Want to take some intense language courses. Any advice?

[MarkS]

I'm interested in taking courses for several languages. I will end up talking to my local university, but thought I'd post here first.

The languages that I want to learn, in order, are:

1.) Arabic
2.) Chinese (both major dialects)
3.) Russian
4.) Japanese
5.) German
6.) French
7.) Spanish

I know that all but maybe three are very advanced, but I am willing to spend the necessary years on each before going on to the next.

Would such courses be offered by a large university or will I need to attend a special school? I want to be fluent in each one within the next decade. I'm doing this for my own personal reasons, but with the understanding that most employers pay more to multi-lingual employees. I'm also tired of hearing these being spoken and not understanding a word.

[lilbuddy]

my neighbor speaks chinese, he explained the language to me once it seems pretty cool and not all that hard to learn. Most of it is the ton you use when you speak he was telling me one word that has 3 meanings depending on the tone you use it can mean mom, weed<<---pot..grass, or I think whore...dont quote me on the whore thing...

[dc]

My son is fascinated by Japanese. He is teaching himself. It's proabaly so he can watch anime without subtitles.:lol: Actually he's studying the culture also. Not sure if he plans on going there or what.

[iCam]

I think the only true way to learn a language is to live in that country. I myself am very skilled in French, some in Japanese, and some in Russian. Either way, what you learn in schooling still isn't really what people in the countries speaking those languages speak. I'm not trying to sound negative, but unless you spend about 2-3 years each in 7 different countries, I don't think you will ever get beyond basics to mid-level. Getting the accents down is very important, and can't be done out of a book.Also, what you willlearn out of a class/book will usually be formal language only. Plus, you have to consider, written Japanese has kanji, katakana, hiragana, and romanji. Altogether, Japanese has thousands and thousands of characters. China has many as well. Also, Asian languages are often Subject Object verb, Unlike english (example: I bread bought). I was able to teach myself cyrillic (written russian) in about 3 days. Anyways, once, and if you get started n a language, I found that talking to people on the computer that speak the language really helps. I found a friend in France. One day we'll speak only in French the entire conversation, one day all in english. It's also really fun. So..just thought I'd chime in.

[iCam]

MarkS..I reread my post, and it sounded kind of biting to me..sorry about that :eek: I think you should definately take at least one of those languages. But if I were you, I would learn ONE of the languages as best as you can, instead of just basics with each language.

[got chow]

BTW, it's Mom, Weed, and HORSE, not whore. ;)

There are many ways to learn a language, but the best is to get the basics down and then start majorly exposing yourself to the language.

I would say that Mandarin Chinese is easier to learn, as there are 4 general tones. As in the mom-weed-horse example above, the sound is "ma" but depending on how you tone it, the meaning is substantially different.

In Cantonese Chinese, it's a bit more difficult. There are 9 general tones and several slightly weird ones that's a combination. I have no idea how I do it since I'm a native speaker, but some people ask and I have no idea how I answer to "Can you show me those 9 tones??" LOL.

[elefink]

I think the best way to learn a language is to go to the country and get into an intensive immersion course. That's how I learned my second language. Grocery shopping for yourself in another country is a VERY strong motivator for keeping up with the class.

[tyoberg]

There's a language school in Monterey, CA. I brought some decent texts and a tape or two during a submarine patrol and learned to speak Norwegian pretty well in 11 weeks (I skipped the nightly movie). My pronounciation was just a little off in places.

Ty

[MiddletonMark]

I learned Hindi/Urdu at the Univ of Wisconsin ... they have 8 week intensive classes [5 days a week, 4 hours a day ... plus a few hours daily of homework]. Great classes, 8 weeks is equivalent to two semesters ... cover most Asian languages [at least south, southeast ... unsure of other ones].

These classes are part of a [post Madison study] 9 months `in country' program ... but you can take the class and not go overseas.

I was in graduate school at the time ... after August I did not study, review, etc language [preparing for Masters degree exams] ... until January when I found myself on a plane to Pakistan to live for 6 months. It took a few weeks, but the intensive study really put the knowledge deep in my brain that I `couldn't forget' ... at least without a couple years in between.

IMO, the best way of learning a language ... get you `up and running' with knowledge of grammar, verbs, etc etc etc before going to immersion. While immersion is great for accent, `real use', and really cementing the knowledge ... IMO those who moved there and learned tended to speak gutturally, if with a nice accent. Those who did intensive courses picked up real grammar faster ... and with `in-country' living could speak both politely and correctly ... along with understanding `average joe'.

Depending on the language, different Universities run summer and other intensive programs.

[pnosko]

The real key is going to be using the language outside of class. If you don't have acquaintances with which to practice, it will be difficult to learn and retain. Even once you learn, as an adult, I don't think it's the same as "riding a bicycle."

I wish you well. Of all the things I'l love to know, other languages is #1 on my list (of desires, not committments). Understand that the ability to learn a new language quickly fades very early in life. My understanding is that communication is a high-priority need early in life, but once it is underway, your brain de-prioritizes this ability to learn languages for other required skills.

[WFPetrie]

I learned Russian fairly quickly, but it helps if you have a strong mastery of English grammar. Russian is an inflected language, so the forms that the same word can take varies depending on what role it is going to fill in the sentence. In other words, you need to know your past perfect from past imperfect, etc. However, once you gain a mastery of one inflected language, any other inflected language is fairly simple.