Learning a new language on your own

I am happy to hear that you share my interest in the Russian language, maybe we can help eachother learn the language I am still a beginner, but I try to learn some new words every day. I have downloaded a programme created by a Danish high school. When I use it, I read a word and listen to the pronounciation and then I have to pick the right translation from a list of Danish words. I will continue to use that programme and I plan on combining it with some of the ideas that I got from the this discossion.

Thanks for your support. I hope that I will manage to learn Russian on my own. The Russian alphabet is different from the alphabet that I am used to, and that is a challenge. I am happy that I have access to internet, that makes it a lot easier as I am able to listen to the Russian language and learn the pronounciation that way. I have found a great picture dictionary where I am able to read the words in Russian and listen to the pronounciation at the same time, and I use that a lot.

ii would like to learn russian from u.hope we can talk in that language.I think this will be more easy for learning.When we discuss such things and wrok on that then it will be more interesting.

Yes, it is hard to focus on learning when you also want to enjoy the movies I think that the Russian language is quite difficult. Some of the words are hard for me to pronounce, but I listen to the words over and over and that helps me get used to the sounds. I also have to learn a new alphabet, so that is a challenge as well. I have learned some Japanese, but I am still a beginner. I can understand some sentences, but I still haven't learned to speak, read or write. I spent some time at a Danish/Japanese school in Denmark. The Danish students studied Japanese and the Japanese students studied Danish. It was a great place and I sometimes miss my Japanese friends.

I've heard some Russian conversation on movies and I think it is pretty interesting. And as I've said, it feels like it's hard on the tongue, like your tongue would twist any moment. And you know, no offense meant, but whenever I hear someone speaking Russian, it feels like the person is going to curse any moment. Wow. I envy you. I wish I could spend time in a Japanese/Filipino school if ever we have that here. I really want to learn Nihonggo.

Some of those Russian sounds I just can't pronounce. It sounds easy when I hear the words, but when I have to pronounce them myself they aren't easy at all It is a pity that you don't have a school like that. I think that the idea behind the school is awesome, because the students are able to help eachother learn their languages and you always have someone to ask if you have a question about a word or something like that. Unfortuneately the Danish/Japanese school no longer exists. The building is still a school, but there are no Japanese students anymore only Danes.

I would like to read some of the Russian classics and learn more about the Russian literature. I am very interested in languages and other cultures and I always like to learn new languages. I hope to visit Russia one day, and I think that it will be very useful to learn some Russian before I leave. I have to learn a new alphabet and I know that it will take a while before I will be able to read Russian, but I hope that I will improve my Russian little by little.

Hi there. I remember when I started to study English. There was a grea feeling. I understand you. I wish to have more free time to study more languages, even Russian. I have some very good russians friends. All of them taught me some good things. I've had a very good help from them in understanding how to study English. Now, look at me, I can speak, read, write without any English dictionary. I like it. I am consious that I make yet many grammar mistakes. I hope in the future to resolve that. How you said before, I like to read English literature or English books. I think that will help me a lot to improve my English. So, to read about literature in a new language could be a very good way to know about it. Good luck with Russian.

Hi catamari! It is great to hear that your Russian friends helped you. I wish I also had some Russian friends from my country. I don't think that there are that many Russians in my country, but it could be interesting to meet some of them. My mothertongue is Danish and I also make grammar mistakes when I write English. I like to practice my writing in different ways. I often write English emails to my friends from other countries and I like to participate in discussions here on Mylot or on other discussion sites.

Thanks for the suggestions. I am very interested in listening to the singers that you mentioned, and I found Yulia Savicheva and Zveri, but I couldn't find Pazzl. I like the songs by Yulia Savicheva and Zveri, if you know other Russian singers or bands please let me know. I only know Zemfira and Nepara. I really like Zemfira and I often listen to her songs. I also listen to a Russian radio, they play Russian pop and rock music all the time and it is very helpful for me to listen that radio station while I surf the internet.

Thanks for the links The songs are beautiful! I remember Tatu, their songs used to be very popular in my country, but I didn't know that Lena Katina was a solo artist now. I like the Zemfira's songs, I have found a lot of them on YouTube. So far I only understand a small part of the words, but I guess that will change once I get better at Russian.

Zemfira curses on her songs but she is amazing, her style is so unique. anyway this is Pazl.(sorry i mispelled) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_879yfao00 they have a male vocalist too. you should also try Lena Katina, she used to be a member of the controversial duo tatu but she is an amazing solo artist. these are her solo efforts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiI5yP5hWEk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Foh-ebrWX4Y

Thanks for the suggestions, it sounds like some useful ways to learn a new language. I think it would be especially useful to visit a place where people only speak the language that I want to learn, because that way I would be "forced" to speak the language all the time and I would get more practice. When I get better at Russian I would like to talk to Russians online, it think that could be a good way to practice. Unfortuneately I don't know any Russian in my local area, but I have access to the internet, so I would be able to find online friends from Russia.

You are welcome! I am happy to know that I helped you! Happy mylotter day!

Videos with Russian subtitles sound like a good idea. That way I would be able to compare the pronounciation and the spelling. So far I have watched videos with English subtitles. There is a movie called "Lilja 4-ever", I watched it some years ago and recently I found it on YouTube. I like to watch the same movie more than once, because I understand more words now than I didnt understand in the beginning, and that makes me happy. So far I only understand a small part of the movie without the subtitles, but I hope that will change in the future and that I will be able to understand a lot more.

