Questions tagged [learning-methods]
For questions about methods, techniques, and/or practices that assist in learning another language
270
questions
2
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1answer
13 views
Improving vocabulary reading foreign language literature on ebook readers, how to export selected vocabulary into a spaced repetition app?
For improving my vocabulary I read favourite novels and short stories, preferredly in the original (target) language. When my level isn't quite up to it, I read a translation (be that English or ...
1
vote
1answer
15 views
How to remember a big list of grammar rules?
So the language I'm learning has a lot of endings. A lot. The suffixes for verbs and persons change based off of the word ending, the pronoun used, the object even, it's complicated.
What it boils ...
4
votes
0answers
55 views
The “fully grammatical” approach towards learning Indo-European languages
I have stumbled upon this video on Youtube (sorry - it is in Russian).
Here's a short summary:
The spokesperson introduces the following scheme of learning an Indo-European language:
"Learn by ...
3
votes
2answers
49 views
Learning Hindi as a speaker without first learning the writing system
My girlfriend is Indian and Hindi-speaking and I would like to learn some Hindi so to be able to talk with her using basic sentences and improve through speaking.
I have been trying using Duolingo (...
1
vote
3answers
56 views
After stumbling upon a word in Chinese, how can I determine if it's worth studying?
Nowadays I'm reading opinion pieces and news articles in Chinese. I'm at a late-HSK5 level. I stumble upon many new words, too many to study them all, so I need prioritize some words and postpone ...
1
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0answers
51 views
How can I learn where a word begins and ends in Quranic Arabic?
Assalamualaikum. I know the entire Arabic alphabet, the 4 different shapes of letters. I have begun grammar but it is difficult. Remembering vocabulary is also difficult. But I have seen many people ...
2
votes
1answer
60 views
French pronunciation
I'm looking for a guide to master my French pronunciation.
Ideally, pictures with proper tongue positioning inside the mouth.
For now, after 10 years of living in a French-speaking country, I ...
2
votes
1answer
54 views
How can I repurpose the time spent reading random stuff on the Internet to improve my Chinese?
This is my situation most days:
I'm too tired to study Chinese...
...but it's too early to go to bed...
...I know, I'll read random stuff on the Internet.
I feel like I could should be utilizing ...
3
votes
0answers
46 views
Modern grammar theories for serial language learning
When learning multiple foreign languages, would it be worthwhile investing time into mastering modern grammar theories (generative grammars, construction grammars, etc.) or are those too theoretical ...
3
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0answers
16 views
How do you learn to read Vietnamese using Chį»Æ Nôm?
I am able to read Chinese characters, and have been exposed to Chį»Æ NĆ“m, which is derived by amalgamating Chinese characters according to their meaning and pronunciation, so as to represent a Native ...
6
votes
1answer
58 views
Can Siri be used for foreign-language speaking and listening practice?
Siri seems to understand my Chinese, so I'm wondering if it's possible to talk with her in order to get speaking and listening practice. Currently, all I ever do is ask her for the weather. But it ...
3
votes
1answer
32 views
Creating flashcards for grammatical rules that requires a few steps of thought, such as SPOCK versus WEIRDO
If there's grammar rule that requires a couple of steps of thought in order to create the correct output, how do I put it into flashcards?
For example, Spanish has (as well as imperative) the ...
1
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0answers
33 views
Characteristics or Preferences of Age Groups When Learning/Acquiring a Language
I've been looking for some research studies to get into more depth about the characteristics of age groups when learning a language. My main focus is on ages of 17 and 18 (basically, when teenagers ...
6
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0answers
40 views
I want to train myself to use the Chinese grammar particle äŗ correctly: how do I go about doing that?
Motivation: In Chinese grammar, there's a particle äŗ which has two main uses: completion äŗ (post-verb) and change-of-state äŗ (end of sentence). I'm bad at using this particle (see How does someone ...
2
votes
2answers
85 views
What are some of the most useful methods of teaching English grammar?
As a practising English teacher I have observed that teaching of grammar does not help the learners to speak or write fluently or even correctly especially in speech.only a few ...
2
votes
3answers
135 views
Must we start teaching reading and writing with the Alphabet?
It is common practice to start with the Alphabet of a language while teaching reading and writing.
