Eyes on Final Fantasy Forums > Reference > Study Hall > Learning a foreign language

[Monkey4Soul]

To learn a foreign language, what steps do you think you should take to learn it with minimal hassle i.e. First, alphabet, then simple sentences, then a little grammar, etc?

[fire_of_avalon]

They say that with non-Roman characters it's best to learn alphabet and sentence structure and vocabulary all at once. I suck at learning languages with different writing systems, so I don't know.

Romance based languages, though, I think it's best to learn vocabulary and grammar at the same time.

[Aerith's Knight]

I speak 4 languages fluently and a couple sparingly..

i learned english and dutch simply from hearing it and reading it.. the grammar came later.. but i suppose it helps..

French and German i learned by studying the words, phrases, grammar and hearing it speak, oral exams and listening tests..

its what works best for you i suppose.. both work, but the first one takes longer

[Namelessfengir]

i got english down. if i really thought it out i could string together a few sentences using words and phrases from 6 different languages

[JaytodaP]

numbers, alphabet, verbs, vocab then you can learn sentences.

[Yaridovich]

Depends on the language.

What language are you learning?

With a Latin-alphabetical or a Cyrillic-alphabetical language learn the letters. Then learn pronunciation and similar mechanics.

Then move onto useful phrases. Once you master those, begin studying verb-conjugation. Begin with the present tense if the language permits.

Don't forget to study any adjective or noun inflections or declensions as need be.

I recommend Wikibooks for some good basic tutoring:
Wikibooks:Languages bookshelf - Wikibooks, collection of open-content textbooks
Some languages, like the French Wikibook, are well written and full of information. Other languages' books may be newer and not have as much information and tidbits.

Enjoy!

[Reasoniamalive]

One word: PIMSLEUR.

They make great audio learning programs for many languages. I'm learning Portuguese now.

It also helps to have a friend who speaks said language keep inserting words, phrases and correcting sentences/mistakes you make grammer-wise. My fiancee is from Brazil, and she helps me a lot. ;p

[Harle-Quin]

Depends what you wanna learn it for. If you just want to go over and have a holiday-like thing in whatever country, you don't need to concentrate as much on spelling and grammar etc.

But you should definitely learn the alphabet and pronunciation of it all. Mostly so you don't look like a pleb when it comes to booking a campsite O_O.

My mum spent 5 years in France. That was enough time to get her fluent enough to be confused for an actual French person, by French people.