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Is this a good way to learn a language? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| sebngwa3 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6169 days ago 200 posts - 217 votes  Speaks: Korean*, English | Message 1 of 5 12 May 2014 at 1:16am | IP Logged |
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Would using these three books be enough to get started? For example, Portuguese (even though I want to use the same method for Spanish and French):
1) Essential Portuguese Grammar (to get started on the grammar), 2) Frequency dictionary of Portuguese to memorize key words, 3) 501 Portuguese Verbs (to know all the different conjugations of the verbs) Then I would like to read the original text and English translation of several texts such as books, side by side. I wish for a few things: 1. It would be nice if there was pronunciation guidelines to these books, especially the frequency dictionary. 2. It would be nice if there can be a translation for each of the conjugations in the "501 Verbs" book. 2. It would be nice if you could read the original text and English translation in such a way that you can see one sentence of Portuguese followed by the one sentence of English translation, because it can be dizzy reading side by side. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| AlexTG Diglot Senior Member Australia Joined 4643 days ago 178 posts - 354 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Latin, German, Spanish, Japanese | Message 2 of 5 12 May 2014 at 6:26am | IP Logged |
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Add a coursebook to the mix. You need to get practice reading the language. Knowing facts isn't enough.
Also, you'll finish the grammar much faster than the vocabulary books. Vocabulary memorisation by itself is not a good idea. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| ElComadreja Senior Member Philippines bibletranslatio Joined 7243 days ago 683 posts - 757 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Portuguese, Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew, Cebuano, French, Tagalog | Message 3 of 5 12 May 2014 at 7:10am | IP Logged |
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hmm, no audio? try the free Portuguese programatic course at fsi-language-courses.org
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| day1 Groupie Latvia Joined 3897 days ago 93 posts - 158 votes Speaks: English | Message 4 of 5 12 May 2014 at 7:48am | IP Logged |
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My first instinct was to say "no, that's a horrible idea!" until I realized that I have been trying something similar for Spanish (that is, learning without a formal textbook). I did not do much actual learning, so can not comment whether it works. But still, some suggestions:
Convert your frequency dictionary to flashcards, both quizlet.com and ANKI can add a decent, computer-generated pronunciation to Portuguese. I would also recommend Synergy Spanish or any similar audio program for a quick intro. For Portuguese there must be a Michel Thomas course out there, the new one, with native speakers. It will help you internalize some of the most basic grammar WITH the sound, so as to help you not make pronunciation mistakes. Unlike grammar book, it will drill correct pronunciation, essential at the beginning stages. Use driving time, cooking time or insomnia time for that. Also, for your first few attempts at reading, try some reader with audio. What I did was, I just took an audio book of famous Harry P. and did huge amounts of listening. I wish I were less lazy about looking into printed text. Spanish has these: http://lppbooks.com/Spanish/ Same publisher for Portuguese: http://www.dual-language-graded-readers-for-beginners.com/#! portuguese These stories are somewhat boring, but sentences are short, so it's easy to look up the translated text. But if it does not bore you, do add a coursebook to the mix. Edited by day1 on 12 May 2014 at 7:52am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6602 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 5 of 5 12 May 2014 at 7:01pm | IP Logged |
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I'm not familiar with these specific resources but I agree that you need to add actual texts, if not textbooks. See this thread and the links. Especially music is something you can use as a complete beginner. And GLOSS is great too.
Also, make sure you prioritize the verb conjugations! In the beginning you need only a small amount and only the present tense. Build up gradually from there and be sure to read texts to learn how the various verb forms are used. Apart from the most common verbs, use it as a reference. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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