Hello, so I know a lot of wow players speak two or more different languages and I’m interested in learning another language.
Not only for wow for better communication in some groups and on some servers, but also with my job. What do you recommend to get started?
I’ve tried learning different languages in the past, but I start blurring words and phrases together.
Thanks everyone!
I’ve had limited success with that one particular owl app, but regular classes and practicing with native speakers helped me the most.
and do not be afraid of trying to say it prefect if you can get it close the people will like you more for trying to learn their language
Movies and shows man,
and any family members you know
Start by listening to recordings or shows where you constantly hear normal speaking. When it starts to sound like a language to you, rather than a bunch of random sounds, then you’re ready.
if you watch streamers or youtube channels of that ‘new’ language, eventually it’ll begin to register. I was in japan for two weeks and even if I never learned Japanese, from just the automatic train announcements i could begin recognizing certain words repeating themselves by the end of my visit. Another monht and i would be able to speak limited Japanese, I bet. Just by osmosis.
p.s. i was born in a non-English country and learned english from watching Cartoon network as a child.
I apologize that I didn’t answer earlier. Thank you all very much for your responses and I’ll def look into all these!
I like the listening aspects of it, and I think if I put on closed captions in the language and listen to it too that will help as well!
I think I have a couple friends that speak other languages too so I’ll see if I can speak with them.
Immersion. It forces you to use the skills you are learning. I spent three years barely passing French in school, but a couple weeks in France and I was speaking it pretty well.
I tend to get really involved in learning another language so I begin by learning to read and write it.
Speaking is for down the road a bit. Depends on the language and difficulty (for me) as to when I move on to actually speaking it.
I’ve started learning Russian. Their language is similar to the English alphabet so it’s not too difficult.
Idk if I’d ever be able to learn Mandarin though.
If you just want to be able to speak it, be around those who are fluent & watch their tv and movies.
That’s the next best thing to actually being there.
I started with an app and once I felt like I had a grasp of pronunciation and basic phrases (also after I decided I didnt hate learning a language) I bought textbooks.
My daily routine was basically as follows…
Repeated the prior days app lesson during my morning commute.
Did a new app lesson when driving home from work.
Did anywhere from 0.5-1 hour of flashcard stuff.
Did about 1 hour of textbook work.
Depending on how I felt, do some simple reading practice.
The two most important things in language learning (IMO) is that you have a genuine interest in the language/culture and that you study consistently. It’s like with going to the gym, consistency is key.
Lastly it’s also very important to keep an eye on what study practices are effective for you and what aren’t. At one point I increased my study time to 4 hours, but found I was burning out and growing to dread studying, so I cut back to 1.5-2.
Rosetta Stone. My stepbrother is from Germany and learned English using that. That programs been around for a long time, it’s supposed to be one of the best.
Set tinder to the country whose language you wanna learn, match with someone and just talk to them all the time.
Duolingo, free grammar lessons on youtube and following youtubers that speak that language to get how real people use it, watching educational and kids shows of that language (usually easier to learn as they make it more simple) and you can also try watching shows you normally watch in that other language. ALthough the subtitles usually don’t match the audio dub.
If you focus on learning like 10 words a day you can make decent progress. You will understand the language, but if you want to practice speaking the language you have to find someone to practice with that speaks the language. Different part of your brain comes in when using the language yourself.
Listening and trying to pronounce the words of a song may help with pronunciation. Although some languages have some noises/sounds that not be used in your native language and require extra attention. For example in Japan they don’t really pronounce the r sound, and they tend to substitute it for the L sound when they speak english.
Some polyglot youtube channels can explain how they learn and you can imitate there learning process, although finding what works for you may be ideal.
As someone with 10 college credits, about 6-8 months spent in country (admittedly mostly around other Americans), and two years of German in high school, it’s definitely not how they tend to teach you. We drew grammar schematics but I never learned enough vocabulary to put them to use. To this day I can kind of read it, at least if it’s something simple like a road sign. I know how to pronounce it based on spelling very well, that’s the kind of semi-useless crap they were good at teaching.
When I hear someone speak it I’m lucky to catch every third word at best and it’s just like I haven’t learned anything at all.
I used to have this friend who was fluent and the entire time I visited him he was like “did you hear what he just said?” and I was like, uh, no. Sorry. American foreign language schooling is an absolute failure, I don’t know anyone who actually learned their language without at least a graduate degree ie several years in country, reading books and wearing out their dictionary, speaking no english in their classes, etc. The halfway measures they give even as an undergrad do no good. Those grammar tables and pronounciation memes don’t mean crap if I have nothing to say with them.
There are a lot of good ideas in this thread but let me add this. Think in the new language. Do not translate everything in to your native language. You will find that there are a lot of things that do not translate right. If you start to think in the new language there will come a point (not too long a time) where it feels natural to use the new language. Just my 2 cents anyway.
Experience speaks here.
Duolingo (phone app) and watching movies in the language your trying to learn with subtitles on.
Once you can pick out the parts where the subs don’t match the dialogue you’re well on your way to fluency.
I’m currently studying Japanese on my own. I found an online course that allows me to talk to a native Japanese person during my studies so they can rate and correct my Japanese, and using the owl app.
In my area I have a school that’s going to open this summer that will allow me to take Japanese in person too!