But some linguists I know say that we need not begin with the Alphabet but ...
2
votes
1answer
56 views
What strategies there are for learning a Romance language when I already know a Germanic language?
In a comment on another question, What is the difference between Germanic and Romance languages?, Robert Columbia wrote:
There are actually known strategies for learning a language from one of ...
3
votes
0answers
43 views
How important is to find language exchange partner?
Currently, with all social networks and internet, it seems that everybody suggest [citation needed] that the primary way to learn a language is to find a language exchange partner.
Beyond the obvious ...
7
votes
1answer
64 views
Polish affricates learning tips
I find Polish affricates extremely challenging, especially the juxtaposition of non-palatized and palatized affricates, e.g. dżem vs. dÅŗwiÄk, Äma vs. czas.
Any learning tips, e.g. using a widely ...
5
votes
1answer
41 views
Can a baby learn a new language by interacting with a foreign language speaker over skype?
A friend who took a linguistics class in college once told me that an infant can't learn a new language by sitting in front of a TV program because the TV program doesn't react to their facial ...
3
votes
1answer
79 views
Is the use of mother-tongue in the English class a boon or a bane?
I teach English in a government school where the medium of instruction is both English and the regional medium Telugu. The slow learners opt for Telugu medium and they are not able to follow my ...
4
votes
2answers
85 views
Is it difficult for the low proficiency learner to learn a second language like English?
As a teacher of English I have observed that any child acquires the first language naturally. But learning a second language like English seems to be very difficult for the low proficiency learners. ...
4
votes
1answer
49 views
Are learning and acquistion the same?
Many books on English Methodology treat learning and acquisiton synonymously. But I think they are different.
Some professors I know say that they are different.
Some others say they overlap and ...
1
vote
2answers
51 views
1 Month Curriculum For Learning Spanish Conversationally
I have set a goal to learn Spanish at a conversational level in 1 month, with 2 prior years of experience at a traditional highschool, with information retained but still not able to hold a ...
1
vote
2answers
104 views
When studying Japanese, how much should I be able to retain at the end of a Genki textbook chapter (Self-study concerns)?
I've been studying Japanese since about January using the Genki second edition workbook and textbook. I try to get in an hour session each day but I have been a little on and off with it; I think its ...
2
votes
1answer
52 views
How can I learn to speak in SOV when my L1 is SVO?
I have been learning Hindi for almost 2 years, and my mother tongue is English. I find that I can understand things in Hindi that I read or hear, and I have a working vocabulary, but I struggle to ...
1
vote
1answer
64 views
Way to prevent speaking fluency of acquired language to be lost or possibly enhance it further
In general fluency, there was a related question: How can I prevent myself from forgetting a language? which suggest speaking to yourself a lot. But how about your general speaking fluency? I have a ...
0
votes
0answers
19 views
Listening a short sentence from a movie in English and figure out what it suppose to be said [duplicate]
English is my second language and I have trouble listening and figuring out what it's said when spoken fast in English.
This is the sentence.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=...
7
votes
2answers
86 views
Should I correct my grammar mistakes or just ignore them while practice speaking?
While practice speaking a foreign language, I often find myself make a mistake during the speech and correct it immediately. The mistakes usually come from grammar, which I rarely do in writing. For ...
4
votes
1answer
51 views
How to learn the building of sentences?
Understanding a large number of words, either spoken or written, is one thing, but producing a sentence in a target language is another.
I am not referring to understanding how to read/hear a ...
6
votes
1answer
74 views
How can I avoid the huge gap between paper and oral skills?
I learned four foreign languages but all of them have one thing in common; reading is the best and writing follows it, and then after the huge gap come listening and speaking. My reading and speaking ...
5
votes
4answers
418 views
Is it possible to learn a language without translation?
Let's assume I have no knowledge in a language I want to learn. I know only some basic alphabet, but don't know any words. Is it possible to learn a language just by watching videos and reading books ...
3
votes
1answer
72 views
How to learn a language for which very few resources are available?
In the past, people have posted several questions about learning languages for which very few resources are available:
How can I learn a language with little documentation/resources (Georgian)?
How ...
