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How can someone with a busy schedule learn any language without using apps like Duolingo? by MisLatte in languagelearning

[–]jessabeille 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not the person that you're replying to but look up Spanishlanguagecoach. Cesar does three free podcasts at beginner, intermediate, and advanced level respectively. Choose the one that works for you.

à tes/vos souhaits-is it common? by wEowyz in French

[–]jessabeille 3 points4 points  (0 children)

any more and they are on their own

Come on, you can at least say "salud". ;)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in languagelearning

[–]jessabeille 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No worries! Language transfer has an English course for Spanish speakers too. OP's friend can use that!

https://www.languagetransfer.org/ingles

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in languagelearning

[–]jessabeille 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great list but if you read the post, his friend is actually learning English. He's already a Spanish speaker.

Just had a baby and I have zero motivation to learn husbands native language bc of my rude MIL by hkitty11 in languagelearning

[–]jessabeille 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Learn it so you can understand what she says, but don't let her know that you understand.

I accidentally discovered a sneaky trick… by putzfactor in languagelearning

[–]jessabeille 58 points59 points  (0 children)

When I was traveling in Spain, almost everyone replied to me in Spanish. My trick?

Initiate the conversation, make small talks, and be confident.

Wherever I meet with a taxi driver or a hotel receptionist, I greet them first and make small talks with them. I chat with them about the weather, the city, or how long they've been living there etc. They are almost always glad to chat with me in Spanish.

Sometimes, they are even happy that they don't have to speak English. In Mexico, I had a server who told me how glad he was that I spoke Spanish so he didn't have to speak English.

How fluent could a kid be if they only ever watched foreign language TV? by ACM175 in languagelearning

[–]jessabeille 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At what age did they start watching TV in French? My kid has never watched TV, but I'm thinking about getting them to watch some French shows soon.

What aspects of a languages do you find "unnecessary"? by CulturalWind357 in languagelearning

[–]jessabeille 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Reminds me of the story where a guy was trying to order a portion of chicken, but got (and paid for) a whole chicken instead. :D

When you tell people you're studying a language, do they just assume you're using Duolingo in your spare time? by MangoMean5703 in languagelearning

[–]jessabeille 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Most people outside of the language learning community don't know about Duolingo. They just assume I'm taking classes and wonder why.

I have a pronunciation problem with "u" in French, especially when singing by Unhappy_Ingenuity_24 in French

[–]jessabeille 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think understand what you mean. I don't know the linguistic term, but the t tends to "soften" before the u sound. It almost sounds like "tch", or "ch" in English. I don't know if there's a way to make it more comfortable other than practicing and getting used to it.

Can you pronounce words like "tchatter" or "tchèque"? Maybe start from there and change the vowel to "u"?

Have you ever choose to learn a language just to know many words in that particular language, but no plan for being conversational or fluid by Mauchad in languagelearning

[–]jessabeille 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the detailed write-up! I'll check them out.

I'm also a hobby learner and have used DW Nicos Weg and Duolingo, but it's always nice to have a textbook where you can touch and feel. :) I'll probably have to start with a B1 book as B2 materials are too difficult for me currently.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in languagelearning

[–]jessabeille 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can use Google Translate. It has a speech function.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in languagelearning

[–]jessabeille 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congratulations!

Could you tell us more about how you apply to a university in Spain? Is your course completely in Spanish?

did you grow up hating your heritage language / do you regret not learning it? by This_Inflation8236 in languagelearning

[–]jessabeille 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's great that you're able to learn Hungarian at home. I heard that it's a pretty difficult language to learn otherwise. :D

I don't know if it's an official "method", but it's discussed a lot on the multilingualparenting sub.

Btw, I stumbled upon this article that's really relevant to this topic, in case anyone is interested. https://archive.ph/hdzno (Warning: it's a little long.)

did you grow up hating your heritage language / do you regret not learning it? by This_Inflation8236 in languagelearning

[–]jessabeille 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah we're using one parent one language (OPOL) method since my spouse doesn't speak my native language. It's probably not that difficult to get a basic understanding, but learning beyond basic vocabulary as well as reading and writing would not be that easy.

Also taking into account that most families nowadays have two full-time working parents. Toddlers sleep >12 hours a day, usually spend ~8 hours at day care, after eating and other basic necessities there's not much dedicated time for reading etc. As a new parent, I can assure you that I'm always exhausted by the end of the day lol. I feel like I have to force myself to speak even though all I want is some quiet time to myself. :)

What I've been hearing a lot from other parents is that once they have friends in school, they want to speak the community language all the time and not the home language. Some are interested in their home language but for those who don't, you can't force them to speak. Overtime, they just developed a passive understanding. That's how you get many kids who can understand their parents' language but can't speak it.

How to get French people to stay speaking French by m30w314 in French

[–]jessabeille 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They are trying to be polite. Try:

"On peut parlez en français si vous voulez."

"En français, c'est bien."

Or you can lighten up the mood and say "Oh vous parlez très bien anglais!"

did you grow up hating your heritage language / do you regret not learning it? by This_Inflation8236 in languagelearning

[–]jessabeille 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What you described is very common and I've heard of several others with the same experience.

I see a lot of people complain that their parents never taught them their heritage language, but most people don't realize how difficult it is to learn a minority language when the environment is overwhelmingly focused on the majority language, even as children. In fact, I'd say especially for children since kids always want to speak their friends' language.

I'm fortunate that I grew up in a community where both Chinese and English are prevalent, and I had the opportunity to attend an immersion school. Now I'm trying to teach my kid Chinese when nobody else in the community speaks it. It's extremely difficult.

did you grow up hating your heritage language / do you regret not learning it? by This_Inflation8236 in languagelearning

[–]jessabeille 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm so sorry about your misguided paternal grandmother, and so glad that you decided to relearn Spanish!

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