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txjennah PE

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For those of us trying to learn a new language...this is a place to discuss our progress, advice, resources, etc...

 
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Thanks @txjennah PE! I'll go second: my cube neighbors are Mexican and I've never taken a formal Spanish class. Buuut, they think I speak Spanish because I've memorized enough (normal, not bad words, ya pirates!) vocabulary and Googled some basic conjugation rules to fake some conversation. I'd be super curious if this works for other people. Someone else please try!

Also, assuming it works for your work/family schedule, I've had the best luck just taking evening classes at the local community college (where I picked up German 1, 2, and Cantonese 1, 2). Just keeping it real, I don't have the discipline to take an online class, buuuut there are a lot of good online options now also at the community college. I figure, you could always do your homework at lunch or something. I did my homework on my breaks.

 
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I am also a YUUUUGE proponent of flashcards, as lame as that sounds.

On the back (English word and definition) side I write in blue. The front side has the Spanish word I want to learn in bold red and (because I still want to refresh my German) I write the equivalent German word in black in the lower right corner. That way I don't have to make 2 sets of cards and I can get some of the cross-wiring in my brain to internalize it better (basically skipping English so I'm not using English as a crutch, rather, focusing on the actual meaning of the word).

 
No tricks here: also listen to the slow news of your target language and try to imitate the sounds they make, even if it sounds stupid. It super helped my German accent to basically try to be a parrot and let go of my American accent and just try to make those juicy Teutonic sounds.

 
Ça va bien!

Also French protip: in informal writing, using "ça" is acceptable. Buuut, it's actually a contraction of "cela" so if you're writing something a little more formal or at a somewhat higher register, use "cela".
it's been 12 years since I took French, I'm surprised I remember as much as I do lol

 
I am also a YUUUUGE proponent of flashcards, as lame as that sounds.

On the back (English word and definition) side I write in blue. The front side has the Spanish word I want to learn in bold red and (because I still want to refresh my German) I write the equivalent German word in black in the lower right corner. That way I don't have to make 2 sets of cards and I can get some of the cross-wiring in my brain to internalize it better (basically skipping English so I'm not using English as a crutch, rather, focusing on the actual meaning of the word).
OOOO i like this one 

 
OOOO i like this one 
Not always, but I typically take the city bus to/from work. It adds about 20 minutes to my morning commute and 40 minutes to my afternoon commute but that's time I consider "my" time so I do all sorts of stuff like making/reviewing flashcards, Googling language grammar, reading, etc. So, I find ways to steal the time.

 
Not always, but I typically take the city bus to/from work. It adds about 20 minutes to my morning commute and 40 minutes to my afternoon commute but that's time I consider "my" time so I do all sorts of stuff like making/reviewing flashcards, Googling language grammar, reading, etc. So, I find ways to steal the time.
Hmmm, I have a short commute (10-minutes), but then I need to take a shuttle from the parking area to the hospital, which is around 15-minutes, and I might do something like this for Spanish.  Like, grab some words just to start expanding the vocabulary.

Not sure if I'll be joining a class this semester, but I'm seriously considering it for next semester once I talk to some of these places.

 
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