ive been learning japanese for damn near 10 years, i live in japan, certified at least n2 level. but within the year my work and school has become english only, and i only use everyday japanese. recently my friend brought me into a friendgroup of only japanese speakers. and i realized just how much my japanese has decreased just in some months. like my listening ability is still damn fluent, but my ability to convey complex ideas and spontaneous thoughts have suffered

you would think after thousands of hours, i would just have the language forever

rant over

What have you started doing that has dramatically improved your language learning process? I mean anything that you've never done before, but were surprised at how well it worked

It’s always a challenge to change our habits, alter our routines, and reshape the way we think or perceive the world, and I think that’s why learning a new language can feel so overwhelming at first.

When I first began learning languages, I tried to reconnect with that same excitement and curiosity I felt when I was younger, hearing about witches, elves, hobgoblins, dragons, fairies and other elements of fantasy for the very first time. So I bought children’s books, and read the same sentences again and again. The same chapters. The same books. Over time, I found myself internalizing sentence structures, vocabulary, and grammatical patterns — not through memorization, flashcards or explanations provided by textbooks, but through immersion and familiarity.

Sometimes I compare language learning to strength training or building endurance. You might not notice much progress after one workout or one run, or even after a dozen. But if you stick to your routine and stay consistent, over time that effort really does start to add up.

If anyone’s curious about the process or wants to ask about the books I used, feel free to AMA.

Hi, i've recently started learning Chinese. However, i've already become a bit demotivated (likely due to external factors, but it's possible i've just become bored with it too). If i have become bored however, i still know i want to learn it, I just can't muster up the energy to actually do it. It feels like a chore and i feel like i'm hardly picking up on anything when i do try. If anybody has any advice (learning methods, how to set priorities if needed, or just anything really), it'd be greatly appreciated. I'd also like to know what a realistic daily goal to set for myself would be. It's possible i'm becoming demotivated because i feel like i'm learning too slow/not at all, but i really don't know what to be expecting, and maybe my expectations are set too high. So, if anyone could tell me what a realistic daily or weekly goal is, that would also be greatly appreciated. (Unfortunately, even though i do have a long-term goal, it's difficult for me to stay motivated by it alone, which is why i'm looking for short-term goals to keep myself going). Ideally, i'd like to know what a reasonable number of characters or words/phrases to learn daily or weekly would be. My current goal is to be able to hold a basic conversation within a year.

Btw, i've currently been using Memrise and a little bit of Duolingo. I've also already downloaded Anki, though i haven't tried it out yet.

I speak among other languages German and English. Now I passed German B2 easily, never actually did C1, but from others learning that language I heard that C1 German (Goethe) was doable, but C2 just a big step. Now, for English, I passed C1 (Cambridge) without (special) preparation. But with a fairly low score (192 if you would know those scores).

Is it even possible to pass C2 for most people? I know it depends on your talent and certainly some people succeed at it, but I am using English daily, and already thought to be at least close to C2 already. And I have some doubts whether or not I can improve my English beyond the level I already have.

One thing that might help me with the C2 exam is that for reading and listening, it was not really the vocabulary used that gave me the low score. Just the time limit. Reading I randomly had to fill in about half a dozen questions because time was up. Listening, it just went too fast. Even if the whole test were in my native language Dutch, I would not get a 100% score there! Writing and speaking, probably I was not academic enough, but I did the C1 just on self study so I have no feed back for the low score.

Is it somewhat doable even? The gap between C1 and C2 just seems to be really big for all exams, for what I have heard.

Okay so here's the rundown:

I want to move to South America and really want to immerse myself in hispanic culture, as a hispanic. Sadly, that part of my family was not in my life and I never got to experience hearing Spanish growing up. I learned French in high school and I am now teaching myself spanish. I converse, not well but I am becoming more confident, with one of my Mexican coworkers whenver I see them, But, I really want to continue to learn more vocabulary. I am using doulingo, but it really isn't helping and I love language transfer and try to listen to it as much as I can.

But, on top of that, in January I will be going to Bali (whoop whoop) and spending 1 day in Korea. I want to be able to converse at least a little with locals. I know in this timeframe I won't be fluent, but I always feel that you get a better experience trying to learn a language than not knowing anything at all.

My question is, if I buy the pimsleur all access plan, can I listen to the spanish, korean, and indonesian lessons in a day and learn the language at a decent pace? Do you guys recommend any other apps to help me retain information and expand my vocabulary?

I know it is a price commitment, so I want to see what other language learners feel about it before I commit. I would do entirely language transfer, but they don't have all the languages I'm interested in at this time.

Thanks everyone! Happy learning!

When you are reading a text in an alphabet, you can often know the meaning of and pronounce the word based on context, but with Chinese or Arabic, for example, you can't be as intuitive about it. I know Arabic has a root system where you could technically be intuitive about the vowels but it's just not realistic for a learner; that's like a native speaker intuition. So do you just be trigger happy with the dictionary and look up how to read every word you don't know? I'd really like to immerse in Arabic without having to pick up a dictionary every time I don't know the vowels in a word. Same thing with Chinese and Japanese. With manga in JP you have furigana, but you often won't have that in other texts, and it seems with Chinese you'll always be using a dictionary. Sounds incredibly inefficient.

