Language Learning

After around 4 years of very casually building up skills, lurking in online communities, and watching far too many videos repeating the same things over and over, here is pretty much everything Ive picked up on acquiring a second language from scratch. Espera un momento por favor. Was that okay. Did I do okay.

Disclaimer

The majority of these resources will be geared towards romance languages, and particularly Spanish. While I will try to list all the languages available (when possible) for a specific resource, very few of them will have been tested. Ive heard that most resources focused on languages using the Latin alphabet tend to be poor for learning other alphabets, and vice versa.

Apps and Games

Duolingo - A good starting point, but not sufficient on its own. Please. Look at me. It's not enough.

Busuu - Very similar to Duolingo, but generally more in depth. Actually explains grammar! The choice of languages is much slimmer than Duolingo, though. I recommend this over Duolingo, if you have to pick one for whatever reason.

Memrise - Uses audio of real people, which I feel can help you familiarize yourself better with the language. Personally didn’t stick with this one, but most people seem to rave about it.

Anki - Everyone’s heard of Anki. AnkiApp, AnkiDroid, Anki this, Anki that. Spaced repetition system to help you memorize vocabulary. The subreddit is the best way to figure out how to use Anki with your specific device, there’s too many to recount (besides, Ive never actually used Anki).

Quizlet - Simple flashcard site. Also made the app Drops, specifically for vocabulary.

Clozemaster - A game-like site mainly focused on filling in sentences. Good exposure to the language, as it’s teaching words in their contexts. However, it requires payment to use it for more than, what, 5 minutes per day? Many say that it's worth the money, though.

Kwiziq - Currently only has lessons for French and Spanish, but is apparently planning on adding other languages. In-depth grammar explanations with short quizzes to go alongside. Tracjs what you do and don't know to generate quiz questions. Amazing resources, but the free version is quite limiting, and the paid version is expensive.

duome.eu - Clone of the old Duolingo notes pages and forums. Incredibly easy to follow.

And take this list of apps (ruhua-langblr on Tumblr) that I haven’t tried out for the most part. Some are geared towards certain languages (eg. Lingodeer for Korean/Japanese) so watch out for anything catered to your goals.

YouTube Videos

To be honest, I don't have any specific channels to recommend for general language learning. For TL content, you'll have to go look for whatever engages you. In the beginning, just listen to whatever's available, any topic at any speed.

How I learnt Norwegian on my own (23mins) - Norwegian with Ilys

Very good summary of everything you need to do in order to learn a language. Not at all specific to Norwegian.

How to Become Conversationsl in Any Language (15mins) - Tiger in Translation

Nice tips, covers how to study well in case you’re not sure how to start. Heads-up that this is a Vtuber.

Learning Japanese Isn't Actually That Hard (21mins) - Trenton《トレントン》

Mainly talks about comprehensible input method and moving onto consuming more difficult native speaker content. Not specific to japanese.

Social Media

I have not asked any of these accounts if I can put them here, none of these are me, nor are they associated with me. Im adding ones Ive found useful, informative, and fun. Saying all this in case I get canceled or something and someone comes to drag these users into it. None of these are me.

Reddit

Impossible to make this list without mentioning Reddit forums. r/LanguageLearning is a good start, but the subreddits for your specific target language (eg. r/Spanish or r/Russian, simple to search for) is probably best. Tons of resources on each sub. Can’t go wrong. (r/Piracy can help with getting shows in your target language, too.)

Tumblr

Still has a reasonably active studyblr and langblr community. While these tags have somewhat died a little, most active blogs post huge resource lists (I have one linked below!), vocabulary, and motivational content. Really worth checking out tags such as langblr, language learning, (insert TL) learning, and whatever else comes up while you browse.

adhdlanguages on Tumblr

Mainly Spanish and Japanese, but reblogs general linguistics content too. Good to keep up motivation. Seems friendly.

spanishskulldugery on Tumblr

Spanish only blog, often answers asks with lengthy but easy to follow info.

Masterlist of resources by linguistness on Tumblr

Tips, textbooks, links, vocabulary, pretty much everything. As overwhelming as it looks, Id take this as a good starting point into reaching your target.

Textbook folder aka. The Holy Grail of Language Learning

Taken from the previous post, I have to highlight this as its own part because of how invaluable it truly is. Textbooks, grammar books, and workbooks for languages from around the globe, organised by continent. Scroll to the bottom of the post, it’s a MEGA folder, not a Google Drive folder.

