How do you begin to learn a language?

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Hello there I have a question for the members of wrong planet who are multi-lingual speakers.

I come from a family mostly of bi lingual speakers (French and English) a few tri-lingual and my grandfather who spoke 16 languages.

Of all my family members i absolutely suck at learning another language. Though my first words were french and in my early years I did speak french to some degree when my french grandmother used to look after me I seemed to have completly lost any understanding of the language as I got older.

I do one day want to actually learn to speak another european dialect as ideally I would like to one day live and work in another EU member country.

I'm currently in the process of moving back in with my parents while im between jobs. I was thinking that because I will be spending more time aorund my father and grandmother who are both fluent french speakers that this would be an ideal time to spend learning the language properly.

What would be the best method for me to learn the french language?

At school I tended to just connect the dots and associate french words with english ones and I had absolutely no understanding of the grammer or the way the entire language is structured.

I know the way it trans literates is differnt to english. i.e. in english you say you are 28 years old in french it is I have 28 years but I don't know what learning styles are out there that I could try that would enable me to succeed?

So any tips would be appreciated. Obviously im quite blessed to have two close relatives who are french speakers so im hoping this would mean there are quite few methods of learning that I could try out.

Also would I find a language more closer to english easier to learn such as German? Or should I stick with my families second language?

sorry if i don't strictly qualify to reply to your post, as i am just a monolingual amuuurican- but a useful bit of wisdom came from charles berlitz, the language guy- he maintained that the most important and pertinent key words/phrases to learn in ANY given language, are the native words for-

*yes *no *where is....? *how much? *please *thank you

you start by pointing at objects and the native would say what they were in terms of "****?" and you would reply in the native words for yes or no. you would need to know where [in terms of pointing or gesturing at first] something was, and how much of it was available or how much it cost. please and thank you help you to get more cooperation from the locals.
as for french versus german, i would stick with what your family could help you with. german, according to the defense language institute, is a tougher language to get under your belt than french is. so start with the less difficult language. north american [as well as continental] english borrows lots of french words so you may already be familiar with more french words than you realize. use your built-in ready resource [your family and relations] to help the lessons stick and to act as a sounding board for your speech.
i have read that the MUZZY [bbc] language courses are a great way for kids to learn another language, many adults use this course also. or use the french version of "sesame street." they might be available for use at a large public library. whichever product or schooling you use to learn the language, you need [according to the standard learning model] to learn your phrases and words at least 6 different ways and repetitions, before it will start to stick in your brain. that means you have to speak it, sing it, read it, listen to it, write it, think it, and [gradually] learn to think IN it.
the most important thing, is to have a damned good reason to learn the language- just wanting to learn it is not enough, there must be a practical reason as well.
good luck.

I am reasonably proficient in foreign (European) languages.

I have spoken 3 in addition to my native English and learned to write Russian (which is really just Greek/maths symbols with a few extras thrown in.)

Russian is a phonetic alphabet which means that I was able to pronounce and read things in Russian that I had no comprehension of I used it mainly for reading subway (underground train) signs and street signs.

I learned Italian in 3 weeks whilst on holiday in Italy.

I noticed that the grammar structure was (almost) identical to French, with the same set of 'irregular verbs'

I noticed that many of the Italian words were very similar to the corresponding French , so I just added the letter 'o' or 'a' at the end and heeded when I was corrected.

The letters 'i' and 'e' went at the end of plural words and Italian numbers were easy (for me) and seemed to follow the same pattern as French.

I don't know how I learned German; I just found it easy.

I think it's better to learn French - you can always get a help from your family. It's priceless, really.

I've heard that Italian is the easiest language. I don't know if it's true or not, but when I was in Italy for a week, I learned some words and phrases quickly. I wanted to use them and I tried to talk in the shops. People were nice and they didn't laugh at me. Some replied slowly in simple Italian, some wanted to talk only in English and some wanted to use German. Sometimes people are really nice and patient. They could tell me BUEHEHEHE, shut up! but they didn't. Maybe because they could see that I WANT.
For me, Italian is almost like Latin. But it's obvious.

It's worth investing in the Michel Tomas language learning courses. My brother was a monoglot until he did French with Michel Tomas. The system is completely phonetic, and builds on what you already know, but haven't yet realised you knew. You just listen, and work out the answers to questions he asks you. It starts off very simply, and before you know it you've got three tenses, and several thousand words, and can construct quite complex sentences.

It would be hard to describe how he teaches you, but you can test it for yourself with this link.
http://www.michelthomas.co.uk/
They have samples of the different language courses for you to try out... I think you'll find it fascinating, and that it will agree with your learning style (which seems to be making cross linguistic connections.) This can be a very successful way of learning a language (I use it myself) so I think this course is for you.

It's well to remember that before we start speaking our native language, we've heard an awful lot of it around us, picking up the hints along the way. My suggestion is that you look for subjects/topics that hold an interest for you att the site:

www.canalacademie.com

Download a couple of talks, jump in and see what you figure. You may be surprised at just how fast some forgotten items come back to you. I was. For a period of three years I spoke nothing but French. Then, change of scenery, and so on.

I wish you the best of luck!


J

I think being immersed in a language is the best way. I learn from listening to my husband speak French to my kids and when I visit with him I learn more. The problem I have is that I can understand a lot of it and even read it but I cant bring words to mind when I want to speak (of course this happens with my English too and its my mother tongue LOL). We are moving to France in August and my husband tells me that I can get free lessons so maybe being with other people who are learning will help as I think part of it is that Im embarrassed that I might sound funny.

Thanks for your replies. I need to find what my ideal learning style is really.

I'm "aquiring" one of Michel Thomas's french courses today to see if his style is any good to me.

I noticed on the reviews some french people were remarking that he has an awful french accent. But it can't be as bad as mine I can't forsee myself ever making a more convincing french accent then these guys

Only fools and horses