Learning languages

Learning languages

Listen to Simon talking about how he learned several languages in a variety of different ways.

Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.

Transcript

I've lived in many different countries, both in Western Europe, Middle East and now here in Hong Kong. And during all of that time, I've learned five or six different languages to one degree or another. I love learning languages. Not only are they important when you move to a country, I just find them fascinating.

Before I came to Hong Kong, I lived in Barcelona, Spain, for ten years. And when I first arrived, the most important thing was being able to communicate with people locally. I don't attend classes. I don't think I'm particularly good in classes. I prefer to learn by just talking to people, finding out what I need to say, by looking at dictionaries and listening carefully.

Other things that helped me when I first moved to Spain were watching the typical kinds of programmes we see every day on channels around the world, for example the weather. This is great, because they always say the same things, so you can really quickly hear the same words repeated again and again. And the pictures help of course.

Other types of programme that helped me learn Spanish quickly were things like game shows, where the same thing happens. They have a catchphrase or a slogan that they repeat endlessly when contestants win or when they are called to compete.

As well as that, I used to pick up the Spanish newspapers. First of all, I just accepted there was no way I was going to understand anything but one or two words. But gradually, I found that I learned lots of new things about this. I was interested because I wanted to know what was happening in the country I lived in. But I also knew that I could learn a lot of language this way. So I'd take a dictionary with me sometimes, or I'd notice a word and I'd ask other people what … it meant.

Anyway, by far the best practice I ever had was just talking to people in the street or in shops, where I'd rehearse in my head what I wanted to say beforehand, before I went in. Usually, I made a right mess of it first of all, but after you get over the embarrassment, it's quite funny really. And people are very sympathetic and supporting in most cases. 

It took me a long time to develop a good level of Spanish. I lived there for ten years, and I think I'm very fluent now. But I think for the first two years that I was there it was quite a struggle to hold a decent conversation. There were always lots of words and expressions that I didn't pick up on. In particular with the colloquial expressions, idioms, that kind of thing, that people use in everyday talk, but you don't necessarily see written down. I didn't find those very easy to learn at all. But it was a lot of fun. And people, as I said, are really supporting when they know that you are genuinely interested in learning their language.

Discussion

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Average: 4 (44 votes)
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Profile picture for user noura-elkhwanky

Submitted by noura-elkhwanky on Mon, 11/12/2023 - 00:15

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I suppose there are many diverse ways to improve my language skills.first of all I should define the aim of learning ,because that will be the motivation to learn continuously.then searching about sources I’m interesting in.Actually I found lots of platforms and YouTube channels that have fascinating content to learn such as British Council and BBC learning etc that very beneficial .likewise listening to audios increasingly will improve our accurate and pronunciation.Additionally reading stories or small books that will be help to know new vocabulary and trying to use them at writing.In the beginning jus a few sentences .Doing that everyday continuously will higher our level just in short time.

Submitted by Kelvin34 on Thu, 12/10/2023 - 19:02

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well , English level is A2, although I get motivated because i can do that activity, I have learnd some phrases like to one degree or another and so on, besides, i can realize that you may learn grammar here, only reading and ,repeated and repeated of course it is a little bit boring , but you will learn a lot of vocabulary and improve , i am so thrilled .

Profile picture for user makar magadanov

Submitted by makar magadanov on Wed, 04/10/2023 - 22:02

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I think by far the best way is living in an english speaking country

Profile picture for user makar magadanov

Submitted by makar magadanov on Wed, 04/10/2023 - 21:58

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In my opinion haven't found the best method for learning english yet . Because i can't improve my english very well

Submitted by Touran91 on Wed, 06/09/2023 - 10:01

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How can I download the audio files?

Hello Touran91,

If you right-click on the player control bar (the grey bar where the play, pause, volume etc controls are) then you should see an option in the drop-down menu to download the audio.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Profile picture for user MarcosRodriguez

Submitted by MarcosRodriguez on Wed, 02/08/2023 - 16:49

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South America is not a continent.

Submitted by zo_fia on Tue, 11/07/2023 - 08:42

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First of all, listening is the most effective way to learn quickly. And, seeing new words in a variety of sentences again and again makes me more memorized rather than plain reviewing.

Submitted by MgKanKaung on Thu, 20/04/2023 - 19:29

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Thanks for your lesson, I have one question, For the question number 3 of test 1, why we can't choose "It was easy to learn a lot of new words quickly." as a right answer?

Hello MgKanKaung,

Simon does say that he was able to learn a lot of new language, but he says that it was very hard at first and he only managed to start learning more 'gradually' - i.e. slowly.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team