so... i'm trying to learn a new language

First time learning another language, i did try and pick up Japanese but just didn't like it(mainly because i had no one else to speak it with) my friend speaks Russian and when ever i see him talking Russian it reminds me why i like it when other people talk other languages.

was just wondering if there was any tips or tricks to learning quickly and also having fun at the same time?

You could always try the way you learnt as a child(or at least I assume this is how people learnt as children anyway) by calling out the word for that object when you see it. For example, when you see a chair you say(or even just think) "kreslo"

Though that may not be effective if you want to remember things like sentence structure or actual communication, its a start.

And some individuals learn better in different ways to others so I'm interested to see what other people suggest that they think are quick and fun ways to learn another language. Me, I just did the above and had conversation with myself(for a long time) till I was confident to talk with people I knew who also spoke the language. Wouldn't call that quick but it was certainly entertaining for me.

Good luck on your road to becoming bilingual.

Who learns Japanese to speak to other people? I thought people just learn it to read manga in their original language.

Basically, just find a "goal". English is my second language, and the reason why I wanted to learn it was to play console games. Basically just find a "goal" and it'll motivate you just fine.

Or, go to language school.

Spanish and English were my first languages, they were taught at the same due to family. Chinese was my third language (I can somewhat speak fluently but reading can go to hell), Japanese is my fourth and I can say I understand pretty much everything . For the reading aspect, do to my obsession with VNs, it's okay.

So tips.
- Don't learn a language just because you want to. Find something you like. (OR IN MY CASE THAT WOULD WHOOP MY ASS IF I DIDN'T TAKE CHINESE IN HIGH SCHOOL.)
- PRACTICE. PRACTICE. PRACTICE. Especially for Asian languages. Spanish should be somewhat easier seeing as it has pretty much the same alphabet as English.
- Go on a trip to a country that speaks the language. For me Japan (went to Tokyo and Fukuoka) it was an experience taught me about culture of the Japanese and picked up the language faster.
- Language clubs are great. Especially in University.
- If you are learning Japanese for Manga, learn the basics such as the vowels あ　え　い　お　う.
- Have fun with the language.

I have no tips. but I suggest speaking Japanese to your cat.

no such thing as learning quickly. use genki. go to language classes. you'll have people to practise with and someone who can clear up misunderstandings.


also speak to your cat. they understand japanese and eventually will start speaking back to you when they are comfortable with your new language.

You. I like you.

Most people will tell you, so I'm assuming from my collective experiences and them, the best way is to talk with someone who knows the language.

Classes give you work to do, which is good, but if you really want to benefit you need to make some friends in there, to speak with outside of class, in Japanese, for practice. At the community college I went to for a semester, we had Japanese once a week. By the time the next class was about to start I had come close to forgetting the things I was uncertain of. Only speaking it one day a week wasn't enough (for me).

It would also (I assume) really help to find someone who already knows how to speak and write in the language (to correct mistakes and point out hidden meanings/rules).

There are some sites you can use for practice material. Quizlet is a site I occasionally use to brush up on Japanese with, so I don't completely forget what I've learned. Teachers make test/assignments for their students on it but it's open to the public to play around with. I know their are other sites for Japanese, I just lost the bookmarks a while back and haven't bothered looking into it yet.

I should really try and learn German, cuz its only a matter of time before the master race strikes again...

The easy way is to watch anime manga with subtitles or make friends with jap. people and chat with them regularly

Hoi! Well if its a Japanese you want to learn, you have to learn each alphabet. Begin with Hiragana, then move to Katakana. Kanji follows Katakana, but you should begin learning kanji when you start Hiragana mainly becausekanji derives from the Chinese language which is a bottomless pit of a language). An average high school student should know at least 25,000 kanji.

Beyond this, the best way to learn a language is through usage and listening. That is, if you want to speak it. To read and write, maintaining a journal that uses to an extent the language you are learning helps alot. I speak Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, and English and the way I learned to languages was writing stories using new vocabulary. After using the word repeatedly, the word became part of my vocabulary.

So classes are a fantastic thing and all, but practice is really where its at. When I was learning Japanese, I used it to even think and say my prayers with.

Hope this helps

Read the philosophy pages here: http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/

Things really boil down to learning enough background so you could do something fun in your chosen language. I drink, play video games, read, and play guitar---so dissecting songs until I learn to read is pretty swank.


Also, dude wrote an online flashcard system that works fairly well for text only applications. You just need to read up on the way SRS works first.
surusu.com

Hows your learning now? any updates?

The reason why I learned french is because face it, french is suave as fuck. (;
So pretty much have a reason to learn it and then start watching things like movies or T.V shows. What worked for me was whenever I watched a movie in french, first I'd watch it with the english subtitles and the second time without em, cause then you start picking up the little words and you get how the language flows. Cause trust me if you don't know the flow of the language, it's just not as cool.

still just making sure i have learned the alphabet also having a busy week doesn't help

I see, there is an app for iphone or androind to learn

Yeah, sorry about that, I meant to change the number but forgot to do so. The actual number is 1/10 of that. I added an extra zero. The number ranges from 2,500-3,000 in fact, I don't believe that many Kanji exist. Sorry guys

Its better to start with katakana and hiragana