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Courses for Spanish Hindi & Japanese? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| knchcanada Newbie United States Joined 4905 days ago 5 posts - 5 votes | Message 1 of 3 11 March 2012 at 6:04am | IP Logged |
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Hello, I'm living in India/Bangladesh with my family for 6 months. Anyway, we were learning hindi while in India
(now we're in Bangladesh.. and Bengali lessons are too far from where we're situated) and I really loved the language and am interested in finding a good program that is relatively fast paced for a teen like myself. If you know any, that would be fabulous! In high school I study Spanish and am about to enter Spanish 4 but American language programs are really inefficient and I would love to attain fluency considering it's so easy for me to find speakers in Texas where we live. I can't believe how long I've been learning in school, but I can't speak well at all, nor can I comprehend that well. Point blank, I want to find a fast paced program for Spanish as well. Now, would it be wise to try and learn hindi and Spanish at the same time? I'm not a total beginner in Spanish, and I feel that the languages are different enough that I won't get confused. However, I do feel the need to review my Spanish from the basics just to reestablish my base for the language. And lastly, my friend has always been really interested in Japan and wants to learn Japanese but her parents don't necessarily support her (mostly for silly reasons like the fact Japan was responsible for Pearl Harbor). I'd love to scrape up the money so I can buy her a good but reasonable program that again, is fast paced enough so that teens like ourselves won't get too bored! Sorry for the random language program requests, but if you had any advice for any of these that'd be amazing. Thanks. :) Edited by knchcanada on 11 March 2012 at 6:05am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| napoleon Tetraglot Senior Member India Joined 4815 days ago 543 posts - 874 votes  Speaks: Bengali*, English, Hindi, Urdu Studies: French, Arabic (Written) | Message 2 of 3 11 March 2012 at 7:09am | IP Logged |
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Very few good Bengali courses exist AFAIK.
One does have Teach Yourself and Colloquial for Bengali. However, they are a bit too dry for my taste. The advantages and shortcomings have already been discussed to the death elsewhere in this forum and I do not wish to go into that again. One could consider purchasing the FSI style Basic Bengali course from the CIIL along with the corresponding audio. One could also try the Peace Corps Bengali course that is available for free download on the internet. Anonther thing, the actual bengali that one is most likely to hear on the street is not going to be the bengali that one learns in a course. The way that you will learn is the way newscasters speak; the way an educated speaker of the language is most likely to talk. It is the standard dialect of Dhaka and of Kolkata. There are a few minor differences but they are mostly imperceptible, even to native speakers. Most, if not all bengalis will understand standard bengali. However, its quite likely that they will respond in a dialect. Oh and learn to read the script if you have not already learnt to do so. It is not as difficult as one is led to believe. Trust me, learning it will make your life a lot easier. Have fun learning bengali. Meet new people and make loads of friends. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Napoleon Edited by napoleon on 11 March 2012 at 7:25am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| napoleon Tetraglot Senior Member India Joined 4815 days ago 543 posts - 874 votes Speaks: Bengali*, English, Hindi, Urdu Studies: French, Arabic (Written) | Message 3 of 3 11 March 2012 at 8:21am | IP Logged |
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As far as learning two or more languages simultaneously is concerned, consider:
1. To be honest, I have not had much success with learning two or more languages from scratch at the same time. Dividing your concentration and time is not very efficient IMHO. When I was just starting out, trying to learn French and Arabic at the same time, I asked for similar advice here in the forum. Some said that I could learn both together as they are not related and they will not interfere with each other. Others said that I should stick to only one language and start the other language only after attaining some real ability in the first. I disregarded the advice of those who wisely told me not to divide my time and started learning both. But then I progressed a lot faster in French than in Arabic. Soon I felt that my lack of progress in Arabic was frustrating me and was holding back my French studies. So I had to put my Arabic on hold. YMMV 2. You are lucky to be living in an immersion environment. (Oh, what I wouldn't do to be able to vist Paris now. But, I am in college and have responsibilities... <sigh>) Most of us would kill to get a similar opportunity .:) You are living a language enthusiast's ultimate dream. You are surrounded by Bengali. If you decide to concentrate just on Bengali for now, you will make a lot more progress. The fast pace of your progess is likely to give you a sense of achievement, which should inspire you to push yourself to new heights. Of course, I am speaking from personal experience with other languages. YMMV. I hope that I wasn't too didactic for you. :) In summary, I would say that there isn't an easy straightforward answer to your question. One must learn to make best use of ones available resources. ( For example: Were I to get an opportunity to live in an Arabic speaking country, I would temporarily stop studying French and focus just on Arabic. ) Napoleon Edited by napoleon on 11 March 2012 at 11:17am 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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