Questions tagged [learning-methods]
For questions about methods, techniques, and/or practices that assist in learning another language
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Improving a language at B1 level
I am learning Russian and English. I speak in English and understand everything most of the time when my friends talk. I understand about 60% of the words in movies and news. I also struggle with ...
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Collection of mnemonics for learning foreign languages?
I recently noticed that some language versions of Wikipedia have a list of mnemonic devices that contains examples that can be used for learning languages. For example:
Mnemonic devices on the ...
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What are the various context clue techniques children use to learn a new word?
Is there any literature that discusses in great detail what the various context clues are that children use to learn a new word? I found myself reading a few papers "The development of a ...
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Media-assisted Greek learning
As described in an excellent post, watching a movie multiple times with and without subtitles greatly improves comprehension.
I did a similar thing with books once: I knew the L1 version and read the ...
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According to research, how effective is learning an L3 through an L2?
There's a language technique in the polyglot community known as "stacking", which is essentially the process of learning an L3 through an L2. According to research on this topic, what are the benefits ...
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What is the Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL)?
When reading research papers about language learning strategies, one frequently encounters the Strategy Inventory of Language Learning or SILL. What is it and where does it come from?
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How to relearn words after a while not reviewing them?
In short, I went on holiday for a week and didn't review any words and have forgotten at least 60 that weren't in my long term memory. How can I quickly retrieve them?
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Strategies for independent language learning
I am starting to learn a new language. My aim is to be able to read simple written news reports, follow television or radio news bulletins and hold simple conversations. In the long term, I may hope ...
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What are the steps to native language acquisition for children?
I've been trying to find literature that talks about steps taken to typically learn a language. I know that based on what I've read that children start from a one-word stage to multi-word stage. What ...
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Research on benefits of writing by hand when learning foreign languages
In the past, I sometimes did Chinese grammar exercises using pen and paper, and sometimes using a computer. In both cases, I wrote out the entire sentences (not just the answers) and had them reviewed ...
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How are the Pimsleur courses and Michel Thomas courses different?
Pimsleur method and Michel Thomas's method are quite similar, based on their descriptions. What are the differences between them?
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Can you 'plateau' while learning a language?
I feel like no matter how much I'm studying my language, no matter how hard I'm doing it (Georgian and Chinese), I'm still at just, a level. I can have conversations in them, read articles in them, ...
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How effective is induction as a language learning technique?
According to the Encyclopedia of Language Development,
Induction is a type of reasoning that involves deriving general principles from specific examples.
Induction is most often used to acquire ...
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Any tool to highlight collocations
It is believed that learning collocations is an effective way to enhance fluency. I wonder if there are any tools that, when provided with a text, can highlight its collocations? It would be great if ...
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Can a language be improved without further exposure to it by just writing and speaking in that language to others with similar skills?
With "without further exposure," I mean without exposure that contains something you haven't 'seen' before. For example, reading an essay (not written by you) or watching a movie in that language is ...
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How many words are usually taught per chapter in a textbook
I'm building a language learning app for children in 9th to 12th grade and am collecting the metrics I'll need to test its effectiveness.
I'm going to be doing another round of beta testing at local ...
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How can I master the Hebrew alphabet?
I am trying to learn the Hebrew alphabet (that is, learn the basic letters and letter forms, including final forms). I am finding this much more difficult than it was to learn the Greek or Cyrillic ...
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Unpredictable multiple homophony of Chinese characters [closed]
I look for a strategy to deal with this lexical issue of the Chinese language, and so memorize the right pronunciation(s) correctly
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impredictable arabic broken plurals and verbal nouns (مصدر) from form I
I'd like to know a strategy to deal with this lexical issue of the Arabic language. What strategy should I follow to memorize the right pattern correctly?
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Is it possible to learn B1-level German in 3 months?
I realize this may be a potential duplicate, but a quick look through the "Questions that may already have your question" didn't pop up anything.
I am hoping to participate as part of the Fulbright ...
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Learning a lot of similar words in a short period of time
I'm currently in a Korean class, and I'm aiming to learn all the vocabulary and phrases before the lesson. Next week we'll be learning the numbers 1 to 10 amongst other things. I've tended to be weak ...
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How can I learn a language with little documentation/resources (Georgian)?
I've been trying to learn Georgian for almost 9 months now but have got no where.
I do know a Georgian, even despite his undeniable skill in English he can't explain Georgian grammar to me.
Georgian ...
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Next Step After Duolingo
I took four college semesters of Spanish decades ago and have been doing Duoling exercises twice a day now for over 530 days. I long ago completed all the lessons and started doing refresh lessons in ...
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Making the Most of College Foreign Language Courses (Meta Learning?)
I am required to take two semesters of a foreign language for my degree. I do not know if I will make much use of the language I choose or continue study after the two semesters are done. I may not ...
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How many Languages can we speak fluently [duplicate]
I am speaking many languages but I m pinned down each time and can't speak more than four languages fluently at the same time, I noticed that I can only keep 4 languages even if I try to learn a new ...
