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TL: foxj
Skype: PM for info
Spoken Lang: Vietnamese ( native ) - English ( writing and speaking )
Target lang : Korean beginner or Thai beginner, English ( Read comment )
Comment:
+ Show Spoiler +Surely i can communicate by writing well. But my listening skill is just horrible, mistakes in pronounce and I lack of the confidence in conversation. I really hope this thread will help me out  Thanks a lot ps: I have the interests in Thai and korean as well but i have no idea about them, would love to learn one first if any native speaker help me 
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TL: Kohonski
Skype: PM for info
Spoken Lang: English (Fluent)
Target lang : Korean (Very basic/elementary. About a month of study)
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England2674 Posts
On November 01 2012 22:31 Toadesstern wrote:This thread needs more love  I really thought we had more people on TL learning languages so maybe it's just because the thread was up for such a short time? Anayways a little update: I've been in contact with Flicky for a week now. We're chatting in german on skype for something like an hour or maybe up to two hours like 2 or 3 times a week and frankly speaking I think he's already better than last week lol. At least it looks like he's having an easier time writing "freely" from what I've seen yesterday. Oh and btw it's hilariously difficult to write properly in your own language on the internet if you're used to internet chit-chat. I keep forgetting to capitalize words properly and of course getting rid of all those abbreviations is hard as well :p But it's really astonishing that he's able to understand me so easily when talking german because I'm not holding back grammar-wise at all.
Thanks for the good review!
I really think anyone on the fence here should try this out. Todes has been really good so far and with the DotA/LoL/BW backgrounds there's definitely plenty to talk about.
Talking with him has just shown how out of whack my reading comprehension is compared to my writing. It would be like:
"Hey, what do you think of cat?"
"Oh wow, I adore cats. Absolutely fantastic creatures! We have three cats, all of them three years old. I don't know how I'd live without them!"
"I also like cats. Dogs are also good."
I will try speaking soon~
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On November 01 2012 23:21 Flicky wrote:Show nested quote +On November 01 2012 22:31 Toadesstern wrote:This thread needs more love I really thought we had more people on TL learning languages so maybe it's just because the thread was up for such a short time? Anayways a little update: I've been in contact with Flicky for a week now. We're chatting in german on skype for something like an hour or maybe up to two hours like 2 or 3 times a week and frankly speaking I think he's already better than last week lol. At least it looks like he's having an easier time writing "freely" from what I've seen yesterday. Oh and btw it's hilariously difficult to write properly in your own language on the internet if you're used to internet chit-chat. I keep forgetting to capitalize words properly and of course getting rid of all those abbreviations is hard as well :p But it's really astonishing that he's able to understand me so easily when talking german because I'm not holding back grammar-wise at all. Thanks for the good review! I really think anyone on the fence here should try this out. Todes has been really good so far and with the DotA/LoL/BW backgrounds there's definitely plenty to talk about. Talking with him has just shown how out of whack my reading comprehension is compared to my writing. It would be like: "Hey, what do you think of cat?" "Oh wow, I adore cats. Absolutely fantastic creatures! We have three cats, all of them three years old. I don't know how I'd live without them!" "I also like cats. Dogs are also good." I will try speaking soon~
lol yeah. I tried to be somewhat talkactive because there're only so few topics you can cover so that makes things even more extreme. Like that story about my dad and him not being able to distinguish between German and Swedish while translating. Had nothing (very little) to do with the topic but got us some talk!
///Edit: (totally not a bump)///
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On November 02 2012 01:42 Toadesstern wrote:Show nested quote +On November 01 2012 23:21 Flicky wrote:On November 01 2012 22:31 Toadesstern wrote:This thread needs more love I really thought we had more people on TL learning languages so maybe it's just because the thread was up for such a short time? Anayways a little update: I've been in contact with Flicky for a week now. We're chatting in german on skype for something like an hour or maybe up to two hours like 2 or 3 times a week and frankly speaking I think he's already better than last week lol. At least it looks like he's having an easier time writing "freely" from what I've seen yesterday. Oh and btw it's hilariously difficult to write properly in your own language on the internet if you're used to internet chit-chat. I keep forgetting to capitalize words properly and of course getting rid of all those abbreviations is hard as well :p But it's really astonishing that he's able to understand me so easily when talking german because I'm not holding back grammar-wise at all. Thanks for the good review! I really think anyone on the fence here should try this out. Todes has been really good so far and with the DotA/LoL/BW backgrounds there's definitely plenty to talk about. Talking with him has just shown how out of whack my reading comprehension is compared to my writing. It would be like: "Hey, what do you think of cat?" "Oh wow, I adore cats. Absolutely fantastic creatures! We have three cats, all of them three years old. I don't know how I'd live without them!" "I also like cats. Dogs are also good." I will try speaking soon~ lol yeah. I tried to be somewhat talkactive because there're only so few topics you can cover so that makes things even more extreme. Like that story about my dad and him not being able to distinguish between German and Swedish while translating. Had nothing (very little) to do with the topic but got us some talk! ///Edit: (totally not a bump)///
...... I thought German and Swedish wasn't that close?
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I recommend that people learn from as many different resources as possible instead of linearly going through one. It will cement your knowledge and shore up all the holes. If you try to go from A > B it will be very frustrating. It should be A > A > A > A > B and then back to A. If you ever need to stop, listen, re-listen and decipher what someone is saying, then even if you can translate what they are saying you are at a too high level. Only move on when what you already know what is being said as if its native.
