could be just me, but I didn't finish it. He is East European from memory, speaking Spanish & English to 2 students, a boy & a girl, I found his accent really grated with me & he was patronising towards the students. I think the course is quite old as he's been dead for yonks, OK if your horse & cart breaks down I suppose. In these days of the web, the courses can be interactive so you know where your going wrong.

Don't let this put you off, just my opinion, the Dualingo course is far more comprehensive & the best thing is it's FREE. If you put in free language courses on the web, there are several that come up, so if one doesn't tick the boxes, try another.

 

[julianthegypsy]

Hi, My sister lives in France and she says that school boy/girl French is completely different to conversational French, so my suggestion would be to find someone who speaks a language and ask them to help you learn it.

Colin

The author Kingsley Amis once said "I spent years learning O level French, then I went to France and discovered that nobody speaks O level French".
I used to go to France quite regularly and found that a good dictionary was really useful. I gave up on it in the third year in scool, but found that what I could remember, combined with a good dictionary and years of practice at blagging my way round the world in a variety of obscure languages, always seemed to get me by.

 

[rikrobson]

Make sure you learn the right language. Frank Kelly is in it. Funniest line is at 8:27

 

[BrokenBiker]

@brokenbiker Have they stopped teaching Welsh in schools there? I friend of mine had to learn it in school (in Cardiff), She does a lot of Welsh language theatre for kids these days.

they still teach it, but it depends on what school you are in as to what level of teaching you get...the school i was in saw welsh as a bare minimum qualification, so we did the bare minimum...my oral exam consisted of my welsh teacher playing a tape with questions in welsh, and me replying from a hand written script that she had presented when i went in...

 

[Shedendman]

Welsh,Spanish,is that all,aren't you forgetting Russian,Polish,Romanian,Czech and the other voices you hear over here now?

 

[colnerov]

My Dad used to say I spoke English and rubbish.

 

[HMB]

dont do russian. its hard

 

[julianthegypsy]

You could learn Indonesian, its easy to learn and millions of people speak it. Unfortunately, they're all in Indonesia and it's a b8888y long way!

 

[colnerov]

I did 2 years of French then they gave up on me with it the same as Julianthegypsy but my sister did Russian, all to do with streaming, she was cleverer than me.

 

[dazza]

I wish i had learnt welsh my kids speak 4 languages and ofter ask why i don't speak welsh.

Just need to teach them all the car part/tools names in Spanish as i'm rubbish.

 

[roofman]

The Brits are a lazy lot when it comes to languages..most of the none English speaking countrys can talk English but we seem not to have the same skills of there native languages. I also speak another language myself its called Scouse My sister is married to an Arab in Dubia and there four sons can speak about 6 languages and could from an early age too.