Newest Questions
1,440 questions
28
votes
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answers
704
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Which of these is more effective: having a silent period, or speaking from day one?
Nowadays, people usually learn languages in one of two ways: silent learning or speaking the new language from day one. They have their pros and cons but differ from each other greatly.
A silent ...
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9
votes
1
answer
229
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Are there studies on the effectiveness of Rosetta Stone as a language learning tool?
Rosetta Stone gets a lot of publicity, perhaps because of its large marketing budget. And finding individual reviews is easy--some people love it, some hate it, some have mixed feelings.
But has any ...
- 5,162
19
votes
5
answers
478
views
Is there a method to learn which grammatical gender a noun in French has?
In French, some nouns are considered male and some female (le/la). Is there a way which can help me understand which grammatical gender to use with which noun?
- 391
19
votes
1
answer
240
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How can immersion in the language's country improve beginner skills?
As a beginner in language X, how will immersion in that language's country help learn the language faster and better?
Are there any studies that show that visiting the language's country helps to ...
- 948
20
votes
4
answers
597
views
Is it possible to learn a language just by being exposed to media and books? [closed]
Say I want to learn to speak Chinese.
Could it be possible to learn Chinese just by watching subtitled Chinese movies/tv and reading books made for children?
- 379
34
votes
1
answer
852
views
How does immersion passively help with learning a language?
It's a commonly claimed idea that just by being surrounded by people speaking a language you can become familiar with it. Sometimes it's even claimed that this can occur without actively learning the ...
- 445
38
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Has the "direct method" of language learning been shown to be superior to translation-based methods?
The textbook I'm using to learn Latin, called Lingua Latina per se Illustrata, is an example of the "direct method" of language instruction. The text is entirely written in Latin, and progresses ...
20
votes
1
answer
478
views
Which alphabet should I learn for Tatar?
I'd like to learn Tatar, particularly Kazan Tatar (not Crimean Tatar), but there are three alphabets in use: Zamanälif (Latin), Cyrillic, and İske imlâ (Arabic). My grandfather only knows İske imlâ ...
- 319
26
votes
2
answers
584
views
What are some techniques to better differentiate between the two languages?
I grew up learning Spanish in school (I'm from Arizona) and became fluent in Spanish. Later, in college, I started learning French. I noticed many of the linguistic similarities between the two ...
- 1,881
18
votes
2
answers
629
views
What metrics can be used to gauge language similarity?
What metrics exist to describe relative language similarity?
I've sometimes heard Spanish and Portuguese said to be something like "70% mutually intelligible." Although mutual intelligibility in this ...
- 5,162
22
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Is doing a huge amount of grammar exercises helpful for learning English?
Some books that teach English come with pages and pages of grammar exercises. Are these helpful?
I see that a few exercises are helpful to help you understanding the grammar. However, after that, ...
- 1,871
21
votes
3
answers
333
views
Can practicing vocabulary from L2 to the same L2 instead of from L2 to L1 be more effective for learning the vocabulary?
Can practicing vocabulary from a second language to the same second language instead of from a second language to your first language be more effective?
Example: Suppose I know German and I’m ...
- 1,871
9
votes
0
answers
91
views
Do any studies show what the effect is of skipping daily language practice for one day? [closed]
Most language teachers that you talk to strongly recommend daily practice. Some applications, like Duolingo, add incentives to encourage users to practice every day.
Is there actually evidence that ...
28
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Why do experts recommend learning Esperanto?
As a constructed language, Esperanto isn't spoken natively by anyone. Yet some linguists, language teachers, and SLA advocates encourage learning Esperanto. Why? What are the primary reasons that ...
- 5,162
73
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Are there any studies which address the effectiveness of studying multiple related languages simultaneously?
What studies, if any, address the study of multiple related languages (as in a relatively high level of mutual intelligibility--Spanish, Portuguese, Italian & French; Dutch & German, etc) ...
- 5,162