Learning another language, a waste of time?

[Twiki]

1. Watch movies, videos, etc in your target language.

Absolutely, this is how many people learn American, for example by watching game shows like Wheel of Fortune.

Learning another language is definitely not a waste of time. If you're concerned about aging (I note OP's signature), then it's even more worthwhile, as it may counteract effects of aging in terms of slowing down mental deterioration.

 

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[Alex Barboza]

Same basic question to you Alex, how would you go about learning Spanish?

If you can afford it inmerse yourself in a Spanish speaking country. Chile is a great option. Colombia, my country, is one more option you should consider. You can teach English in exchange, I guess. Don't go to Spain because their accent is too strong and can be more difficult for an English speaking person.

If you can't go abroad follow Mayana's advice. Consider volunteering with refugees and inmigrants near you. You could teach them some English and they could teach you Spanish.

 

[Determined2012]

Learn Chinese. I have my 8 year old twins learning it, as well as I am trying to learn it also.

 

[andviv]

You can teach English in exchange, I guess.

Great idea. My friend did this for two years in Spain and it worked great for her. She went to Barcelona and came back speaking great Spanish even though there they also talk a lot of Catalan.

Don't go to Spain because their accent is too strong and can be more difficult for an English speaking person.

Well, yes. And no. I think it all depends on your commitment to it. It is like saying a Spanish-speaking native to avoid learning English in Australia because the accent is too strong. it still works if you decide to commit to it.

Now I am biased as I went to Spain a couple of weeks ago and came back loving it.

 

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[andviv]

Also, pay attention to Mayana, she knows what she's talking about...

 

[andviv]

Chile is a great option.

This is one of the hardest Spanish accents for me to understand.

 

[GlobalWealth]

From a strictly business perspective, you should consider either Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, or Russian.

China is clearly a world economic powerhouse and will only continue to grow. Speaking the language would be hugely beneficial for conducting business.

Spanish is the 2nd most spoken primary, and the 2nd most spoken secondary language in the world. You cannot go wrong learning Spanish and considering the economic tailwind behind several South American countries, this seems like a very logical choice.

There are about 300M native Russian speakers making it another big language. All of the former Soviet countries have Russian as either the primary or secondary language and Eastern Europe is a huge growth area. Speaking Russian would be a big plus.

 

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[socaldude]

With all of these economies that have emerged, learning a second language is a MUST.

When you speak another language you activate different parts of your brain. The more parts of your brain you use the smarter you can potentially be. Your brain is like a muscle you have to use it to stay sharp and get smarter.

I speak and write spanish and every time I speak it i feel like i'm exposing a different part of my personality that I never knew I had. Its very fascinating.

A true fastlaner will understand that we live in a global economy and being able to communicate effectively is a must.

 

[Rawr]

There are about 300M native Russian speakers making it another big language. All of the former Soviet countries have Russian as either the primary or secondary language and Eastern Europe is a huge growth area. Speaking Russian would be a big plus.

I can't believe how often knowing Russian turns into a benefit at the randomest places- from video games to movies to just random people in the middle of USA.

 

[Hong King Kong]

Learn Mandarin, the market in China is huge. 9/10 Chinese people will drop their jaws when they see a foreigner speak fluent Chinese.

 

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[Gsuz]

Learn Russian if you want to promote anything via internet. You can rape Google so hard, they will sue you for necrophilia. You would not believe the influence of Russians on search results, organic (SEO) or paid (PPC), web automation and the like. They do have amazing software and scripts of all kinds and it really opened my eyes in a lot of ways, but that's just me coming from a certain field.

That said I think that learning a second/third/etc language is never a waste of time. However I feel like, at least for me a certain level of profiency is enough and I do not need to master a language to its fullest. Tim Ferris' has some great information on that.

 

[Kak]

Bucket list has spanish and chinese on it.

I can get by in latin america so far. No fluency at all yet.

 

[xhcsurge]

Chinese people will drop their jaws when they see a foreigner speak fluent Chinese.

And that's because it's extremely hard to learn Chinese

 

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[The-J]

This is one of the hardest Spanish accents for me to understand.

Can you understand an Argentinian accent? I speak Puerto Rican Spanish and I can understand Mexican and Castilian Spanish, but Argentinian Spanish just sounds alien to me.

 

[jacobdawson]

As mentioned above, learning Chinese (Mandarin) is a surefire way to prep yourself for opportunities in the new economy and expanding markets. I don't think anyone has yet mentioned that if you're focusing on developing nations primed to explode (figuratively, hopefully) then you should also consider learning Standard Hindi (India).

On top of that, as many people have already covered, learning a new language expands your horizons, forces you to think outside of the box (essential for entrepreneurs) and is also beneficial for improving fluid intelligence (Gf).