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On November 02 2012 02:30 aloT wrote:
I recommend that people learn from as many different resources as possible instead of linearly going through one. It will cement your knowledge and shore up all the holes. If you try to go from A > B it will be very frustrating. It should be A > A > A > A > B and then back to A. If you ever need to stop, listen, re-listen and decipher what someone is saying, then even if you can translate what they are saying you are at a too high level. Only move on when what you already know what is being said as if its native.
I fear that thoroughness and curiosity are disappointing bedfellows. The major disaster which greets and overcomes most every language learner is lack of discipline and perseverance, and not an incomplete textbook. If the textbooks used by education today are full of gaping holes, which sub-sects its target language into bite-sized themes to rub into the short-term memory, it is reflective of how far our standards of education and attention span have fallen as a whole.
The best thing the learner can do for himself to pave the way to success is to drop any illusions about what it takes to learn a foreign language in the first place. It's a long-term, grueling, and unforgiving endeavour akin to taking a second job, or raising a chaotic child. It is not going to increase your worldly credentials, it will not make you more attractive to society girls, and it is not fun. At least not for the first 500 hours. The rewards are reaped in graying age, where we are surely blessed if we may take solace in the catharsis of a Horatian ode.
If you treat it as a game, you will waste your time playing games.
Now that we have settled that, you need to start with a thorough, and weighty textbook, to overcome many of the bad habits in the grips of our modern didactic decadence. A general good rule of thumb is to look for books which are over 350 pages long, have no pictures, printed before 1970 (or in former communist countries before their classical education systems were corrupted by Western decadence), have indexes of not less than 2000 words, no "cultural information", no mini-games, and not aesthetically appealing in the least. After that, there are many approaches to how you learn the language. Some rely more on intuition and some are more thorough with word and dialogue drills.
I would say though that if you have the right resource, 1 book (or one set of books) should not only be sufficient, but advantageous to your agonising pursuit of self-improvement.
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TL: Meepman
Skype: PM for info
Spoken Lang: English (native)
Target lang : French fluency
Don't know how good of a teacher I can be, but I'm definitely willing to put serious time into it.
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TL: AirbladeOrange
Skype: PM me
Spoken Lang: English (native)
Target lang : German (I'm currently only at a very basic level)
Comment: I'm interested in short Skype learning conversations and finding a penpal
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On November 02 2012 02:07 JieXian wrote:Show nested quote +On November 02 2012 01:42 Toadesstern wrote:On November 01 2012 23:21 Flicky wrote:On November 01 2012 22:31 Toadesstern wrote:This thread needs more love I really thought we had more people on TL learning languages so maybe it's just because the thread was up for such a short time? Anayways a little update: I've been in contact with Flicky for a week now. We're chatting in german on skype for something like an hour or maybe up to two hours like 2 or 3 times a week and frankly speaking I think he's already better than last week lol. At least it looks like he's having an easier time writing "freely" from what I've seen yesterday. Oh and btw it's hilariously difficult to write properly in your own language on the internet if you're used to internet chit-chat. I keep forgetting to capitalize words properly and of course getting rid of all those abbreviations is hard as well :p But it's really astonishing that he's able to understand me so easily when talking german because I'm not holding back grammar-wise at all. Thanks for the good review! I really think anyone on the fence here should try this out. Todes has been really good so far and with the DotA/LoL/BW backgrounds there's definitely plenty to talk about. Talking with him has just shown how out of whack my reading comprehension is compared to my writing. It would be like: "Hey, what do you think of cat?" "Oh wow, I adore cats. Absolutely fantastic creatures! We have three cats, all of them three years old. I don't know how I'd live without them!" "I also like cats. Dogs are also good." I will try speaking soon~ lol yeah. I tried to be somewhat talkactive because there're only so few topics you can cover so that makes things even more extreme. Like that story about my dad and him not being able to distinguish between German and Swedish while translating. Had nothing (very little) to do with the topic but got us some talk! ///Edit: (totally not a bump)/// ...... I thought German and Swedish wasn't that close?
Nooo, it's close.
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On November 02 2012 02:30 aloT wrote:
I recommend that people learn from as many different resources as possible instead of linearly going through one. It will cement your knowledge and shore up all the holes. If you try to go from A > B it will be very frustrating. It should be A > A > A > A > B and then back to A. If you ever need to stop, listen, re-listen and decipher what someone is saying, then even if you can translate what they are saying you are at a too high level. Only move on when what you already know what is being said as if its native.
I'm not sure if I agree with this. Just like working on one sc2 build until it's second nature, this makes you very one dimensional, and you won't be having any kind of communication for a rather long time.
Edit:
To further clarify, things should become natural for you to do as you practice using them. ie, use the build you've learned on the ladder, or use new grammar and vocabulary in a conversation. Even if you don't use it perfectly, hopefully the person you are talking with will correct you.
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I am a native Mandarin Chinese speaker.
Employment: phd student in engineering and currently live in France
My main target language is French atm. I speak basic Korean too.
Games I play atm: CS:GO, SC2 (I haven't bought DOTA2 yet and probably won't coz I need to have a life... :D)
Contact me either if you speak English or French, and want to learn mandarin Chinese. You can not only learn the language but also Chinese culture.
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TL: r3dox
Skype: pm me
Spoken: German
Target: korean ^^
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mistakenly submitted a post..
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Hey.. I'd love to meet someone who speaks Polish and wouldn't mind spending *any* time with me to help me out. I'm trying to l earn it quickly but I know it would help a lot to be able to have someone to speak to and correct me, at all. All I speak is English, and it would be my pleasure to reciprocate. Please PM me if you're interested!
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EPT