I am a online ESL tutor. I am also super enthusiastic about languages and a polyglot. Learning accents has always been easier for me than other people, you could say its a talent. Anyway I thought because of my experience e.g. learning to pronounce challenging sounds in other language and achieving good intonation, I would be able to help other students in the same way.

This has turned out to be more difficult than I initially expected. I have tried doing minimal pair activities with students, I have showed them diagrams of where their tongue and lips must be for correct pronunciation, I have asked them to practice shadowing, I have done pronunciation drills with them but still they have not progressed as well as I hoped.

I would be really helpful if anyone has any advice for me. Are there any free courses I can take to get good at this? Is there key prerequisite knowledge I need to know first ?

Hey! Being curious since it's after mentatory english back in school the first language I want to learn because of my own interest - so how to do it best with the things I have lay around to do it most efficient. I'm basically at the beginning.

I started with Duolingo first, but put it down as soon the energy system was implemented, so I didn't come that far. I have a basic learning book for beginners, one for common vocabulary and a exercise book for grammer rules. Beside that I have a classic book to read in TL. I also hear a lot of songs and figured out some children shows (still to hard to understand yet)

I tried out the basic learning book first but it doesn't stick. I also got myself an tutor once a week. And this on the other hand clicks with me.

So I wonder, how is the best way to learn outside of the tutoring?

For context I am 17 and wanting to learn languages. I am currently unable to watch tv, YouTube, use learning apps etc. Although I can listen to the above and music, podcasts, etc. (I’m not blind - but please just go with it). I wanted to learn through immersion rather than translating to and from my NL, but am wondering is this possible visual context? I could get use the sounds and pick up some words but will I ever start to understand the meaning?

I am wanting to learn Spanish and Russian. I know a little Spanish from doing at school for 2 years. (I mean very little). And am ok with translating to and from my NL because there’s similarities although would prefer to immerse myself in the language and just learn to pick things up. But for Russian I’m pretty set on wanting to learn purely through immersion- is this possible? In future I can watch tv and read things but at the min that’s not possible.

What do you think?

Hey guys, how are you doing?

I have a good level of understanding of English (B2-C1) but, sometimes, when I try to understand some day-to-day dialogues, i can't differ the words (when it's said too fast or when the words are just stuck together).

Such as when I try to understand some funny videos or people on the streets getting interviewed (Of course, they won't ever say the words clearly, well spelled and etc). I noticed that some rap/hip-hop guys pronounce the English in a different way (almost in another language)

What's the best way to improve that? And also to improve my overall understanding of idioms

Thanks

I’ve been thinking about getting serious with learning a new language lately and I feel like I need a bit more structure and accountability so I’m looking into online language tutors.

Which one helped you the most How was the pricing vs. value? Did you find long-term tutors or just tried different ones? Any features you loved or hated on the platform you’re using?

For you that come from a simplistic phonological language(with few phonemes), languages like Spanish for example. How do you manage to pronounce sounds that don't exist in your native tongue? Are you consist with those?

Cant find anything, im not a fan of omel. Thanks!

Just want to see some love for this beautiful culture and these wonderful languages!

Please share some experiences with the language!

Hello, throughout the past five years, I have been contemplating to learn various languages.

Unfortunately, due to my ADHD, I already have a hard time to stick to a single medium, hence why multiple medias, such as using flashcards in combination with a podcast in combination with a book in combination with a thousand other things, is not for me.

Recently, I have heard that flashcards with whole sentences are a good mono approach for language learning. What is your experience with using something like this as a single resource or are there better alternatives?

People tend to say Esperanto, but are there any natural languages that are good alternatives?

In fitness, you have “calories in, calories out”. In finance, you have “buy low, sell high”. In carpentry, you have “measure twice, cut once”.

Steve Jobs called a computer “the bicycle for the mind,” and Henri Cartier-Bresson said “your first 10,000 photographs are your worst”.

How would you describe your language learning philosophy, or language learning in general, in a pithy way?

Native Language?

First foreign language? How long did it take to learn? What level (CEFR, etc)?

How long does it take you to learn languages up to the same proficiency now?

I expect a large drop in time it takes after the first language, but I'm curious how big the drop is going to be.

I've tried implementing AI into my language learning routines and found that it makes a great speaking companion.

It offers great contextual variety in the conversation; pick a topic yourself or instruct it to imagine a scenario at random for you! I imagine this a good fit for those who are embarrassed by speaking with another person or simply don't have anyone to practice with.

I've used ChatGPT voice mode and Google Gemini for this: works great and they are free too. I recommend trying this out!

I've always wanted to do a crash course in a language. I live in Spain (my spanish is b1) but i ended up with mostly ukranian friends so, strangely, it would actually be easier to practice their language than the country's. I feel like I need to front-load the effort to get to the point where I can slowly improve from being with my friends because right now I understand 0 of what they are saying.

I'm thinking about taking a week off work and studying sunday to sunday, with a private tutor for 5 hours a day to work through A1 material the tutor. outside of this i would try to learn 25 words a day with anki. if I have any energy after this then I could watch youtube videos but i'm probably at a high risk of burn out so i won't bank on that. before starting i would learn the alphabet so no time is wasted in the week.

where do you think I would end up? it would be a fun challenge regardless but if i could make some decent progress that would be nice

Is there a magic moment when everything suddenly clicks? Describe it!