Language Learning Stack Exchange
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Research on effectiveness of language teaching in ulpans / ulpanim?

After the creation of Israel in 1948, ulpans (or ulpanim) were set up for the intensive study of Hebrew. Today, ulpans still exist; they are institutes or schools "designed to teach adult immigrants to Israel the basic language skills of…
Tsundoku
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What are the benefits of learning Slovianto or Interslavic as an introduction to Slavic languages?

I don't plan to learn a specific Slavic language, but I want to be able to grasp the subject of any text written in any Slavic language. The constructed languages Slovianto and Interslavic look interesting to me, since they use the common words of…
Vanege
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Seeking an Arabic dictionary with colloquialisms

There are words in colloquial Arabic that Google Translate won't understand and which are not even an Arabic dictionary! This problem is noticeably worse than for, say, Spanish or English, where many colloquialisms are understood by Google…
Pichi Wuana
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How to personalize a vocabulary flashcard deck without spending too much time on it?

I understand that SRS programs like Anki is for review what you learn, not to learn the card completely new. However, for learners who require to learn a lot of new words (to pass a test for example), having them showing on each day to learn is…
Ooker
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What resources can I use to master German word order?

There are a number of tricky parts to learning German, but for this question I'm particularly concerned about word order. I'm using Duolingo and I often miss questions where this is the only thing I get wrong. Here are a few of my…
intcreator
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What advantages do standard dictionaries have over learners' dictionaries in defining a word?

There are two main kinds of dictionary: standard and learner's. The standard dictionary is made mainly for native speakers, where readers are expected to be fluent in the language. The learner's, as we expected, is mainly made for foreign learners,…
Ooker
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How to avoid using the wrong word due to a similar spelling or pronunciation in an other language?

When learning a new language, how can one avoid malapropism due to another language one knows better? For example when I started leaning English I was/am fluent in German and had difficulties not to confuse the English "where" with the German "wer"…
Medi1Saif
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How can I retain attendees at my Conversation Practice meetups?

I took over organization of a Conversation Practice meetup about 6 months ago. The group has no specific language focus, but being in Amsterdam, it's common to have people learning English, Dutch, and a number of other European languages (Spanish…
Flimzy
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Pros and cons of "self-learning" with another non-native speaker vs. by yourself

Consider a scenario in which two people who do not speak L2 try to learn it without human resources. All they have are books in the language, dictionaries, and online learning tools like Duolingo. What advantages to this strategy are there…
intcreator
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What do my scores from Duolingo's Test Center mean?

I just took an English proficiency test from Duolingo (I'm German) and I scored a 76%. I need to know what the average score is, as well as a basic idea of what each score range means I "should" be able to do. If I got a 76%, what "should" I be able…
user420
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Is there research showing the detrimental psychological effects of learning a language through full immersion?

I know from hearsay and can sympathize from my own experience that many people experience depression overseas when learning a language fully immersed. I can imagine that this leads to low-confidence and self-doubt which could lead to how decisions…
Ben Cann
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How many people in the world can I speak with if I know three languages?

In order to gather some data that can hopefully give an estimate for the correlation between L1 and L2 languages, please take a moment to take this short 2-question survey. The title might be a bit too specific; here is a more detailed explanation…
DK2AX
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Why learn English grammar first? Just gets in the way

I watch Thai kids learning grammar; they can diagram English sentences at age twelve but almost tremble with fear when addressed with "How are you?" (as often as not they say "I am 12 years old.") My educated Thai teacher wife, whose spoken grammar…
Dick Meehan
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According to research, should related words be taught together?

On this site, we already have a question about learning related words together (or not) as an autonomous learner using a spaced repetition system. At the time of writing, that question does not have an answer. However, the question of learning…
Tsundoku
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Learn alphabet by replacing letters in native text

I've read before somewhere about a way to quickly learn how to read a foreign alphabet. You take an unfamiliar letter and put it in English words where the sound of that letter makes sense. That teaches you to properly pronounce the letter and get…
Roman
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