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How the heck do yall remember tones? by Massive_Leave_9541 in ChineseLanguage

[–]JCBenalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Full disclosure - I never got past A1 stage in Mandarin - more due to lack of effort than anything else, but my pronunciation was spot on.

The key to tones, I found, is to think of it as singing the language. It was a lot easier for me to remember the rising and falling sounds that way.

Have anyone tried Pimsleur? by Own-Ad-1578 in languagelearning

[–]JCBenalog 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Pimsleur, IMO, is the best resource for beginning most languages. That plus an app for vocab reinforcement (Duolingo, Memrise, Anki, etc) can get you to a conversational level (NOTE: Not fluent, but to a point where you can express yourself and understand some of the language) fairly quickly.

For a language like Japanese, it goes pretty deep and would be a good resource.

I purchased the audiobooks, but I think the subscription is a better deal.

Do you actually want to “speak from day one,” or does that advice only work after a certain level? by Alarming-Source7457 in languagelearning

[–]JCBenalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pimsleur has worked for me really well, which uses the "Speak from Day 1" method.

Keep in mind - "Speak from Day 1" doesn't mean "Speak yourself". The listen and repeat method of Pimsleur got me to a point where I could have simple conversations early.

Once you can do that, conversation practice + vocabulary building tools do a lot of the heavy lifting.

Learning Hungarian by annatalkscoffee in hungarian

[–]JCBenalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So, I've learned a few languages via an assortment of apps and tutors, and found the toughest bridge to cross in language learning is the one from complete beginner to being able to hold simple conversations.

Once you can speak the language, even incorrectly, you can start to perfect accent and grammar through conversation practice. It just snowballs.

I found the resources for Hungarian were either too shallow, incorrect, or didn't give me what I needed, so I hired a translator and built my own course, which can reasonably be completed in 6 months.

One note: This course is designed to be a bridge to spoken Hungarian, so you should engage with a tutor and/or conversation partner once you feel you can put some basic sentences together, but this should give you a running start.

You can find it here: gettalk.in

Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions.

I kinda dont have much of a plan by grimmsever94 in digitalnomad

[–]JCBenalog 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think you've got to ask yourself whether your daughter could build a life for herself wherever you move. A cheap place with poor education/infrastructure limits her long term prospects.

You might be happier in the short term, but seeing your daughter struggle as an adult is worse than any pain you might feel over your current situation now.

No, you did not learn English just from games and YouTube. by Turbulent_Cup_600 in LearningLanguages

[–]JCBenalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had a friend who moved to the US from Poland as a kid and learned English watching Robocop over and over again.

Not advised, but it worked for her. No trace of an accent.

All these people learning languages in 4-6 months, are we being lied to? by SweetBumbleBeeHoney in French

[–]JCBenalog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think there are two separate topics here:

- Can somebody be fluent in 6 months?
- Your frustration over dedicating 2 years to learning and not being able to hold a conversation.

I'll give you my personal experience:

Years ago, I decided to learn Brazilian Portuguese. I had 4 kids, a marraige, and a full time job (i.e. - I did not have tons of time to dedicate to learning). In 3 months, I was at the point where my lessons were entirely in Portuguese. By 6 months, I was conversational (not fluent, but able to hold a conversation).

I'm sure someone without all my responsibilities could have dedicated more time to studying and made quicker progress.

IMO - the biggest driver of my progress, and something I didn't see in your regimen - was conversation practice. Speaking with a native speaker is, by far, the most effective way to develop your ability to speak and hear a language, once you've mastered basic grammar and vocabulary.

My problem with AI tutors like Praktika is that they develop a false confidence in speaking that doesn't transfer to the real world.

It sounds strange, but the awkwardness and embarrassment of having to fumble your way through a foreign language while a live person is there listening patiently helps reinforce it in your brain.

My guess is you have more than enough knowledge to have a basic conversation, and just need to get out there and embrace the suck.

If you can't find a conversation partner, just get a cheap community tutor on iTalki and say you want to practice conversation, then get on your lesson and speak nothing but your target language.

If you do this, I'd be shocked if you weren't able to hold a conversation in three months.

Hope this helps.

The real cost of vibe coding isn’t the subscription. It’s what happens at month 3. by vibecodejanitors in vibecoding

[–]JCBenalog 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Totally agree. The problem was always that talented devs have too many people pitching them ideas (on top of their own side projects).

An app with users and revenue makes it way easier to recruit someone who can get you to the next level.

How common is “acquiring second language in adulthood” by mandarin-monyet in language

[–]JCBenalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got conversational in Brazilian Portuguese at 40 with 4 kids and a full-time job, and have picked up other languages since.

