What's the easiest way to learn a 2nd language?
 

I want to find out what the best passive method for learning a 2nd language is (Spanish) - I want just a bunch of lessons that I can load on my iPod and listen to in the background, working out, or on planes without having to read a book along with it.

Any suggestions?

get stuck in a third world country :winkwink:

rent the sesame street dvd's i think they have french and spanish...

That is how i learned my english watching that show when i was a kid.

That would be the easiest way I am sure.

the best way to learn a language is to get in touch with it everyday

as often as possible...


i hated english in grade 5 till 9.

but then i explored my love for computergames and english movies...


so i learned it step by step till i started hanging out on the internet all day talking to english people on icq


learning by doing is the term

i bought a 150$ dvd set for learning russian.... i never learned it tho :(

pimsleurs man, i learned portuguese in like 2 months.

true that.

full on immersion. after 3 months or so in brasil i was pretty fluent with using the pimsleurs and being immersed in the culture where they didnt know english that well.

spend 6 months in another country

Yeah...I'm more looking for something to prep me for full on immersion.

Just gotta be exposed to spanish people everyday and you will pick it up! well enough to converse.

As people have mentioned, Pimsler is not bad but it doesn't go too far. Don't you want Portuguese for your trips to Brazil?

its hard...im trying to learn korean right now
mostly i learnt all the sexual related words right away...lol

now im on the alphabet and trying to learn the grammar

next step is repeating sentences i learn etc

total immersion is the key. Seriously the only way to REALLY learn a language is the either start really young, or be forced to speak it.

I was speaking fluent french by the time i was 7 because my parents made me take french lessons every day :( Can't remember a damn thing anymore though lol

Date a Spanish-speaking girl and ask her not to speak to you in English...You'll learn a few things fast enough.. :winkwink:

go live there for a year. simple and most effective

easiest? i doubt it but good fun all the same

what ^^ said

:smokin

True that, my mother could speak german /swiss / french now she cant remember crap.

On the other hand my grandad speaks 7 languages and remembers them all (in his 80's now) :error

get a hypnosis language learning tape

The fastest and easiest way is to learn it on the spot

Completely emerge yourself in that culture, language, or country. By that I mean read & write only in that language(newspapers,internet etc...) which you want to learn, watch TV only in that language etc.. hang out with people from language, country. If you are not willing to move to the country or countries of that particular language, then you must surround yourself with it to the point where you have no choice but to learn it. That's how I learned spanish!:thumbsup

Rosetta Stone is the best. A bit pricey though.

immerse yourself in it and study study study. move to the country where they speak it and dont let yourself use any english. in a few months you'll have it

private tutor...

The best way to learn another language is to constantly communicate with the people who speak on the language that you want to learn! Try to understand their culture, read their books and listen to their music. However, the most important is to start up making your own/personal dictionary and continuously revise every world that you wrote down there. Overall it's a very hard work, so good luck man :thumbsup

Do like Ted Kennedy did, and pay a friend to take your Spanish exam for you.

IMO, the easiest way to learn a new language would be to use nano technology. A simple 100 TB nano harddrive implanted into one's brain would allow for plenty of storage to absorb languages. It would simply be a matter of downloading the language file into your cerebral harddrive. One would also have the added bonus of being able to store their memories digitally. The only problem is this technology will probably not be available for hundreds of more years, possibly a millennium.

i like somecreep's way the best. thats some matrix shit there :)

but stepping back into reality, people already covered it. immersion. or get a spanish speaking girlfriend, if immersion isn't possible. watch the spanish tv shows. rent dvd's, listen to em in spanish, and turn on the english subtitles. nearly all dvds have this option anyway

That would be nice.

Well said, can't agree more

Hi Sugarpop!
 

I know a couple people that learned by renting movies they knew by heart in Spanish. Date a latino and she will teach you everything you need to know in short time (maybe even a few tricks as well). BTW, this is Raja's girl.

Got to have a look at Michael Thomas language CD's - he presents languages into component parts to let you reconstruct and form your own sentences - also wipes away a load of bullshit that takes time to learn.

Mr Thomas died recently but spent over 50 years on this and covered many languages... Here's some links to his background and materials...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries...393249,00.html

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...270976-0142010

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2005Jan10.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/cgi-bin/... Id=0071381643

hire an illegal to follow you everywhere and talk to you in spanish, get a chick so she can clean your house too

It is the easiest way. (my own experience :winkwink: )

no way you can learn a language in your condition

Jay,
While I am the master of NO language (including englsih), I can move about and shoot girls in many.

You have to suround yourself with it. Listen to CDs when you drive, when you sleep. Watch Spanish TV for an hour a day. Have it on while you work.

It also helps me to write the words out on paper. I see the words as I write them and the stick a little better.

And last... go spend a month or 2 in a spanish speaking country and speaking nothing but spanish. Go on a language course and live with a family for a month. You will learn it pretty quick.

Yep. Being around people who talk it mean you will learn a lot faster.

Associate with people around you who speak the language