Hey, I'm a complete novice in the area of language minus a brief stint of German in high school. I have studied anthropology as an undergraduate and am doing a graduate degree in law and want to add a language to my repertoire. The problem is, with all that study I don't have room to fit in formal institutions to teach me.

My question is to the experienced language vets in here that have self-taught themselves a language. What is the best way to go about it? I'm thinking Mandarin Chinese at the moment seeing as that's the way the world is going and I want my language to complement my studies but I'm open to other languages such as French (for Africa) or Spanish (I want to travel that region of the world).

How does one teach themselves these languages?

Cheers.

French... for Africa? Really? Hm. Well, if you're not open to formal instruction, the best way to go about it is first and foremost to travel to a region that speaks your target language. It's quite hard to not adopt a language if you're surrounded by it, believe me, I lived in Quebec...

Get some grammar books. Download some pimsleur. If you're in Canada, listen to radio canada or watch french television. If not, just try to surround yourself with the language. When you watch a movie, put French subtitles on. Start reading Astérix and all that. Another fun technique is to read Archie comics from Quebec or Mexico, depending on the langue you're going for. Read French / Spanish literature, etcetera. Basically, if you can't literally immerse yourself in the culture, try to simulate it in every facet of your life.

Really, the best thing to do is to spend a couple months in a region that speaks your target language. Whether you like it or not, the language and idioms will sink in.

The best way is to simply start. As beginners, all language learners are essentially the same. You gotta build a basic vocabulary, you need to understand the basic syntax of the language, pronunciation, etc.

I would recommend Pimsleur or Rosetta Stone v.3 as a starting point, and then you should just go and pick up some beginner language course at a bookstore. You can find Pimsleur/RS in libraries or pirated, technically, and books will range from 10 to 20 bucks. You'll want a good dictionary (Harper-Collins makes the best, IMO) eventually, but it likely won't be necessary right off the bat.

Once you start to get comfortable with the language (ie. as you near the advanced beginner or intermediate level), then you can start experimenting with more interesting learning methods.

Thanks heaps for the words, guys. Static, I was under the impression that French was a prominent language in Eastern Africa? I'll look into it a little more.

I'm going to go out and buy a few basic books and programs to get the foundations laid.

Yes, French is really common in Africa (mainly in the west, actually), I was just surprised you wanted to learn French "for Africa". But hey, more power to you :). Be aware that a great deal of the French they speak in Africa is creole, and not the standard Parisian French you'll probably be learning.

Cheers man, I'll look into it.

I plan on spending a great deal of time in Africa, whether to do further study in anthropology or just volunteer work. I figure it'll come in handy.

Yes, French is really common in Africa (mainly in the west, actually), I was just surprised you wanted to learn French "for Africa". But hey, more power to you :). Be aware that a great deal of the French they speak in Africa is creole, and not the standard Parisian French you'll probably be learning.

Creole? I don't think Creole made it's way to Africa. Perhaps pidginized versions of French based on local languages, but the actual language "Creole" is only in Haiti to my knowledge (and some parts of the American South, but I think that's different).

Creole? I don't think Creole made it's way to Africa. Perhaps pidginized versions of French based on local languages, but the actual language "Creole" is only in Haiti to my knowledge (and some parts of the American South, but I think that's different).

Ah, isn't creole a broad term just meaning a language that has undergone adaptations, such as native loan words and grammatical restructuring? There's certainly more than one language referred to as a 'creole'. Perhaps I should have been more specific, I suppose 'pidgin' was the word I was looking for.

Ah, isn't creole a broad term just meaning a language that has undergone adaptations, such as native loan words and grammatical restructuring? There's certainly more than one language referred to as a 'creole'. Perhaps I should have been more specific, I suppose 'pidgin' was the word I was looking for.

You're indeed right. A creole is basically a mix of two languages that has surpassed its "parents" in use, and is learned and spoken as a first language. There must be thousands of them.

Cheers man, I'll look into it.

I plan on spending a great deal of time in Africa, whether to do further study in anthropology or just volunteer work. I figure it'll come in handy.

If you stay there long enough and learn enough, I assure you you'll come back a racist and hate DerDarky


trust me

Immersion. There is no other way.

You don't really need like a "formal" education for it though.

Immersion. There is no other way.

You don't really need like a "formal" education for it though.

I actually agree with this. Eventually, one way or another, you'll have to immerse yourself in the language to be fluent. It's not the easiest method for a complete beginner, but in terms of gaining fluency it's a must.

If you're going to "immerse yourself" in French speaking Canada, you should note that Quebequoise French is quite different from that of any other Francophone country.

I can understand Parisians and Sudanese, but if I Canadian starts speaking French at me I'm totally lost. It's a pretty odd accent.

On the other hand, I could just be the retarded American who can't speak French...

Ah, isn't creole a broad term just meaning a language that has undergone adaptations, such as native loan words and grammatical restructuring? There's certainly more than one language referred to as a 'creole'. Perhaps I should have been more specific, I suppose 'pidgin' was the word I was looking for.

Oddly enough, Creole is often the name of the language too -- Sierra Leon has "Kreyo" (an English-Tribal Creole), for example.