Oh man!! You are learning such cool languages 
Please tell me resources to learn those South African languages and Crimean Tatar more specificā¦pls 
You describe it very nicely, Hoopstats. The swimming pool image states it well.
I also need to know how the grammar works - it is just easier for me to have that framework.
And yes, our isiZulu tutor also motivates us to practically start using the words that we do know, even if it is as limited as just being able to greet. So we were encouraged to engage with isiZulu speakers from the beginning of the course. Such interaction really works well as I am learning not only from the official course, but also from the speakers of the language.
I also love learning via songs, as well as reading Bible texts in my mother tongue and then in the target language.
Greetings from South Africa.
5 Likes
Thanks for the friendly encouragement, Azeera!
If you are interested in learning to speak the isiZulu language, here is a link to the digital, online course I teach: http://isizulu101.co.za
Unfortunately I donāt have resources for you to learn to speak Crimean Tatar.
Great meeting you, Azeera!
Kind regards,
John FK Mulder
1 Like
So letās see, a language I acquired without really realizing it was English, I already had a base, Iām not really sure where it came from though. Probably from the documentaries on Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, Nat Geo and Home&Health. I used to watch them with mom when I was little. Lots of them would not only be dubbed but also subbed (what Iām sure helped the most). I canāt give out much credit to school, unfortunately, however it did benefit some of my grammar and vocabulary. With the base I had I remember browsing different topics I was interested in, say Marine Biology, Diseases 
, Human Biology and Anatomy, non-human Animals, and tons of Fanfiction haha about bands I used to listen to (and still do). If I did not understand a word I encountered then Iād google its meaning BUT in English, I wanted to comprehend not by translating but as the same way you learn your native language. "Hey, what does that mean? ", āWell, it means this and thatā, āGotchaā. Like that. That was one thing Iād do, and the other one if I didnāt understand a word or an expression much I would look at the context it was in and get a general idea of what it meant. It is some sort of intuition, which I find very interesting. An intuition we all seem to have to acquire language. I reckon it has to do with associations, sensory stimulus, semantics and all that jazz. So even if they donāt give you the exact definition, you can get a āfeelā for the word or expression you face, and understand it all the same.
Then it came a phase in my life where I would be more aware of how I was learning language and that came with French. MUSIC was a big ally (in English as well) . Musicās not only a language ally but also a friend in life, in this case in my life. I seemed to learn more efficiently by listening to music in my target language. But hereās the catch: it had to be a song I liked, not just any song. So you can see there that researching subjects on something youāre very keen on or that gets you emotionally involved are CRUCIAL in learning. Another plus from it besides vocabulary, was my listening skills and phonetics analysis. It also improved my pattern observation. Looking at patterns in language (those repeating features that appear depending on who, where, how and when) , will aid with the process as well.
So to sum all of this up. Besides being curious, my method focuses more on intuitive learning (think the same way a child would approach language) , and audiovisual cues (music, interviews, films, podcasts, documentaries, even games. Immersion in one word), the content does MATTER too: interests and feelings play a huge part like I already said. One area I have to work on much more is, yes you guessed it, speaking. I talk to myself a lot, but itās different speaking it out loud than in your head. I find that the more I speak in my target language out loud the more it flows, and the little accent I might have going on starts to fade. If anyone knows methods to practice speaking, taking babysteps, then Iād much appreciate it if you let me know. The thing is, Iām shy lol.
Take care,
Valeria
6 Likes
Cuando empiezo con un idioma, antes de ser capaz de hablarlo con personas, cojo los audios de algĆŗn mĆ©todo para principiantes, los copio y pongo huecos entre las frases para repetirlas. Si es un diĆ”logo tambiĆ©n hago una copia por cada personaje y pongo en silencio su parte, asĆ voy representando los diferentes papeles del diĆ”logo. Eso para la parte de hablar, (por lo que preguntabas).
Aparte, al principio del todo me centro mucho en la fonĆ©tica para no crearme malos hĆ”bitos que luego sean difĆciles de quitar (como me ha pasado con el inglĆ©s) y despuĆ©s pues lo de siempre: mucho imput adaptado al nivel, primero de libros o mĆ©todos para principiantes y segĆŗn voy subiendo de nivel sobre temas que me interesen y me diviertan.
TambiĆ©m me gusta la gramĆ”tica; estoy de acuerdo con los que dicen que no es necesario estudiarla especĆficamente, porque se aprende con el imput (los niƱos saben gramĆ”tica aunque no sepan que la saben) pero es que a mĆ me gusta, o sea que la estudio.
Ah! y no me gustan nada las traducciones, les tengo una manĆaā¦ si me da por hacer fichas de vocabulario porgo dibujos, las frases en las que me ha salido la palabra, la definiciĆ³n en el propio idioma, sinĆ³nimosā¦ si veo que en algo es necesaria la traducciĆ³n la pongo a lapiz para que estĆ© menos presente y con el tiempo se borre.
4 Likes
Can I ask you why do you get bored with appsā¦ because they are very repetitive, because they donāt have extra games to work on vocabulary or is there something else?
Is there something that would motivate you to stick longer (time) with certain apps?
2 Likes
Of course 
The problem isnāt really with the apps, but with my own learning style. I tend to get bored by basically everything if I do solely one thing for too long. So, for example, if I study one language with apps alone or if I only read books in a certain language or only do lessons in that language (especially of I only have one teacher), chances are high that Iāll get bored by this activity and then need to find something else to do.
As for what an app must haveā¦ I really like Babbel: it has pictures alongside every word and phrase, spaced repetition, audio, useful vocabulary, example sentences and situations that actually make sense (something I still canāt get around with Duolingo), different options for repeating vocabulary (speaking, listening, writing, flashcards) ā¦ Only downside: you canāt add your own vocabulary and it doesnāt offer Arabic (yet).
Iāve tried a lot of other apps, too (Memries, Quizlet, Busuu, Drops, etc), but none of them, not even Babbel, could keep me studying for mor than a couple of months. I do come back to them though from time to time 
4 Likes
Thatās so interestingā¦ I was also analysing different appsā¦ Which one is better, what I like and what I donātā¦ But to be honest for most of the languages I canāt find good appsā¦ They mostly work on vocabulary and random frases I might never needā¦ but for certain languages like Chinese or other widely spoken languages there are a lots of apps - but the problem again was, that from variety of Apps - I liked just 3ā:sweat_smile:
2 Likes
In my experience the best thing has been to go out and speak with people. I consider myself an audio learner and when I hear the real language its like the words come to life. I get very little however from audio recordings and immersion style classrooms, the dynamics of the real language environment is what I get the most from.
Then just stumbling my way through sentences untill i get some understanding. 
2 Likes
Yeah, Iāve found pretty much the same thing, I just use whichever one(s) I find fun as I think motivation is the main thing when learning languages
Yes, there are a lot of apps out there, especially for more widely spoken languages. So far, Babbel is the best I foundā¦ As they donāt offer Arabic though, Iām still looking for something similar for this language. Havenāt found one I really liked yet.
But as learning solely with apps doesnāt work for me anyway, I donāt worry too much about it. If I occasionally find something that looks interesting, Iāll give it a try ā¦ And when Iāve had enough of apps again Iāll just move on to doing something else.
1 Like