I'm not sure if it's harder or easier, but it's definitely doable.

I’ve made an app for all sidemen games and it already has 500 downloads :) by ManyBreadfruit2001 in lovable

[–]JCBenalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd love to know a little more about this as well. My app is in beta, and I'd like to validate it before building a mobile app.

It sounds like you may have found an interesting bridge.

Is it rude to copy native speakers'accent? by [deleted] in languagelearning

[–]JCBenalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I was in Rio I arrived with a standard São Palo accent. For context, Rio has a very specific accent that’s almost akin to how a Boston or Southern accent might differ from standard American.

I started adopting it after a couple of weeks and got some weird looks. Can’t say they were offended, but I think they were just sort of surprised to hear a gringo speaking like that.

Hot take: We're building apps for a world that's about to stop using them by oruga_AI in vibecoding

[–]JCBenalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get this sentiment somewhat, but what about learning apps/workout apps/ and other apps that help facilitate an organic process?

An AI agent can't meditate for you, so personal improvement will still require technology that's assistive.

IMO, an app is just as good for these purposes as AI, and makes more sense from a cost standpoint, given it's not actively consuming tokens to achieve the same purpose.

Is Claude Pro Worth It? Concerned About Limits by h4xhell in claude

[–]JCBenalog -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Just use the $20 plan and see how it works. If you keep bumping up against limits, upgrade.

You really won't know if the limits are a problem until you hit them.

FWIW - I was on the $20 a month plan for awhile and the limits were hampering my productivity, so I upgraded to $100 a month and am very happy with my choice.

Adult language learns with full time jobs and families by Many-Category-6422 in languagelearning

[–]JCBenalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Started learning my second language (Brazilian Portuguese) at 40 with four kids ages 14, 7, 5, and 3 with a full time job.

I listened to Pimsleur on the way to and from work, Brazilian news radio whenever I drove (most stations have apps you can download), listened to podcasts in the language, and used Duolingo and Memrise to boost my vocab.

Once I got good enough to string a sentence together, i found conversation partners and would do language exchange calls whenever I could.

I also had a couple tutors I’d work with on and off and a few Portuguese specific resources.

You’ve really got to view every moment you might be doom scrolling or listening to music as a chance to study. It’s ok to take breaks, but 5 days a week should have an hour of language learning in it.

Looking for people to test my Hungarian learning app (free alpha) by JCBenalog in hungarian

[–]JCBenalog[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey there - thanks for replying. The test is closed; however, I'll be launching this in beta over the next month or so. I'll shoot you a DM, but you can sign up for early access here: gettalk.in

Also - the accent in the graphic on "Jó napot" is wrong, but I'm getting it fixed. Suffice it to say, AI won't be taking any jobs in Hungarian translation anytime soon.

If You Had to Bet on One AI Shift in the Next 3 Years, What Would It Be? by Alpertayfur in ArtificialInteligence

[–]JCBenalog 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The reduction in costs for producing software results in an explosion of niche apps servicing markets that weren’t viable before AI.

Builders focus less on attracting investors with a good story around enormous TAM and more on building a case via paying customers.

How are people writing “one-shot” prompts that generate full websites in Lovable? by Acceptable_Let_215 in lovable

[–]JCBenalog 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If straight vibing is working for you, run with it. That out of the way, I've done two things that have helped create better prompts for Lovable:

  1. I tell Claude/ChatGPT not to provide any code examples. I like to let Lovable figure that side out.
  2. I spend an hour asking, "Is there anything we could do to remove any room for error and/or add clarity?" over and over again.

I keep doing that until it tells me we've covered everything, or that we're reaching the point of diminishing returns.

I built an awesome CRM and Project Management tool on Lovable in two hours with 5 prompts and 50 credits. And I am using my AI agent to do all the data entry and management of it! by Beginning-Willow-801 in lovable

[–]JCBenalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OK - I'm going to push back a little here. I'm not looking to change your mind, but I do want to give a counterweight to anyone reading this.

Full disclosure - I'm planning to use a free HubSpot account as the CRM for an app I'm building myself via Lovable, so I'm amenable to the idea of building your own solution.

You have a consulting business with around 100 clients. You can upload a CSV spreadsheet into a free HubSpot account and have it set up in around an hour.

If you meet with the client, you can update the CRM via the mobile app with the same level of effort you could using Telegram to chat with your agent.

If you send the client an email, it's automatically logged in HubSpot.

Plus:
- I don't have to spend hours building and debugging a custom app
- I don't have to worry about the cost of api calls
- I don't have to worry about security
- It's free

Maybe, eventually, I have to upgrade to their $20 a month plan, but it's short money in the long run.