Don't wait - challenge yourself and you'll be surprised at how quickly you pick it up. That's always better than looking back and saying (in English!); "if only..."

 

[andviv]

Can you understand an Argentinian accent?

I am native speaker and I understand all of the countries accents. Some take longer to get used to though. People from Argentina, Chile and Spain probably have the thicker Spanish accents.

If you are native English speaker from the US and go to Australia or England, will probably take a little bit of time to get used to it too. It takes an extra half second to 'get it' plus some time getting used to the local jargon of the place. Is it a condo, flat or apartment?

Heck, it even happens when you go to another part of the US. I recall when I lived in Arkansas, where breakfast must be broken as everybody wanted to fix me some breakfast. Go figure.

So, for example, you go to Puerto Rico and see the "Concha Acústica" and think nothing of it. If you are Argentinian you probably laugh till no end thanks to the meaning they give to the word 'concha'.

I speak Puerto Rican Spanish

Funny, of all the Spanish speaking countries, this is to me the most interesting and they mix English a lot during conversation. If you get this one you can probably understand easily all the central and Caribbean Spanish speaking countries accents.

 

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[The-J]

I am native speaker and I understand all of the countries accents. Some take longer to get used to though. People from Argentina, Chile and Spain probably have the thicker Spanish accents.

I've never heard Chilean Spanish. I hear it's spoken extremely fast. I'm also not a native speaker, but my parents are. They never taught me the language.

The biggest difference between accents I think (besides the voseo and the seseo) is the slang and curse words they use. It's actually kind of funny but also embarrassing when you say something that sounds dirty to them but isn't to you.

I don't remember if you said you had kids or not, but if you do, do your kids speak Spanish? One thing that I spite my parents for is that they refused to teach me any Spanish. They didn't even try despite the fact that my grandparents on both sides would yell at them to no end because of it. Rebellion against their culture, perhaps?

 

[andviv]

I do. The oldest is pretty good with it. The other one not so much. This seems to be a common thing with immigrants' kids. The first one gets it better than the rest.

To Lights, so what are you going to do about a second language? Which one will you learn?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

"Speed" to Lights for the great topic... yes, Lights! :eusa_clap:

 

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[dknise]

Anyone looking to learn quickly, I highly suggest LiveMocha.com. It's like a free online Rosetta Stone. It's great.

 

[stranger]

There are about 300M native Russian speakers making it another big language. All of the former Soviet countries have Russian as either the primary or secondary language and Eastern Europe is a huge growth area. Speaking Russian would be a big plus.

Russian is very difficult for English speakers.

 

[Graham Chong]

And that's because it's extremely hard to learn Chinese

Well, grammar wise it is relatively easy, for example there's no tense or gender. (The same goes with my another language Malay, I guess that's why I struggle with using the correct tenses in English sometimes)

Pronunciation is the more difficult part, we are not being picky - sometimes we just can't understand you if you don't get the tones right. Mandarin has 5 tones, and Cantonese is even harder, it's got 9! Having said that, I have some white American friends who can speak really fluent Mandarin, so it's doable!

P/S: My American friend once asked me how do I understand the lyrics in Mandarin/Cantonese songs if the languages are tonal in nature - I just couldn't answer. Still seeking for the answer

 

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[buckmajor]

Its a good idea to learn another language if your on the run from the police and you need an overseas escape route lol

 

[Jake]

Learn Chinese. I have my 8 year old twins learning it, as well as I am trying to learn it also.

I'd like to eventually get my daughter a Mandarin tutor. She turns 2 today so I'll let her get a better handle on English and Thai and then begin introducing Mandarin.

 

[Graham Chong]

Its a good idea to learn another language if your on the run from the police and you need an overseas escape route lol

How about Portuguese for Brazil for this specific purpose?

In case you really have to flee the authorities…

I'd like to eventually get my daughter a Mandarin tutor. She turns 2 today so I'll let her get a better handle on English and Thai and then begin introducing Mandarin.

It is feasible. Most of my former schoolmates spoke only their respective Chinese dialects (not mutually intelligible with Mandarin) at home before starting kindergarten/school at the age of 5/7 but turned up alright speaking Mandarin afterwards.

Maybe better examples would be my Malay and Indian former schoolmates. They managed to speak fluent Mandarin despite having no exposure at all to any form of Chinese before school age, with their accents though. The common problem is that they tend to lose the ability to speak fluently if they stop speaking it after finishing school.

A good related blog here if you fancy some form of location independent lifestyle together with your family one day.

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2012/11/chinese-school-fun.html#more

 

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[nation]

Anyone looking to learn quickly, I highly suggest LiveMocha.com. It's like a free online Rosetta Stone. It's great.

Thanks, what is their business model? It's not immediatly clear to me, though I am not too far into the registration/setup process.