What is a spaced repetition system (SRS)?

This is a method of memorizing information long-term in the fastest way possible. Simply, flashcards are selected, usually by a machine, based on whether you were able to recall them the last time you saw them, and when the last time you failed to recall them was. After each successful recall of information, the length of time until you have to recall it again grows longer until it’s stored in your long term memory.

For example, if you correctly recall the information on a flashcard, you may see it again the next day. Another successful recall may result in you next seeing it in 3 days. Another recall, 7 days, and so on. If you fail to recall at any point, the process starts again. This is generally a very convenient way to learn heaps of vocabulary, as it prioritises showing you what you still need to learn while training you to recall that which you already have.

Flashcards apps that use an SRS system will push it as one of its advantages. This system does largely depend on you practicing each card right when it’s time to refresh your memory, which can become cumbersome if you’re learning vocabulary. Anki, for example, famously uses an SRS system, as well as allowing users to put limits on how many cards will be shown for recall in a day to prevent overwhelm. However, there are plenty of apps that will use SRS, and you don’t need it to learn.

Comprehensible Input

A large part of language acquisition revolves around input, that is, consuming media and listening to speakers of your target language (TL). This can be through reading, watching videos/movies, listening to the radio, or frankly any other way of living through a language.

In order for this to be effective, however, you ought to have some level of understanding of what you’re consuming. It’s much easier to pick up grammatical patterns when you’re familiar with the words being used, and it’s easier to pick up new words when you’re already familiar with, say, 80% of the ones you’re hearing. Unless you’re only passively listening/reading, there’s little point in consuming things which you can’t understand, especially if there’s the opportunity to learn from things which you can.

Comprehensible input is the idea of consuming media and/or engaging in your target language at a level that is either equal to or slightly above your level of understanding. This way, you reinforce what you already know, and are much more likely able to deduce what you don’t know. It’s difficult to determine what level of understanding a piece of media is outside of using genres as a guide (e.g. young adult, classics) or consuming content specifically for learners, so try not to worry too much about classification. Just focus on what you understand and what you don’t.

You should aim to work up to higher levels at a pace that is suitable to you, but try to never stagnate or get too comfortable. If you understand everything you see, try something just a little harder. If you understand nothing, try something a little easier. If you understand most but need to look a few things up here and there, keep going.

Tips that helped me

• 5 minutes per day of studying is better than nothing, but do try studying without apps such as Duolingo whenever posible, so you can focus on what you're really struggling with.


• Start writing a diary/journal to make use of any new vocabulary and grammar that you've learned. Even if it sounds repetitive at first, just write as much as you can, whenever you can, ideally with a dictionary on hand.


• Use Youtube as soon as possible. Start listening to your target language immediately. Never put this off. Any speed, any topic, any channel, just do it.


• If watching educational videos is boring at times, ASMR videos might be a little better if you can tolerate them. They tend to be slow paced and have little background noise, so they’re generally easy to follow. Search for ‘soft-spoken’ videos if whispering isn’t your thing.


• Forums are surprisingly good for seeing how people generally talk. Posts tend to be longer than those on social media, too, giving you more to work with. The only downside is that forums aren’t as popular as they used to be, but hey, if you’re browsing old web hosting sites, you’re probably willing to go there anyway.


• Why do I have so much to say on language learning? Im not even good at it.


• You will need to study grammar at some point, it’s inevitable. It might be easier for you to consume content first, and then look up grammar as it becomes relevant. It can be tiring at first, but you’ll pick things up quickly after some time.


• Get a physical bilingual dictionary! As good as online ones are, there's just something about seeing the words actually written in front of you. Some people (me) may find it easier to flick through a couple pages rather than having to type the word into a search box every time they need to look something up, improving the flow of reading and writing. Most good dictionaries tend to have full conjugation lists in them too.


• It really is all about input once you get to the intermediate stage. Focusing on retaining vocabulary is important and will make grammar studies so much easier, and one of the best ways to retain vocabulary is to see it used in context.


• When making flashcards, it's pften recommended to use pictures alongside words and include example sentences with your TL word in order to make them easier to memorize.


• If you feel yourself stagnating or plateauing, try hammering in more vocabulary. If this doesn't work, look out for expressions (e.g. for what it's worth, me importa un pepino (lit. it matters a cucumber to me), break a leg) and use them in your own speech/writing.