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realPtolemytoday at 2:07 PM1 replyview on HN

I recall that my old German teacher taught us that listening to Music in a particular language, and watching TV where they speak a language, were the two best ways to learn a languages.

Her reason for why: Context and various slang words are grasped much quicker compared to the cumbersome process of repeating of words and phrases (She did not omit the need of the latter though).

She was great, 60 years old at the time and had us repeat the lyrics of Rammstein songs in class, her favorite band.


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kkkqkqkqkqlqlqltoday at 2:27 PM

I don't know if music in a new language works so well. Lots of songs have, like, "forced" slang or even changes in pronunciation or syllable stress to meet the constraints of the lyrics. In my country I see lots of people that only listen to music in English but don't have any grasp of it.

Instead, I would go with cartoons or children/preteen's shows first. In adult shows, even when not R-rated, characters usually speak way too fast, or, what is most common, the voices are not mixed very clearly, unlike cartoons.

What worked for me best (for English) was watching Disney movies, the same ones I watched in Spanish.

> She was great, 60 years old at the time and had us repeat the lyrics of Rammstein songs in class, her favorite band

This is hilarious, like "Now, kids, repeat after me, 'te quiero puta'"

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