2
votes
0answers
59 views
How to learn Malayalam without any resources
I've been interested in learning a language called Malayalam. The problem is though, there is a complete absence of any well-written comprehensive Malayalam textbooks or grammar guides for English-...
3
votes
1answer
78 views
How can the natural approach to language acquisition work for L2?
So, I was seeing a video today where the narrator brought this approach as the best for L2 acquisition. I believe it can be useful, that's how we all learned our L1 after all, but I wonder how it can ...
3
votes
0answers
25 views
Should I mix different dialects on minimal pairs deck?
After posting this question, I investigated why I don't understand the sound difference, and I found out that one of the reasons must be the different dialects that exist in the deck. I installed the ...
4
votes
1answer
62 views
How can you understand the pronunciation differences if you don't understand them even on minimal pairs training?
The minimal pair training seems to be the best way for adults to distinguish the sound difference on a foreign language that doesn't exist in his/her native language. According to Fluent:
But itās ...
3
votes
1answer
95 views
Learning japanese, 1 month progress (Tokyo)
I am a Japanese Language student here in Tokyo. I don't know if I'll get a downvote for this question, but might as well try. I've been studying Japanese for about a month now here in Japan using a ...
6
votes
0answers
56 views
What is the proper etiquette for a nonnative speaker who wants to practice Mandarin at a Chinese supermarket in the US?
There is a Chinese supermarket in the US I often shop at. I often hear the staff speaking Mandarin or Cantonese, and occasionally Hakka or Fujianese, amongst themselves and to Chinese customers. I can ...
3
votes
1answer
57 views
How should I decide the order of learning each of languages if you learn all of them in the end?
I wonder if you will have learned multiple languages in the end, the order of learning each of them has any influence and if it does, what is the most effective order to learn.
For example, suppose ...
3
votes
0answers
41 views
How can I find an appropriate image for a word on SRS?
I'm writing a script that converts my list of bookmarked words into SRS, with audio and image on it. Now, I'm writing a script to fetch an image from Google Image, but the images I got are mostly ...
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vote
0answers
17 views
Should the answers on SRS also be the target language?
I bookmarked words I didn't know while reading texts in a foreign language, and then created my own Anki deck from the list of bookmarked words. Originally I used English as the answer (translation) ...
4
votes
1answer
60 views
Does one's target level make a difference?
Learning the script for Arabic, Greek, Russian, etc. seems too expensive an investment if one wants to learn just a little of the language (say A1 in the CEFRL). Likewise grammar beyond the very ...
5
votes
1answer
102 views
How can I make sure my pronunciation based on IPA is correct?
I have read this question and answers titled "How can I learn IPA?" and now start to (finally) learn IPA and phonetics.
However, while the question asks about the way to learn the IPA, which focuses ...
3
votes
2answers
129 views
How can I get over lack of learning resources in “minor languages”
Sometimes I want to learn a language but give up due to the lack of resources available. These languages tend to be the ones that very few people learn using English.
In my opinion, one of the core ...
9
votes
1answer
126 views
How to overcome limitations of memory palace?
I frequently use the loci method (memory palace) to learn vocabulary, but I find that after 150-200 words my house is full with words/images and there is no space left.
I know of people who can ...
4
votes
1answer
71 views
Does learning a new language while in the target country instead of learning the current language reach the goal of acquiring both faster in the end?
Here is the situation:
I have now been learning French for two months.
I will start to stay in South Korea for one month.
After staying in Korea, I'll stay in France and attend language school for ...
5
votes
2answers
188 views
Are paper flash cards better for retention than digital flash cards (both self made)?
Language Learning Stack Exchange currently has sixteen questions about flash-cards, fifteen questions about anki and twenty questions about spaced-repetition. There is no doubt that spaced repetition ...
4
votes
3answers
124 views
How to get most language learning benefits from frequent casual conversations with natives?
I know several languages on various levels:
Polish native
English C1-C2
German B2-C1
Russian B1
Spanish B1
I have tons of opportunities to speak to natives:
English - quite a few people at work (...
6
votes
1answer
152 views
What is the better way for structure the learning of 5 languages in 1 year and 6 months?
It's really this, I have a dream to speak Japanese, Korean, Standard Chinese, French and Russian. I know it is hard and very difficult to learn five language at the same time.
Right now, this is my ...
