With 0 being “I don’t know a single word” and 10 being “I am fluent and you couldn’t tell the difference between me and a native speaker”, I would rank myself a generous 4/10 in French. 3 years of French in high school, and random studies throughout my life because I love the language and would like to one day be fluent. I like using kid’s tv to help learn sentence structure, pronunciation, and new vocabulary. I typically choose shows I am familiar with and have seen before in English and watch them in French now to try to aid my learning. But I’m curious, are English subtitles or French more beneficial to learning? Thanks!

I'm new to teaching my native language, French, and I'm struggling to come up with activities that are not only educational but also truly engaging, fun, and motivating for students. What strategies or types of activities have been the most effective in your classes?

When you learn a less commonly studied language, people often ask you why you are bothering to learn it and some may even discourage you from learning it by arguing that it is a waste of time. For those who are learning a less popular language and have become proficient in it, how has it changed your life and what are some positive experiences that have come about as a result of knowing the language? Which language are you learning? I'm not sure what criteria I would use to define a rarer language. Some languages have many speakers, but are not commonly studied outside the country in which they are spoken

So, I don't know if I have put right title. But let me explain. I am immigrant in Canada who needs to get CLB7 for permanent residency. I had three years of WP, so I just switched to part-time work only to just focus intensively on Language Learning. I just followed language acquisition method, I listen alot, read, try to comprehend but not fully. I put myself at the level of A2 for now. I do anki flashcards also of top 5000 words. But now I feel I have hit plateau. I mean I can't go further. Because I still find hard to differentiate written and sometimes spoken french that which tense it is. I can understand but can't understand tense because they sound same. Another is, writing. According to me I write correct translation of English to french, but in french, the way of saying is different. For instance Je suis chaud comme Soleil! Means I am aroused, in french. In actual I tired to write my temper is hot, like that. I need advice, that what should I start extra, along with anki, bit of Grammer, reading, which thing to use as I have a lot of time, 8-10 hours a day. I can't just listen all day, or do anki all day. I need to be productive but I don't have anything other than that. I want to make my first attempt of TEF Canada in 3 months, just to reach CLB 5 and then continue practicing for CLB-7. Any polyglots, or who learned the language or used some techniques or learn language faster? Help me out guys. BTW, I am also enrolled in online class, which mainly focus on Grammer aspect.

Greetings. So, I love language learning, and I have gotten my Russian up to a solid C1, after many years of work. Two months ago, I was easily having long conversations entirely in Russian.

I am also studying Spanish, and had a level of B1ish, but had very little opportunity to use it. Until December, when I spent 2 months in Puerto Rico and did intensive Spanish lessons. Now I can have B1/2 level conversations in Spanish, with some difficulty.

But now that my stay in PR is over, I really need to be able to switch back to Russian for work. And I am finding that when I talk to my Russian tutor, and especially with others, I am code switching random words. The Spanish is interfering massively with my Russian!

I don't have much interference with English, my native language--though sometimes a word in Spanish or Russian rises into my mind, I am able to actually vocalize the correct language.

Has this happened to you? Is there any good way to facilitate conversation without codeswitching?

In some ways, it was easier when my L3 was less strong.

When it comes to review, I'm currently using anki for revese cards with my target language (korean). One nice thing in quizlet was typing tests and matching cards, which forced me to think deeper about things like spelling. Any tips for amplifying anki for this?

i read the FAQ but didn't see this one listed

as per my flair, i'm learning japanese and korean, i live in japan and im fluent enough that i don't actively learn everyday--just by osmosis. korean i learn in uni. i'm academic level of latin which i brush up every couple months or so

anyways, i want to add on another language like spanish or german, and since im actively learning korean, and passively learning japanese. are there any studies or anything which have studied language acquisition rates like this? any anecdotal evidence? i don't want to stunt my progress on a whim yk

i wanna get my masters in linguistics (yes ik this degree isn't just 'learn as many languages as possible' degree) but i thought introducing myself to as many languages as possible could be a good thing

I'm studing italian and spanish on university, and I'm not sure how to approach repetitions.

When you are repeating, do you tend to focus on set of most important and crucial words, which will come most handy and do one big repetition, or do you go with a few set, but with less words by topic?

I'm not sure if I explained it clearly, but what im asking is, it's better to do "all important voc" set, or "voc home releted" "voc people description" "verbs" and go by them one by one?

I don't know in which r/ post this one but I do really believe emoticon to be part of language learning, so...
Happened to me the second time in my life to meet someone from a different cultural background who uses lots of ")" at the end of texts.
I guess this one to be a smile but without the eyes? Hoping someone who has some knowledge could tell me...
Is this something related to specific cultures? And is there a reason?
Hopefully to start an interesting discussion about this.

