Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with learn

chinese language educational software for native chinese speaking kids

alcahofa — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:48:34 -0800

my kids (ages 3 and 6) are beginning to learn chinese. i am looking for useful materials and strategies to get them fluent. i don't speak chinese. one thing that helped a lot in learning spanish (their second language) was spanish language education software that targets native spanish speakers ages 3 to 5. does anyone have any recommendations both for the chinese educational software of this type and how to buy it when you don't speak chinese. there is absolutely nothing more daunting than a chinese language web site.

Bill Gates I ain't...

malibustacey9999 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:12:26 -0800

The best way to go from knowing how to put a computer together out of the box but nothing else, to understanding how the 'innards' work? Apologies if this question has already been asked and answered. I searched, but I couldn't find anything that addressed my angle.

So, I can connect up the bits out of the box, and some extra bits you add later. I'm the one my friends/family call when they update and don't know how to connect it all up, but my hardware skills stop there. I can troubleshoot minor stuff, but mostly software based, I think. I had a crash course in being hacked a few months ago and, with the help of AskMe, minimised the damage.

I have learned a tiny little bit about software, programs, and whatnot, but open the tower (?), and I have no clue what's in there, what it does, and how to work with it.

I bought myself a new desktop PC, and now the old dead one is sitting on the floor behind me, tormenting me with the memories of all the music, pictures and documents that I didn't think were worth backing up. (I know. Silly me.)

There's nothing on it that I can't live without, but I'm probably capable of getting it working again, or extracting the information it contains, if I set my mind to learning how. And the more I think about it, the more I want to do it. I don't have any learned friends/acquaintances I can call on for help, so books and the internet must be my teachers, I guess. I've surfed various DIY sites, but they seem to vary in detail and assumption of, um, base knowledge.

So what would you suggest as a good resource for an enthusiastic learner? Computer Hardware For Dummies or similar? Have you taught yourself, or have your kids self-educated about hardware? What worked for you/them? What didn't?

Possibly relevant: I'm a handy girl, I have toolboxes I use regularly. I can fix a noisy toilet, a leaking tap, change fuses, service cars, so using a screwdriver or stripping wires won't be part of my learning curve. And I have the old PC just sitting there waiting for me to pull it to bits, but I'm not confident to begin until I have a source of guidance I can trust.

(Is it cheating if I also ask where I can find a list of MeFi acronyms and explanations, because I can't sleep until I know for sure that YMMV doesn't stand for You May Morph Violently?)

How long will it take me to learn the keyboard?

DMan — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:38:25 -0800

Is it reasonable to expect that I can develop reasonable proficiency at piano/keyboard with 30 minutes to an hour of practice each day for a few months? Longer version: I consider myself to be musically inclined; I played French Horn in high school, picked up drums when I was in eleventh grade, and play guitar with a Christian worship band now. I really, really want to learn the keyboard, but what concerns me is that it seems like people spend years and years learning to play piano and even after that time, they seem skilled but not as much as I would expect if someone had been playing drums or guitar for as long.

So do the keys have a really long learning curve? My schedule is fairly busy and I know realistically I'll only be able to spend an hour at most per day practicing it. Is it reasonable to expect to be able to play through some songs after a few months of this, or am I looking at jumping into years of study?

Bonus points for recommended learning materials, but I realize other AskMe questions exist for that purpose.

Teach Me, Montreal!

Laura in Canada — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:44:54 -0800

What can I learn? (On a semi-flexible schedule). I'm in Montreal & would like to take a class in something. My problem is this: I feel like learning something new, but whenever I see a local/ community class that interests me, the date/time is usually inconvenient. I would love to have a list of instuctors (teaching either small groups or one-on-one would be ideal) of a wide range of topics who I could just call & set up a series of lessons. I would love to find a small class or even one-on-one where I could be a little more flexible (i.e. if I had to miss a class, I could reschedule with enough notice & not lose any lessons). For example, my boyfriend recently started taking guitar lessons & several time both he & the instuctor have rescheduled, but he will still have 14 lessons.

I also, like most people, have varied interests. I would like to take a class now, & when it finishes in a few months, maybe take a class in something else (not wait 6 months for the new community guide with a limited range & pre-selected dates).

I've thought about taking classes in: stained glass, French, photography, lampwork, pottery, vegetarian cooking, jewelry making... but please, I'd love recommendations for everything I can learn in Montreal; a website would be ideal, but a name & phone number would be good too (preferably with a price range).

Thanks in advance.

P.S. I live on the island & do not have a car, so unless it's a workshop, nothing off-lsland, thanks.

Learn to speak and read, but not write, Japanese?

