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Over the years there have been theories that the best way to learn a second language is the "natural" way; that is, the way a child learns to talk--by listening and then speaking, without any grammar explanations, without seeing the written word, and so forth. The famous Berlitz method, for example, is based on this principle. (I taught at a Berlitz school for some time when I was younger).
It turns out, though, that the natural method is actually inferior for literate adults. Adults are actually very efficient learners and benefit from teaching methods that take advantage of the fact that they can read. It's easier to remember words and grammatical points if you have seen them, written them, and heard and said them. I wouldn't recommend any language-learning method for most adults than one that incorporates all four skills. Flash cards (nowadays, there are apps that take their place), memorizing tables of grammar, and writing out by hand are all really good for learning, as well as listening and repeating.
My high school Spanish teacher was a math major from South Carolina with a Welsh surname and, as far as I know, no connection to any Spanish-speaking culture. He essentially did what you're talking about and was a much more effective teacher than the Mexican-American who taught my stepson in Dallas.
My high school Spanish teacher was a math major from South Carolina with a Welsh surname and, as far as I know, no connection to any Spanish-speaking culture. He essentially did what you're talking about and was a much more effective teacher than the Mexican-American who taught my stepson in Dallas.
I took two languages in high school, Spanish and German.
The Spanish teacher had an American father and Spanish mother, and was born and raised in Madrid. He was a terrible teacher who had no idea how to break down his native language so that English-speakers could learn it with any degree of efficiency. His idea of "teaching Spanish" was to show us tapes of soccer matches with Spanish commentators.
The German teacher was 100% American but had learned German, Spanish and French and some point in his life. He drilled us on vocabulary, taught us catchy songs that featured elements of German grammar, and made us write lots of sentences. I will admit that we weren't exposed to a "native German accent" but we sure learned a lot of German.
I disagree. Easiest is reading, then writing (you can take as much time as you want to read and write), then speaking (you can speak slowly, but there is a limit), then listening (which is the only one of these things that you can't do at your own pace, at all). P.S. -- Now that I've read further into the thread, I see you've already made this point.
Yes, I realize I contradicted myself there. When I originally made that statement, I was thinking about the fact that I can understand simple conversation pretty well but will hesitate and make a lot of mistakes in trying to respond. That's a different story from understanding someone who is talking rapidly about a random topic.
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Yes, I agree with this. The problem is that, as soon as you ask them, ob sie langsamer sprechen könnten, they will switch to English.
"Können wir Deutsch sprechen? Ich lerne gerade Deutsch, und es würde mir sehr hilfen."
I took two languages in high school, Spanish and German.
The Spanish teacher had an American father and Spanish mother, and was born and raised in Madrid. He was a terrible teacher who had no idea how to break down his native language so that English-speakers could learn it with any degree of efficiency. His idea of "teaching Spanish" was to show us tapes of soccer matches with Spanish commentators.
The German teacher was 100% American but had learned German, Spanish and French and some point in his life. He drilled us on vocabulary, taught us catchy songs that featured elements of German grammar, and made us write lots of sentences. I will admit that we weren't exposed to a "native German accent" but we sure learned a lot of German.
My sister's HS German teacher taught them to sing "Ich habe hunger" and "Eins zwei g'soffen!" Gotta love teens in high school learning beer drinking chants from their German teacher. I took French as my fourth language in high school, and had a lovely lady from East Germany as my Teacher - she learned French as her second language and then came to the US with English as her 3rd. She was a savvy lady to go with teaching HS French instead of German, because German as a foreign language was already dying out in the 80s.
TamarahSavannah, if you are looking to learn to understand a foreign language as it is spoken because you want to watch movies/tv shows in that language, let us know if that's the case and which language it is. We might even be able to give examples of how to achieve this understanding with the least effort.
My sister's HS German teacher taught them to sing "Ich habe hunger" and "Eins zwei g'soffen!" Gotta love teens in high school learning beer drinking chants from their German teacher.
We learned the second one! "In München steht ein Hofbrauhaus..."
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She was a savvy lady to go with teaching HS French instead of German, because German as a foreign language was already dying out in the 80s.
I was in high school in the 1980s, too. It was a smallish private school and most of this kids took Spanish (this was California). There was only one class each for German 1, 2 and 3. While 1 and 2 were reasonably full because everyone was expected to take two years of a foreign language, German 3 was just me and two boys AND we had to sit in the back of the German 2 class because having an entire class period reserved for just three kids was apparently not possible.
I think you'll have to do both. Maybe if you learn your own ethnic language, but mainly speak English, it may be possible. Especially if you have parents that speaks both English well and your own ethnic language well. I think for the most part say if I were to visit Los Angeles, California and go to their mall every time for 2 months. I'd probably run into Spanish speaking Latinos and in no time catch on to what they were saying. Still in its beginning stages, but enough to converse on a one to one level. Like ordering food in Spanish. Simple talk like how's the weather been like. Or is there a concert in town? That kind of stuff, with a book or manual on hand, make do and speak the language already. Right off the start. But that would take 1 or 2 years if I wanted to be fluent in the language. California is a good place to learn Spanish.
Here's what cracks me up about foreign languages - that in so many of them, things seem backwards - which means that when we speak them, WE are speaking backwards often!
It's hard to imagine just listening and understanding comments like this in a foreign language. Throw in an accent and wow.
Like listening to a phone with very bad reception. I would take a formal class or two. At least to learn the true definitions and basic sentence structures.
I think for the most part say if I were to visit Los Angeles, California and go to their mall every time for 2 months. I'd probably run into Spanish speaking Latinos and in no time catch on to what they were saying.
It's not THAT easy. Standing in a mall hearing people around you speaking Spanish is not going to teach anyone Spanish. And it's not like you can just walk up to Spanish-speaking strangers and demand they talk to you in beginner phrases.
I live in the Los Angeles area, by the way. And apart from a few greetings and the names of food items, you would be amazed at how little Spanish most Anglos here know.
It depends more on the very complexity of the language and your initial perception of sounds.
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