studying a language without classes?

[xSuperMario64x]

I took German for four semesters in college and I would really like to start studying again (hoping to become fluent) but I'm not sure how to go about studying without taking a class where I can ask my teacher questions. I asked a lot of questions in my German class and I feel like I would get stuck a lot trying to study on my own.

anyone have any advice for me? I would really appreciate it

 

[amemome]

If there are any conversation groups active in your area, I would highly recommend attending them! I worked at a language-learning center and that's one of the first suggestions we were told to give people who were looking for more opportunities to learn and practice.

We also had a list of local language tutors and their contact information. I think several patrons reached out directly to tutors to help supplement their learning.

We also would recommend patrons to utilize free resources online such as Duolingo. If you have some extra cash, local universities or colleges tend to let people audit their language courses so you could potentially still take courses as someone who has already graduated.

 

[Kitsuragi]

are you specifically trying to avoid classes for some reason? if you're worried about the locality of language classes you could probably try a local college or private lessons through something like italki. it takes a lot of diligence to learn a language completely on your own. if cost is an issue then there are plenty of free books and videos online you can get your hands on, i personally have not taken german classes but my boyfriend has & is currently re-learning what he's forgotten so i can ask him for resources.

duolingo is decent for vocab but not great long term, good for dipping your feet back into it. i used duolingo for Korean and it started getting mad inaccurate and accepting very blatant mistakes that completely change a conversation. german might be a different case since i believe it has a better duolingo program than korean but ymmv. you always have good ol youtube which im sure has a plethora of videos for tutoring, language learning communities love helping people.

being around other speakers helps a lot so i'd recommend joining groups. discord, facebook, in person, whatever. being exposed to the language is the easiest way to learn it and one of the only ways to really nail it since you're probably going to need help with pronunciation. there's no better practice than a conversation.

 

[QueenCobra]

When I was in college, I learned some French Canadian (Quebecois) and Nahuatl online. I just took a lot of notes, listened to recordings, and memorized them. Language was always my strong point, especially with memorizing words.
As Franny mentioned, Duolingo is good to start with, but not if you want to get too in-depth with a language. I learned this the hard way with French and Hebrew.
When I was younger, I began learning French through a DS game, but began taking classes as I got older. I think apps, taking notes, and memorization are good-- but in the long run, I learned the most from classes. Maybe there's some videos or virtual classes you can try?

 

[xSuperMario64x]

are you specifically trying to avoid classes for some reason?

lmao no I'm just very broke and I'm not sure how taking one class at a time through the local colleges would work. would've loved to continue taking classes w my old professor after I graduated but he was forced to retire same year I left.

 

[Kitsuragi]

lmao no I'm just very broke and I'm not sure how taking one class at a time through the local colleges would work. would've loved to continue taking classes w my old professor after I graduated but he was forced to retire same year I left.

it would work the same as taking other classes, you just might not be eligible for financial aid. contact your local college for info, and like amemome said you could audit the course as well.

 

[Asarena]

I'm not sure for German specifically, but some things I've done for studying Korean and Russian:
-If you're okay with SRS, then I find Anki helpful. Personally, I can only really use it intensively at the beginning though. Making and reviewing cards becomes too mind numbing for me after a while. I do still use it after the beginning stage, but I mostly use it for reviewing unfamiliar words encountered while reading and such and stop using it as frequently.
-The language learning subreddits can be useful. There's one for language learning in general and also ones for specific languages. If you have questions, native speakers and more advanced learners will answer them. I would recommend searching the subreddit to see if the question has already been asked though. Repetitive questions can annoy people after a while. I'm not sure for the German subreddit, but the Korean and Russian subreddits also have lists of resources for learning the languages. Similarly, there's a forum dedicated to language learners: https://forum.language-learners.org/. People there can help with questions, there are lists of resources for various languages, and reading logs of other learners may be useful.
-Another tool I like is Language Reactor: https://www.languagereactor.com/. It allows you to watch Netflix and YouTube with dual subtitles. You can also choose to hide the subtitles and reveal them as needed. There's also a reading tool, which I would probably use more.
-Podcasts! At the early stages, you can find podcasts designed for learners using more simplified language or spoken slowly, and you can start listening to podcasts for native speakers once you're more advanced.

 

[imorileo]

Something that helped me learn German was lots of listening to people communicate! So I would watch German shows without subtitles and try and catch words I knew, and then list down the words I was unfamiliar with. I’d also watch movies or listen to the radio lol. Or I’d go on a site and look for people to practice with.

 

[Bluebellie]

Not really a class, but watching movies with subtitles of the language you want to learn helps a lot! Playing the video games on a different language helps also.

 

[Neb]

Looking up self study textbooks in your desired language can teach you the core grammar you need while giving you sample conversations. Make sure to take notes containing the main ideas of each lesson so you can speed up studying. From personal experience studying notes is way easier than rereading the same textbooks chapters over and over.

For vocabulary I highly recommend Anki. It's a free flashcard app that sorts your decks for you. Every time I find a new vocabulary word I throw it into the app as a flashcard and practice it the next day. Then I check back on my growing deck every day to practice both old and new flashcards. I've literally memorized hundreds of words this way.

Like others have said if you want listening practice you could always watch movies or TV shows in the language with subtitles. Try listening for words and pick up whatever you can. Understanding a full sentence without needing the subtitles on the bottom is always satisfying.

 

[skarmoury]

It's been said a lot, but train yourself to hear/read the language on a daily basis. Join groups, watch videos, read texts in that language. I learned one language purely from surrounding myself with people who also spoke the language (I didn't take any formal classes nor did I actually study it). While I'm not super fluent at it, I can properly understand and converse with majority of the people!

It takes a lot of time so you definitely need patience, but if you're determined to practice it a little per day, you can do it c:

 

[tiffanistarr]

I wish I had the mental capacity to learn a new language. I fare decently well with some languages, but only on certain words. I think that comes from taking latin for so long in highschool. You can recognize a lot of similarities in languages. It’s also easier to kind of understand where languages come from. However, with years of latin I remember very few things. There is obviously very few places to speak latin so if you aren’t actively pursuing it then you lose if. At least that is how it was in my case. I can however appreciate languages because of my time in latin class.

 

[Foreverfox]

If you think about how we learn languages I'm general, like with our native languages, we learn to speak before reading and writing. As adults learning, this is backwards most of rhe time. Try to dedicate some time to speaking, even if it's just narrating your surroundings to yourself. I've got my hand in learning 4 different languages right now, but French is the one I've definitely come the farthest with. I got to a point where a I was dreaming and thinking in French. Hope that helps!

 

[Romaki]

I tried Duolingo but it never really motivated me enough.

I've learned English by TV though and being too stubborn to wait for subtitles.

 

[GreenTeaHarbor1297]

I took three Spanish classes in the past, all three of them were a waste of time and not productive at all.

In my spare time recently, I have downloaded the "Learn Spanish for Beginners" app from Marshal Abdullah, along with a cheap notebook to write down each term from the app in, and my progress has been so much better. Granted, I still need more studying time to develop fluency, but watching Beauty & the Beast and Nightmare Before Christmas in Spanish without subtitles yesterday, as well as reading the Santa Biblia (Bible in Spanish) I bought cheap a few days ago, I was pleased with how many words I was able to get, showing that I've definitely made progress.

Marshal Abdullah's app is free and offline btw, and he also has one each for French, German, Italian, and Arabic.