Mastering the Foreign Tongue

In this ever growing, globalized world, we're converging together much more closely socially and economically. Though this is most prevalent, there are still major barriers, namely language.

While English is widely spoken in all venues of life, socially and business oriented, it's certainly not enough. How about tackling another language? How about French? Spanish? Russian? Arabic? No matter what you want to learn, the internet is full of them. Don't want to spend your money on The Rosetta Stone or having to take language courses, here are some substitutes which should help better your language prowess.

http://www.pimsleur.com/

http://www.busuu.com

http://livemocha.com/​

These sites should give all of you the tools you need to fully master a language. Remember, diligence and patience is the key to being able to bring home some extensive vocabulary beyond your own native language.

 

THANK YOU Majestic Saint!!!

 

FYI most libraries have Rosetta Stones available for checkout. They are widely used by businesses for employees who need to learn languages.....good program but way too expensive. Will check your other links bbw.......good post.

 

I intend learning Mandarin very soon since China clearly will be ruling the roost sooner than we think. I intend learning the romance languages French, Italian and Spanish just to impress people by ordering food in those languages when i am in a restaurant owned by Spanish Italians or the French.

 

True, but do you think everyone would have access to them when they could find some level of convenience through the internet?

Plus, as popular as the Rosetta Stone is, I felt that it's really strong when it comes to improving verbal communication and not so much on mastering it on writing or reading levels. I could be wrong, but that's what I've noticed from people who take them.

 

goldmine!

Nice post, I used livemocha briefly when I was learning Swedish. When my girl found out that I was using those type of sites - cause there are many that cater for Swedish learners - she got apprehensive/suspicious/jealous, apparently they are known for being 'hook-up' sites for Black guys and Swedish girls...(you know what to do guys).

She was right, I later met other brothas who swear by them. The idea is you register as a learner and pick a teacher from a native speaker - that person helps you out in getting to grips with the language.
Livemocha was ok and I can't recall the others, but google is your friend. I didn't use it much cause it was just too slow for me - I needed to speak pronto!

The cheapest, most effective way to learn was to join the library and read children's books, listen to radio and watch subtitled tv. I later signed up for private tuition and a free state-run language course.

 

To use a forum is also nice, especially, because you have fun!

But on a side-note.. I found it interesting that most of our big swiss companies use english as communication language- the translations have been too expensive (we have around 250 nationalities here, 4 official languages)

 

Good point! In Sweden too, you will find that the language commonly used in higher-education level sort of jobs is almost exclusively English.
The problem though is they will advertise it in Swedish. So if you can't read it - you've lost before you start.
Funny enough, working alongside other native speakers is actually the sure-fire way to becoming proficient. So it's a catch-22: You need the job to sharpen your language skill, your lack of sharpened language skill excludes you from the job.

 

My advice to anyone would be to get yourself a private tutor, I have one for Spanish and one for French. 2nd best way to learn a foreign language IMO (if you can afford it) Its certainly expensive here in the UK but I got lucky and managed to find 2 excellent teachers.

 

[YOUTUBE]p16MByuehVE[/YOUTUBE]

 

Only one had Swahili.

 

I think they are decent tools. I own pimsleur for chinese, russian, arabic, korean, and french. They do help with pronunciation. It does teach you to "parrot" a bit. But, it's still a good tool. Livemocha is free and they do give a lot of advice. Certain languages were easier due to the fact that I lived in countries that spoke those languages and nothing beats (Full Immersion). I find it best to maintain friends who speak each individual language so ultimately you expand your "inner circle" and you can stay fresh with the languages you have learned. Nice Thread.

 

Excellent thread. Wish there were more like this one. I have just bought Rosetta Stone in Spanish. One of my 2013 resolutions is to master the basics of this language that will become more important in a bi-lingual America. I want to experiment with my little son in seeing how much he can pick up and retain.

 

Foreign languages are awesome. I've always been interested in them, and could seem myself doing something more seriously in the future, possibly tutoring or translation/interpretation. I have studied a few more extensively, but still need to work on going abroad. Anyway, the only program I ever really used was BYKI (Before You Know It). It has worked for me, learning random words and phrases and such. It's just another idea, so I'm not saying it's one of the best learning tools out there.

 

Cool sites, Majestic! Thanks for posting!

 

I know someone that needs to master the foreign tounge.

Just sayin.

 

Well, then he had better get right on that!

 

i know that there is more than one person who'd like to master your foreign tongue

just sayin

 

Get on it then!

Just sayin....


:smt006

 

Ahhh, so many foreign tongues around here...