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How can I understand the difference between the 'D' sound and 'T' sound?
I have started learning English. Currently, I can't understand the difference between the 'D' sound and the 'T' sound while listening to someone speaking or in audio. How can I learn how to ...
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How many new words at a time?
I have a 1000 flash cards of new words. I pick a flash card at random to test if I remember the word. If not, I take a moment to try to remember it.
With a 1000 flash cards I feel that I see too many ...
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How can I apply the words I learn?
I know lots of words. I know I do because I know so many I have to review at least one hundred every day and it takes ages.
I never am able to use these words in conversation though, and I don't ...
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Is learning a language together with other non-native speakers risky?
My colleagues and I thought about speaking English at the office to improve our skills.
I was not so excited about this. Sure, I'm also interested in improving my language skills, but I'm worried ...
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Relearning/refreshing language skills
This question is slightly related to an earlier question about studies on language requisition, but is more interested in practical/anecdotal evidence rather than 'scientific study'.
During school ...
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How effective are mobile/desktop apps for learning a language?
I'm not sure this is the right spot for this question but I think it is appropriate and on topic.
I speak fluently one foreign language (from here on referred as L2) aside from my own native language ...
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How can I overcome fear and failure when speaking to native speakers of my L2?
I've been studying Russian language on my own for more than 1.5 years. And I'm still bad at it because of lack of speaking practice. I didn't study everyday as I also paused for several months so I'm ...
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Is there more than one learning "path" through the intermediate levels in learning languages?
The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) divides levels of language proficiency into A1, A2 (beginner), B1, B2 (intermediate), and C1,C2 (advanced. An A1 is learning the basics, and a C2 is ...
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Is it good idea to learn English and German simultaneously?
I'm learning English but considering to improve my German as well.
My native language is Ukrainian. I know both languages on the same basic level.
Is it good idea to learn English and German ...
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How to speak faster
Background
So I know plenty of Chinese words and grammar. I know loads, and due to the fantastic listening podcast SlowChinese, my listening is actually great. I'm so proud and happy.
I've contacted ...
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Learning second sign language after first sign language
If I have learned a sign language, will it fasten my acquisition on other sign language?
This is because I learned that various sign languages have different syntax and such, and worried if there's ...
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How will learning English at the expense of my native tongue affect the two languages?
A little background: My name is Nick, and I moved to the United States about three years ago. Since my arrival, I have devoted myself to learn and understand as much English as possible--including ...
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What are the effects of learning a third language in your second language? [duplicate]
How will it affect my language skills if I choose to learn Indonesian in English instead of my mothertongue (Czech)?
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Literary translation production: How much does it help with a language?
Can anyone comment, preferably with evidence, on the benefit to language learners of translating literary works from their target language into their native language --specifically with a goal of ...
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Effect of trilingualism on babies
I'm interested in how to manage languages with small babies.
Is trilinguism problematic as opposed to bilinguism? For example, will the baby take longer to speak than he would if he was bilingual?
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WebCAPE language exam - how many words do I need to know?
I'm studying Chinese and would like to know if there are any metrics/studies around how many words I should be able to retain to get a high score.
The metrics I've seen, such as this Rosetta Stone ...
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Way to learn Persian (Perso-Arabic) alphabet
I'm going to learn the Persian alphabet. I found it very difficult because the letters look different depending on whether they are at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of a word. Is there ...
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Creating summaries helps us understand a new language?
At school we were "forced" to summarize the text, but does it help in learning a new language?
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Does ethnic background affect language learning strategies?
Drawing inspiration from the question Does ethnic background affect the speed of foreign language acquisition?, I would like to ask something more specific: Is there any research on how ethnic ...
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Evidence that learning radicals speeds up character learning in Japanese?
Characters — in Chinese or Japanese (or Korean Hanja) — can be learnt in various ways, and it is plausible that paying attention to radicals helps memorization and retention. But is there any hard ...
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required standards for US domestic foreign language education
In reference to my earlier post, I'm going to be teaching foreign languages in some capacity and was advised by a board of education that I ought to understand and incorporate foreign language edu. ...
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Why do some teach Biblical Hebrew with modern verb tenses?
I have noticed that some instructors teach Biblical Hebrew verbs with modern tenses (avar, atid, hoveh, tsivuy) when really there are only two forms (not tenses), perfect and imperfect. I'm aware ...
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How can an advanced learner in an FL context get rid of grammatical errors?
Imagine someone who learnt foreign language (FL) from the same language family as his native language (L1) for three years at secondary school and then continued studying this language at university. ...
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First learn speaking and then writing OR both at once?
I am a novice to the Japanese language, and this question might have some opinion-based answers but I could use some advice.
Should I learn to speak some basic words and sentences up to a level where ...
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How can jokes be studied to provide a benefit to a language learner (if at all)?
What benefits does studying jokes in your L2 provide? I'd think that it would only provide you with a better understanding of culture, puns, or wordplay, but is there something beyond that?
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