It's difficult to get a job in my field without knowing Spanish, and the grad programs I'll be applying to next year strongly prefer bilingual English/Spanish applicants. I'm searching for a job and I'd like to become conversationally proficient as quickly as possible. What methods have worked for you? A community college class? A private class? A private tutor? A particularly awesome website? I was once fluent in both French (which I spent years studying in highschool and then got practice working for a French company, who also provided a private tutor) and Portuguese (learned via an intensive university class, but lost once the class ended and I didn't keep using it). I pick up languages fairly easily, but I need a lot of practice time and a little bit of structure. I'm confident in my ability to learn the specialized jargon of my field once I'm comfortable speaking the language on an everyday basis. I'm looking at an intensive Summer class at the local community college, but I'd like other options as well.
posted by rhiannonstone
on May 27, 2013 -
22 answers
How can I brush up my language skills, given I seem to have a difficulty with rote learning?
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posted by mippy
on Aug 3, 2012 -
21 answers
Is it possible to learn college-level phonetics and phonology on one's own? Bonus: online?
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posted by jweed
on Mar 8, 2012 -
7 answers
What's the best way to apply the "deliberate practice" philosophy to language learning?
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posted by jweed
on Apr 24, 2011 -
9 answers
Balto-Slavic, Germanic, Italic: help me select which Indo-European language(s) I should learn next!
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posted by vkxmai
on Feb 28, 2011 -
19 answers
very interested in learning Spanish or Portuguese, need realistic suggestions that work or have worked for you.
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posted by femmme
on Jan 4, 2011 -
21 answers
Help me maintain my (fluent) French and (slightly worse) Italian post-graduation in a foreign language-free job.
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posted by ellieBOA
on Oct 19, 2010 -
16 answers
How does a once confident French speaker re-learn the language after six years of not using it?
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posted by schmoo
on Aug 7, 2010 -
11 answers
What are the most interesting, fun, unusual, ridiculous, bombastic, affentoll, and/or funkadelic ways to learn a language?
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posted by ElectricBlue
on May 22, 2010 -
25 answers
Best ways to get back up to speed on a language that you've let get extremely rusty? (Hindi in this case, but general advice also welcome.)
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posted by threeants
on Mar 3, 2010 -
9 answers
I'm very seriously considering the foreign service, but I've never been any good at languages. Will I likely be able to learn a language, with the intense training the Foreign Service provides, without a natural apptitude for languages?
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posted by anonymous
on Nov 18, 2009 -
7 answers
I'm going to Germany on 21 May. I've been told (by Germans) that my German is good, but I'd still like to do a bit of immersion before I go to get used to hearing it, etc. I'd particularly like to listen to some German radio. Any favorite stations?
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posted by bibliophibianj
on May 5, 2009 -
10 answers
One for Japanophile Londoners. What are the best options to study Japanese in London? Any recommendations for courses or tutors?. My e-mail's in my profile, if preferred.
posted by blogenstock
on Dec 18, 2008 -
2 answers
Let's say I want to learn a few (more) programming languages. What application/solution would it be best to try to create in order to really "learn" a given language?
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posted by Deathalicious
on Oct 14, 2008 -
17 answers
What are your favorite online resources for learning, practicing or getting exposure to the languages you speak? I'm looking for things that go beyond a textbook and a couple of CDs: things like interactive tools and study materials, well-written blogs written in / about the language, and especially audio, video or reading materials that people learning the language might not be able to find easily.
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posted by shirobara
on Jun 4, 2008 -
8 answers
What can I buy, download or find online to help me learn as much Polish as possible in the next ten days, with a budget of about £50?
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posted by Lebannen
on Feb 20, 2008 -
9 answers
I'm starting to learn German, and I love it- I find everything about the language fascinating, and making my flashcards and doing my speech exercises about how Jan liebt Sara and how das Madchen ist glucklach is the funnest part of my day. I'd like to get good at it. Really, really good. Can you help me?
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posted by foxy_hedgehog
on Feb 11, 2008 -
31 answers
I'm studying to take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in December. I have a
shitload to learn and it seems nigh insurmountable, but I can do it. What are the best ways to study for this?
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posted by borkingchikapa
on Sep 9, 2007 -
8 answers
LinguisticsFilter: There are a lot of resources explaining how to transcribe a language into IPA, but I don't have any that get into the nitty gritty of how one language pronounces a given consonant compared to another. Are there good resources on this front? Are there resources on how to speak in various foreign accents?
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posted by sirion
on Apr 27, 2006 -
8 answers
How are Spanish and Portuguese different when it comes to grammar?
I speak Spanish fluently and now want to to take up Brazilian Portuguese. From hearing my Brazilian friends speak, and generally understanding them pretty well, I figured that Spanish and Portuguese grammar (syntax) must be very similar, the only differences between the languages being vocabulary and pronunciation. How right am I? If there are syntactic differences, what are they?
Would any speakers of these languages care to comment?
posted by pealco
on Mar 28, 2004 -
6 answers
