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dvtyesterday at 7:27 PM3 repliesview on HN

I'm always a bit weary of theoretical stuff like this. The best way to learn a new language is to move there (preferably somewhere where people don't speak or don't want to speak your native language). I know people that didn't speak a lick of Spanish, moved to Spain, and in a year they're basically fluent. Of course, still struggling with stuff they might not be used to: gendered language, conjugations, and so on. But overall, able to be fully understood by native speakers.

Theoretical educational frameworks don't replace the day-to-day struggle of trying to get shit done. (Doing this is, of course, extremely uncomfortable, and people will avoid it at all costs.)


Replies

D-Codertoday at 5:20 AM

I've managed to learn Esperanto fluently without ever moving to... er... um.

econyesterday at 7:49 PM

Go there, learn to talk then take classes there. You might not be able to speak better than the natives you can learn to grammar harder.

carabineryesterday at 8:17 PM

It's so strange to hear you and GP talking as if no one has ever learned a foreign language without moving to another country. The US military has been teaching translators for decades at the Defense Language Institute in California, and people learn languages to conversational fluency in university, albeit inefficiently. Duolingo is a game meant to be fun and collect subscription fees, not designed to teach any useful skill.

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