Mwongozi — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:19:29 -0800

What's the best way to learn Japanese, if you don't care about being able to write it? My extended family includes a family who was born in Japan but now lives in the USA. I am therefore semi-regularly exposed to spoken and written Japanese, and I'd like to be able to speak it back, and hopefully, read it as well.

I am aware that this is a monumental undertaking, but I don't have deadline and I'm not doing it for school, so I figure I can take as long as I want. I'd prefer to teach myself, rather than go on a course.

What would you recommend? Books? Mac applications? iPhone apps? CDs or DVDs?

All suggestions welcome, with the proviso that I have a Mac and no Windows PCs.

What would you focus piano practice on if you could do it all again?

HopStopDon'tShop — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:28:42 -0800

You play the piano fairly well, you've had lessons, you enjoy it and when I tell you that I'm learning the piano you tell me that looking back on all the years of lessons and practice, the one thing that helped you the most of all was ________, and the thing that you felt was a biggest waste of your time was ________. Can you fill in the blanks for me? I'm just trying to find out what things people, in their personal experience, felt helped them the most in getting to where they are as a piano player, and what helped them the least.

Very personal, I know there's no secret trick, just curious.

Learning an Instrument

sciencemandan — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:36:58 -0800

I'm looking to pick up an instrument. What would you recommend that doesn't cost too much to buy and maintain, is fairly easy to learn, can be self-taught (i.e. with online resources/videos), and works well as a solo instrument? I really enjoy music, but the only instrument I know how to play is the trumpet, and that was almost a decade ago. I want to pick up something new, but I don't have a ton of money and don't have hours a day to devote to learning. I have a midi keyboard that I suppose I could use to learn the piano, but I don't really know of any good software packages to learn (I tried Garageband 09, but it was a very basic introduction).

I'm thinking acoustic guitar, but I thought I'd check to see if I'm not overlooking anything else out there.

Also, please suggest ways to get the best deal on the instrument (for instance, if I'm looking for an acoustic guitar, should I go the Craigslist route or the music shop?).

Thanks!

Je pense, donc je suis

Beardman — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:46:00 -0800

Grad school language requirement filter: which French philosophers are (relatively) easy reading in the original French? I don't have to speak it, I don't have to write it: all I have to do is be able to read it well enough to execute a reasonable translation into English with the aid of a dictionary. (Yes, my French immersion-teaching mom is scandalized.)

Unfortunately, I don't know who will be on the test, but in my department it's much more likely to be from the Discours de la méthode than L'Être et le néant. That being said, if I just want to be (1) reading more French outside of the general "How to read academic French" course that I'm taking, and (2) I figure it might as well be philosophy, what's something relatively easy to start with? Thanks!

Bonus question: which French-English dictionary would you recommend for this purpose? I need one that will include the kinds of words that are likely to turn up in a piece of philosophy.

Japanese Classes/Bootcamps in Los Angeles

mattsweaters — Thu, 28 May 2009 10:46:40 -0800

Japanese Classes/Bootcamps in Los Angeles? I'm looking at possibly spending a lot of time in Japan in little over a year, I'm going to be studying very intensely on my own as well. I'm worried that I'd sign up and pay for a class and it be kind of casual and not geared towards those looking to really learn the language. Thanks!

What's the best way to teach my daughter to read?

lexfri — Sat, 16 May 2009 13:06:33 -0800

What's the best way to teach my daughter to read? I didn't find anything in the MeFi archives; I apologize in advance if I missed some obvious discussions.

My 2-and-a-half-year-old loves books, knows her letters and their sounds, and has expressed distinct interest in learning to read her books herself. I've found dozens of methods (both free and commercial) online for teaching kids to read, even at this young(er) age, but I thought maybe some folks here had good recommendations (or warnings!).

Help Anya learn to read. She's pretty cute!

More mandolin music, please

billtron — Sat, 09 May 2009 09:55:49 -0800

I really like Paul Kelly's mandolin recording, "Varmland Waltz," on the muji website. Help me learn to play similar music, either from sheetmusic or by ear from recordings, on my mandolin. I've got jig skillz and reel skillz, so I can handle music that's intermediate to challenging, I guess.

How to learn music with DIY lighted keys

mikesmeta — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:00:28 -0800

Is there a way to output midi data from MAC or PC so that I can have one in a series of LED lights light up when the corresponding note is played? I would like to learn playing keyboard by example, have seen the casio lighted keyboards, but I heard these keyboards cannot play midi's that I download online.