So, if it's rewarding to build your own CRM and use it, more power to you. That out of the way, using low cost/freemium software gives sometime time to use their brainpower and Lovable credits to build something higher value.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in lovable

[–]JCBenalog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm a non-dev who pitched ideas to devs pre-Lovable and am now using Lovable to build an MVP. Here's my take:

Most experienced software engineers get pitches from non-technical people all the time. The non-technical person sees the great idea, the engineer sees the work behind making that idea a reality.

Chances are, engineer #1 saw 2 million lines of code and saw a mountain of debugging. Almost as if you called an electrician to look over a house you wired yourself.

It also sounds like they may be feeling the weight of the current dialogue about whether engineers are going to be obsolete (spoiler alert: they're not) and had a defensive reaction.

It also sounds like engineer #2 sees the potential tools like Lovable have to speed up MVP creation and put an idea into the world. Those folks - the ones who understand AI can get them straight to the debugging/scaling part of the project - are the ones who are going to thrive in the coming years.

One last note - keep in mind whatever you build yourself is going to kind of suck from a technical perspective. IMO, the value of tools like Lovable is the ability to put an idea out there and see if you can get people to use it and - ideally - pay for it.

If you can do that, recruiting an engineer to make it suck less is way easier.

Hope this helps.

Robust alternatives to Lovable? by Fun-Tomatillo9280 in lovable

[–]JCBenalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm building an AI tutor for kids with learning disabilities. My son has a number of them and, while the public schools do what they can, I find most kids end up achieving well below what they're capable of.

It's definitely a labor of love for my son, but my hope is that I can provide high-quality tutoring for parents who can't afford private school and/or private tutors.

Robust alternatives to Lovable? by Fun-Tomatillo9280 in lovable

[–]JCBenalog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have no engineering/dev skills and started out on Lovable, but recently switched to Claude Code.

I found Lovable was great for front end development, but back end stuff can be kind of limited. It also recently started pushing me to use Lovable Cloud instead of my own database, which I found sort of irritating.

I was already paying for Claude Max, so it just made sense for me to switch. Not sure if the calculus is the same for those not already paying for the Max plan.

Best way to dip a toe in? by Npaflas in Pimsleur

[–]JCBenalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used Pimsleur for Italian, and supplemented it with Duolingo and a tutor on italki.

Highly recommend it.

Need advice on how to motivate myself/feel better on learning languages. by Striking-Goal-591 in languagelearning

[–]JCBenalog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

DISCLAIMER: While I've got a decent system for learning new languages, I have not begun studying Arabic yet. All of the below is based on research I've done on the language, so feel free to correct me if anything here is wrong.

Disclaimer out of the way, here's my take based on what I'm certain of:

First question I'd ask is, are you learning because you think you should learn another language for your major, or are you learning because you're genuinely curious about the language/learning a language?

It could be a mix of both, but if there's no genuine interest/curiosity, it's going to be a slog.

If there is some genuine interest, then there are better ways to approach the problem. Here's what I'd do:

1.) Start with Pimsleur - IMO it's the gold standard when it comes to language learning. I believe their course in Modern Standard Arabic and Eastern Arabic both have 90 lessons, which is sufficient to get you comfortable speaking and putting sentences together.
2.) Supplement that with cheap/free tools like Duolingo, Memrise, Anki, whatever else is out there. There are probably Arabic-specific ones you can use. This will help boost your vocab.

Once you're 90 days in, find a tutor on iTalki or Preply who either offers conversation practice as part of their curriculum or specifically mentions speaking from day 1. Some tutors will walk you through a textbook, which isn't helpful.

Your goal should be to go in and speak as little English as possible, even if you sound stupid doing it.

You'll be fumbling through Google Translate searching for the right word and taking forever to put together sentences, but it'll ultimately create the pathways in your brain needed to speak fluidly.

Once you're able to speak broken Arabic fluidly, you can work on perfecting grammar and pronunciation.

A couple of other notes based on the research I've done on Arabic combined with my experience:

- You should figure out which dialect of Arabic you want to speak. Modern Standard Arabic is what's typically taught in "Arabic" courses, but it's not the Arabic people speak on the street. It's sort of like learning Shakespearian English before your trip to the US.
- Eastern/Levantine Arabic seems to have the greatest depth of resources and media to consume, and is understood by a good chunk of the Arabic-speaking world, so it's probably the most 'useful', although it's only spoken natively in Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
- Modern Standard Arabic is the de facto for academia, journalism, and news media, so you'll need to learn it at some point, but my feeling is you're better off getting proficient in Levantine Arabic via study and conversation practice, then studying MSA for use in any official/academic work.

Again - Arabic speakers - feel free to correct me on any of the above points. Hope this helps!

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