I know English (my first language) and I'm pretty good at reading Spanish (but my speaking/listening is wayyyyy out of practice). I did a few years of Italian in college and it's close enough to Spanish that I think I could read there, too.
I've dabbled in a bunch of others, sometimes for tourist purposes and sometimes because I'm like, 'I should probably know some of that,' and sometimes just from interest. So I can get through asking directions and saying hello in French and Icelandic. I did some German but got bored and I don't think I've retained any of it. I also did a year of Arabic in college, but I haven't retained any of that, either.
And I started on the Duolingo Navajo module but it's pretty minimal and the language is complicated enough that I think it needs something more advanced than what Duolingo can provide. I wish I could get more of that, but I'm not sure there is a good source for learning it.
I think in general I'm good with languages, but I struggle with the available online tools. It seems like all the modern methods want you to focus on learning in a real world context of conversation, which I definitely think is useful, but I ALSO want to have a chart of verb forms and be able to memorize numbers in order and so on. Sometimes I just need to recite and drill! Everyone says that's a bad idea, but I think it has its place. So maybe I should take a real class... but that means taking a real class. :/
If I had to focus on one language, I think I'd have to work on getting my Spanish up to scratch just because it's the most useful and I'm the best at it. But if I'm allowed to pick anything regardless of utility, I'd probably say Navajo.
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Date: 2018-12-24 03:13 am (UTC)I know English (my first language) and I'm pretty good at reading Spanish (but my speaking/listening is wayyyyy out of practice). I did a few years of Italian in college and it's close enough to Spanish that I think I could read there, too.
I've dabbled in a bunch of others, sometimes for tourist purposes and sometimes because I'm like, 'I should probably know some of that,' and sometimes just from interest. So I can get through asking directions and saying hello in French and Icelandic. I did some German but got bored and I don't think I've retained any of it. I also did a year of Arabic in college, but I haven't retained any of that, either.
And I started on the Duolingo Navajo module but it's pretty minimal and the language is complicated enough that I think it needs something more advanced than what Duolingo can provide. I wish I could get more of that, but I'm not sure there is a good source for learning it.
I think in general I'm good with languages, but I struggle with the available online tools. It seems like all the modern methods want you to focus on learning in a real world context of conversation, which I definitely think is useful, but I ALSO want to have a chart of verb forms and be able to memorize numbers in order and so on. Sometimes I just need to recite and drill! Everyone says that's a bad idea, but I think it has its place. So maybe I should take a real class... but that means taking a real class. :/
If I had to focus on one language, I think I'd have to work on getting my Spanish up to scratch just because it's the most useful and I'm the best at it. But if I'm allowed to pick anything regardless of utility, I'd probably say Navajo.