Help me choose a musical instrument to learn!

btkuhn — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 19:48:35 -0800

Help me choose a musical instrument to learn! Hello,

I have some extra free time available in the next few months, and I'd like to learn a new musical instrument. I played piano years ago but it's not practical for me to take it up again. I know how to read music, though, and the basics of music theory. I'd like to take up a fun instrument as a casual hobby. Here's what I'm looking for:

- Relatively cheap - something I can get on ebay or craigslist (or a used music store) for under $100

- Fun to play

- Something with a relatively quick payoff. For instance, when learning to play piano it takes a lot of work to play anything impressive-sounding, whereas with the guitar you can learn many modern rock songs after just a few weeks. I don't need an ultra-easy instrument, I just dont want something that is going to take a year of practice before I can play anything cool.

I've thought about just taking up guitar or mandolin since they pretty much fit all my requirements, but I'm thinking about more obscure, quirky instruments as well. I just think it would be cool to suddenly tell my friends, "Yeah, I play the bagpipes now". But I don't know much about how hard it is to take up the bagpipes (I'm guessing that it's pretty hard).

Some of the more "obscure" instruments I've gathered the names of from previous askmefi posts: bagpipes, accordion, concertina, Jew's harp, tin whistle, ocarina...I'm just not sure which of these (if any) fits my requirements. Other suggestions wecme as well.

Thanks!

Learn Math Via Programming?

fightoplankton — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:59:39 -0800

I have always been horrible at math, but somehow a great programmer. I have found that writing a computer program that demonstrates a certain mathematical concept enables me to better understand the concept. I'm a psych major and I brought this up once in the research lab I've been working in. My prof said he recalls that someone did research and/or created a system in which a student writes a computer program that is pertinent to a certain mathematical concept and upon completion is given the regular math problem (as it would appear in a math class). This enables the student to better understand the math problem, solve, and learn math. Has anyone heard of this or anything similar? A learning system such as this would be a blessing to my education. Thanks.

I'd like to enroll in the Chinese Graphic Designer 101 program, please.

miss lynnster — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:15:28 -0800

I'd love to get tips/resources for 1) learning more about the Chinese language and culture for work travel, 2) doing graphic design for a Chinese audience and 3) learning more about working with Chinese writing (this was helpful, for example).* Thoughts? *Bonus points if anyone can tell me if there are any Chinese typefaces I could access that have a particularly whimsical, fun, or child-like feel. My new job has a factory in China. I will definitely be traveling there at some future point and want to get a head start on studying the language and cultures a bit so that I have more understanding when I'm there. Can you recommend any other sites or tips that would make a tough language easier and less intimidating? I'll probably get the Rosetta Stone for Mandarin, but do you know of a good place to learn Chinese in Los Angeles or online? And if you've tried learning it, what are your tips?

The other thing is that my boss wants to sell more of our toy products in China than we currently are. For this reason I want to learn more about Chinese graphic design and working with Chinese characters. We can get the translations easily from people in the China office, but I want to make sure my designs look fun, appealing and readable to a Chinese audience.

Thanks.

Help me learn about Hong Kong film posters

citybuddha — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:40:54 -0800

I have recently run across a large cache of hong kong film posters from Thailand circa 1970s. I am thinking of buying them and am trying to research if they have any value. I am not getting great results from the internets. Any brain power out there that might point me the right way?

Book recommendations for learning Japanese

pravit — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 13:44:07 -0800

I'd like to learn Japanese and I'm looking for book recommendations, especially for someone who can read Chinese. Of course books are no substitute for full immersion, but at the moment I'm mainly interested in learning the written language.

I consider myself a fairly experienced language learner, so I'm not interested in casual "listen to tapes in your car" courses or phrasebooks. I am not interested in Pimsleur.

I'm looking for something structured which doesn't shy away from grammar, but not to the point of being a grammar reference. Ideally it would have some interesting dialogues and reading selections, exercises, and perhaps some notes on culture.

I can already read Chinese characters, but I'm aware that their Japanese meanings can be very different, and of course I don't know their Japanese pronunciations, so it's important for me that the book stresses kanji. I've seen a number of books for learning Japanese, but most seem to have Japanese text in romaji or only kana. I would be OK with Japanese textbooks written for a Chinese-language audience (if they can be obtained in North America).

I would be studying on my own, so books intended to be used as part of an in-person course probably wouldn't do. Bonus points if the book has included CDs or tapes. Thanks!

How can I improve my ability to explain things better?

razzman — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:55:08 -0800

How can I improve my ability to explain things better? This could be anything from describing a film I watched yesterday to a friend...to explaining technological solutions such as GPS, or 'RSS feeds' to non-technical managers at a business. Are there any basic rules with explanations which could help improve general explanation skills? Were you crap at explaining things but have now improved? How did you do it?

fluency not required

canoehead — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:33:37 -0800

Looking for the best Spanish audio course that can be used while commuting and completed in a couple months. Only needs to cover the most useful material for travelling.