I’ve been learning a relatively niche language (less than 10 million speakers) for about 4 months. I had 2 months of classroom instruction, and the past two months have been spent living with a host family in a community where no one speaks english. While I definitely see improvements in my comprehension and speaking ability, I would love to progress more quickly if possible. Book studying is difficult because there are limited resources, and the dictionaries I have access to are often incorrect or outdated.

Does anyone have any suggestions on ways to get the most out of my learning here? Things to listen for in conversation, ways to practice when speaking etc. I will be living here, with a host family, working in the target language for the next two years, so any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much, and apologies if this has been asked before.

Hey r/languagelearning community!

I'm working on a Chinese learning app and exploring the concept of companion characters. While my implementation would be culturally specific to Chinese learning (based on traditional scholar imagery), I'd love to hear from ALL language learners about whether this type of feature would enhance your learning experience.

The Concept:
Imagine having a customizable companion (inspired by Chinese culture and scholarly traditions) that:

• Evolves as you progress through your studies
• Celebrates your achievements
• Provides gentle encouragement
• Maintains cultural authenticity

If you like the idea, I'm considering two integration approaches:

1. Sidebar Companion:

• Fixed in a small side panel
• Always visible but unobtrusive
• Provides clear, focused feedback through subtle animations
• Think of it as a study buddy sitting at the corner of your desk
• Reacts to your progress with gentle nods or encouraging gestures

2. Dynamic Wallpaper:

• Integrated into the background environment
• Subtle, atmospheric presence (like a living Chinese painting)
• Blurred/desaturated to avoid distraction
• Becomes more prominent only during milestone moments
• Creates an immersive cultural atmosphere

Questions for you:

1. Would you want a companion character in your language learning app at all? Why/why not?
2. If yes, which integration style would you prefer and why?
3. What features would make or break this concept for you?

I'd really appreciate your honest thoughts and experiences - both positive and negative perspectives are valuable!

View Poll

Hello,

I've been learning English since 2022 by myself; I learned grammar, I watch series in english, I have Elsa Speak and Promova for learning vocabulary and improve pronunciation. Also, I work in English in canada (I study every day after work) but even when I know in theory how to ask and build a sentences, I'm not fluent. Most of the time I structure sentences in a weird way. I guess it's influenced by the way I speak in my native language (Spanish). My coworkers have trouble understanding me, and sometimes I don't get anything when they speak with me and even sometimes I feel my english is getting worse instead improving. I don't what else to do. I study grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary.

Someone had an similar experience? How did you get over it?

Greetings r/languagelearning. Over the past year I have committed the mistake of having studied three different languages to a level far from fluency, yet past a threshold such that their abandonment would represent a sorrowful waste of my efforts. I became conversationally fluent in Ukrainian by early October, but have neglected it since, and now can actively recall only the simplest sentences.

With my limited free time, I have seen a sacrifice of sleeping hours as a solution to my Sisyphean struggle. I thought of perhaps watching two hours of media in Ukrainian, followed by two hours of media in my other languages on certain days as a valid solution (entailing the neglect of sleep), though I best follow through with my thought by seeking the wisdom of Reddit. Aside from any adverse effects that such a routine may play on one's mental health, has it, in your own experience or the experiences of others, noticeably accelerated the learning process? In other words, disregarding other affairs that request my time, will this optimize the manner in which I improve linguistically?

Thank you.

If so, how did you do it? Which programs or apps did you use? How long did it take you to get fluent?

I'm learning Dutch on Duolingo and French in school. I know more Dutch then French. My problem is that I keep mixing up the two. So in Dutch "I" is "ik" and "you" is "je". In French however, "I" is "je" so now whenever we have to write/speak/read in French I keep translating it to "you" instead of "I". How do I fix this? It's also not only this like sometimes we have to fill in the blanks and I keep almost putting the Dutch phrase in instead of French.

I study a degree in French and German. I've just been to Geneva from September to January as part of an exchange year, so my French is now high B2-low C1. I was supposed to be going to Graz for the German part of my year abroad, but I've decided against it due to mental health reasons. I still want to continue with my degree, but my only fear is I feel as though I have forgotten a lot of my German knowledge.

I'd say I'm around B1-B2 in German, but it's so rusty because I haven't properly used it since about June last year. I will be going into my final year of uni in October so I need to not only maintain/improve my French, but also ensure my German is at a good enough level.