Right now I translate from Russian to Danish in order to understand the sentences, but you are right, It would be a good idea to use a Russian dictionary with Russian explanations when I get better at Russian. When I learned English I did it the same way. At first I had to translate from English to Danish, because every word was new to me and I wouldn't have been able to understand the English explanations. Today it is easy for me to understand a dictionary where everything is written in English. I know that it will take a while before I will able to do the same thing in Russian, because I still need to improve my Russian reading skills, but I think that I will get that far one day.

Hi Porcospino. I am glad to hear that. Me too I love to study more languages. Between translations and understanding new words you need to find fast groups with russian people to stay between them, to listen them.Try to listen ordinary people, not teachers. There are a lot of comunities, rooms online. Just look for it. I have some russian friends but I am not interested yet in russian language. We practice English together. Good luck!

I also watch videos and listen to music. I like to watch the same video several times and the more I learn the more I am able to understand. I still think that it would be best to take a class instead of studying on my own, but I can't afford that at the moment so I study on my own instead. I studied French at school, but I haven't used it for about 15 years, so I have forgotten a lot of it. I have also studied Japanese, but I only know the basic words and I can't read or write.

I also find it interesting to learn a new language. I have learned English, German and French at school and Italian in Italy, and I still like to learn new languages. Before I visit a new country I like to learn a bit of the language so that I am able to travel around independently without too many problems. Have you learned any foreign languages?

It is great that your Chinese friend helps you learn the language. A native speaker is a good way to improve your language skills I would like to find a Russian friend from my area, and I just got an idea to something that I could do. There is a local website from my area, it is called "Contact between people" and I think it is possible to find new friends there. I might be able to find some Russians there, I don't know if it will be possible, but I think that it is worth a try.

Yep you should try every possible method you can I hope you find some native there and get to practise your Russian. Good luck.

I also think that it is more effective to take a class and I would choose that if I had the money, but that is not realistic at the moment, so I study on my own. The program that I have downloaded is pretty good and I combine it with videos. When I watch the same videos again after a while I discover that I am able to understand more and more words and that is a great feeling. I have never tried to study Japanese on my own, but I learned some Japanese when I went to a Danish/Japanese school. I learned some words and I also learned a little hiragana, but I am not very good at it. Good luck with your studies

Thanks! I also am "financially challenged" at the moment so I opted to self-study. =) It's good that you are slowly learning Russian on your own. It seems that you are one of those who can learn without any formal instruction.

In past most women in my country weren't able to study either. Once they got married they gave up their studies and only took care of the housework. Men were able to continue their studies, but women were expected to take of the housework and make sure that the food and everything else was ready when their husbands got back from work. Today the situation in my country is different and women are able to study when they are married.

I don't know that site, but I will check it out, thanks. When I arrived in Estonia I was in the same situation as you. I worked in a home for adults with special needs and when I arrived I didn't speak Estonian, but after some months I was able to understand the basic words and express myself in broken Estonian. I never learned the grammar properly, but at least people were able to understand me How long have you been in England?

well its going to be 5 years now.

I haven't heard about Michel Thomas's audio cds, but I will check it out. I like to combine different methods. At the moment I use a programme that I have downloaded from the internet. I have to translate the words from Russian to Danish and it is a pretty good way to learn it. I also use a free picture dictionary that I found online. I have read some of the books "for dummies" but I didn't know that there were books about languages as well.

I have heard about Rosetta Stone, but I haven't used it myself. At the moment I am trying to learn some words and some of the basic sentences, but I am still a beginnner and I didn't get that far yet. I hope that I will improve my Russian little by little.

It is great that you have some Japanese friends who can help you learn the language. When I learned Japanese I also had some Japanese friends who helped me. I spent some time at a Danish/Japanese school in Denmark. Some of the students were Danish and some of the students were Japanese. The Danes studied Japanese and the Japanese studied Danish and we helped eachother. I found many Japanese friends at that school and I hope that I will be able to visit them one day. I have never been to Japan. Have you been to Japan?

Sometimes it is easier to learn a new language when you are surrounded by people who don't speak English. That way you are forced to use the local language all the time. I experienced the same thing when I visited my Italian friend in Italy. At that time I wasn't very good at Italian. My friend spoke English, but the rest of the family only spoke Italian. I learned a lot of Italian words while I was living with them.

That is true, it takes time and effort to learn a new language. I started learning Russian some years ago, but at that time I didn't get very far, because I was too busy with work. Now I have started again, and I hope that it will be easier to combine it with my work this time. I have never learned Spanish, but it is one of the languages that I would like to learn one day. Right now I focus on Russian, but I am very interested in languages, and I would like to learn other languages in the future.

It is the first time that I try to learn a language on my own. I have learned other languages, but I have always had a teacher. I also think that it will be possible to learn a new language on my own and I am motivated because I would like to visit Russia one day. It would be a lot easier to travel around in Russia if I am able to speak and understand some Russian.

It is great that you have already learned to have a conversation in Mandarin. I didn't get that far yet. I am learning Russian words, but I am not able to have a conversation in Russian yet. I prefer to learn to speak before I learn to read or write, because I also think that it would be the best way to do it. I know that it will take a while before I am able to write Russian, because I have to learn a different alphabet (my mother tongue is Danish and we use latin letters), but it a challenge. Good luck with your studies.

Thanks I visited ielanguages, and it looks like a very useful site. I think that I will be able to learn both vocabulary, grammar and pronounciation on that site, and it is very nice that it is possible to listen to the words while I read them. I have bookmarked the site so that I can use it in my studies. I don't know lingofriends or livemocha, but it sounds like a great idea to talk to the native speakers.