How do I become a good CEO?

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:10:06 -0800

How do I become a good CEO? Last week, my business partners conspired behind my back and decided to make me our firm's CEO. It was unexpected and really caught me by surprise.

Now, apart from being very flattered by their trust in me and by everyone's reaction so far, I am incredibly nervous about the whole thing and really, really want to evolve into the best possible CEO I can be. Thus, I seek your help.

What is the single most important thing I should do to achieve that?

I've purposefully avoided details of our company so as not to limit your responses, but have created a gmail account for direct contact: you.want.me.to.what@gmail.com

I see you've used Microsoft Word before.

greytape — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 08:04:13 -0800

How do I get 'rock hard' Microsoft Office skills? So my manager gave me the advice a couple of weeks ago that the most useful thing I could learn in my current job is to develop 'rock hard IT skills', referring to Word, Outlook and Excel. I work a lot with quite long Word documents. My skills are OK, but occasionally I get sent mad by Styles, tabs and the like.

I guess the best way to do this is just to buy some books and work through them, but I'm turning to Ask MeFi's formidable technical experience to guide me on my way. Any recommendations, for blogs, books or courses? How did you garner your expertise?

Thanks in advance.

Teach me how to unce unce

nitsuj — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:13:51 -0800

I want to learn, from a teacher face-to-face, to use the various tools in an electronic (as in "dance," including hip-hop) music producer's arsenal. Do classes/lessons exist? How about in Chicago? Drum machines, synthesizers, sequencers, samplers, etc -- you know the drill. I want to learn how to learn how to use these tools properly to create music.

I've used a number of different pieces of software that mimic popular pieces of hardware (Reason, for instance), but I really want to work hands-on with hardware, from a musician who knows how to use these instruments.

Do classes or lessons exist, like they do for guitar and other instruments? How about in the Chicago area? The Google isn't being very helpful in this department.

Got Any Mathematical Mnemonics?

Proginoskes — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:12:15 -0800

Do you have some mnemonic you came up with to help memorize formulas or concepts in mathematics (particularly for university math)? Or was there a different way of looking at a concept that really helped it sink in? I'm looking for things that you might have come up with yourself that aren't so common or widely used. For example, when I was trying to memorize the formula for integration by parts, I always thought about the fact that uv was like "uv rays" and vdu sounded like "video." Or, when I learned about span, the professor compared vectors to colours and said that the span of "red" and "yellow" would include all the shades of orange.

Learning Language Through Osmosis!

andoatnp — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:31:09 -0800

Does anyone have any tips or strategies to help in learning a new language when living in a foreign country but not doing a formal study program? While this is a general question that I imagine could apply to people in a variety of different countries attempting to learn different languages, I'll use my specific information in case that can help people give advice.

I am in Israel for the year trying to get much better at speaking Hebrew. I came here with zero Hebrew knowledge and did a 5 week immersion program, and now I am here for the rest of the year.

What should I be doing over the course of the next year to improve my Hebrew? I try to talk to people as much as possible, but I don't really know past or future tense yet and my vocabulary is weak so people usually try to switch to English?

I have the textbook from the course I took that I can continue to work through on my own, but I want to get as much benefit as possible from actually being in Israel. What should someone do when in a foreign country (where most people speak English) to aid in learning the local language?

Help me relearn mathematics and its practica applications

dcbarker — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 05:19:32 -0800

Applied Math Filter: Help me use math! I'd like to learn more about mathematics and it's practical applications - particularly in Computer Science I'm a Computer Networking graduate (under 25) who never really done much math at university. My course was somewhere between computer science and communications engineering so maths sort of slipped through the cracks.

Now, I'm looking to re-learn math. I know that a lot of mathematics is abstract but I'm having difficulties seeing practical applications.

Where I'm at:
I took calculus at high school but just scraped through (I spent more time fighting with the teacher than learning). I don't remember a bit of it. I'm pretty much at "square one" so will be learning from the start. I consider myself a quick learner in most areas but had a horrible foundation in math so never picked it back up. I've bought a couple of math books which should teach me the theory I need. I've always thought graphing calculators were pretty interesting but lack the mathematical knowledge to necessitate their use (or purchase). I'm currently in the process of ditching my "college job" to go for a "real job".

What I want:
I want to learn math with a view to using it practically (preferably in computer science).

How you can help:
I'd like suggestions on how I should go about learning mathematics and its practical applications. Which areas should I look at if I want to use mathematics in computing? I think my problem is that I can't see a practical application for math that I'd like to explore but I have a strong urge to develop my mathematics skills.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!