I've tried using Lingoda for French before but I didn't find it that useful. I've never tried iTalki or Preply. Does anyone recommend these? Or if anyone has any resources or tips in general, it would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: So last night I gave my first trial lesson to a student who is at B2 level. It was going well but I decided to conclude the last 20 minutes of the lesson with an activity that just went way over my students head, knocked his confidence and was just completely out of place. I wish now that I had rather focused on a simpler, shorter activity that got him speaking and interacting more while focusing on what he really wanted.

His self-assessed language level was C1 so I figured it'd be appropriate to give him a hard activity. It wasn't. For my next student, I want to keep it way more interesting and relevant. Thank you for all the advice!

How do you remember how to write words? I seem to remember words and their meanings quite well, but I always make mistakes in writing them. Any tips?

I'm wondering how long it would take me to learn to speak all "Romance languages" fluently. I already speak English, Spanish and French fluently. I also know quite a bit of Portuguese and Italian. And yes I do mean the smaller less popular "romance languages" as well.

I'm currently learning Russian to enhance my college application, but progress has been slow. It's been about a month and a half, and I've only learned a few sentences. Part of the reason is that last year, I had a similar experience with Turkish. Although I initially thought I was making great progress, I gradually realized that my English had deteriorated. I struggled to find the right words, and my sentences became choppy, unintelligible, and overly long. It took nearly a year to regain my usual vocabulary. Now, I'm hesitant to take on Russian because I don't want to go through the same ordeal. I also enjoy writing poems and want to retain my English fluency so I can continue doing that without struggling to find the right words. I know I might sound a bit selfish, but I really love my English... I just can't help it.

I'm writing my bachelor thesis and was thinking of writing it on learning languages through kid's shows (such as spongebob or bluey) for A1-A2 level. I personally have learned all of the languages I currently know (3B2-C1 and 1 A1-2) through watching kids shows exclusively. Now that I am learning Icelandic, I have reached level A2 in Icelandic through passively watching my toddlers kids shows.

Does anyone of you have experienced using kids shows to learn their new language as a form of immersion?

Just trying to gather some ideas here and see where it could possibly lead. Hopefully I am in the right subreddit.

Ive been learning French for about 3-4 years(and not making much progress after having to quit my sophomore year) I don’t know if I want to continue or not. I feel like quitting would result in me being EXTREMELY disappointed in myself. At the same time, I can’t think of a reason to continue with French.

Spanish in College

I am a current freshman taking a Spanish 2 (Spanish 1002) class at my university, and I’m currently struggling.

For context, I took 2 years of Spanish in high school, but I haven’t taken a Spanish class since May 2023. I had to take a placement test to get into my class. A 26-40 would place me into my class and I got a 27, so I barely made the mark.

However, I feel I’m really struggling in my class. I feel I’ve forgotten so many basic skills because I’m haven’t taken a Spanish class in 1 1/2 years. My professor speaks primarily in Spanish and I can barely understand her. I feel in general my listening skills are way below where they should be. We also have to do a lot of speaking in my class and I feel my speaking skills are way below where they should be as well, especially compared to my classmates.

A lot of my classmates have been out of Spanish for some time too, but they don’t seem to be struggling as much. For example, we had a writing assignment and most people wrote a full page but I only wrote half a page. They answer the professors questions in class. And I got last on a Kahoot.

As part of my class, we have online conversations with native speakers and other people in our class. Mine genuinely went so bad. I could hardly understand my speaker and I could hardly answer her questions because I simply didn’t know the Spanish. Meanwhile, the other people in my group were having full conversations with her.

I would drop to a lower class, but my only option would be to drop to Spanish 1001, which is the very first basic class. I don’t feel I’m up to level in my class, but I feel I know enough that I wouldn’t belong in Spanish 1001. I would go to tutoring, but I’m not really sure what I need help with. I can’t pinpoint exact issues so I’m not sure how much tutoring would help.

I want to learn Spanish, but I’m worried my grade won’t be good if I stay in this class. I’m considering just dropping the class completely. Does anyone have any advice?

So I got an idea today, and it’s pretty much what the title says. I was thinking about learning arabic. In spanish. Which is my fourth spoken language. I am by no means fluent in it, but the idea is, I could learn a new language while reinforcing one that I already stopped actively lesrning. Has anyone here tried that before?

hi i have a few questions on immersion learning ill get into it.

1 should i learn simple grammer first then do immersion learning or???

2 is 5 to 6 hours a day good and how long should i wait to understand simple sentences

3 and also is it ok i only know nothing of what the person is accutally saying like i get the topics the person might say and other times i know nothing about what the person is saying

info

and also im using (nihongo con teppei) as a beginner for background listening

learning language: Japanese