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1396 questions
7
votes
1 answer
Is passive learning effective for learning pronunciation?
Background
I am currently trying to learn new languages.
Question
I've heard of this method calling passive learning for language learning. However, there are many articles that say it's useless…
mike1024
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7
votes
1 answer
The "gaps" between words in English
I am currently learning a language that does not have "gaps" in between words (Telugu).
What is a "gap"?
Many Telugu speakers, and Spanish or Italian speakers, perceive gaps or stops in between the words as native English speakers are speaking.…
user4982
7
votes
1 answer
Is there any vocabularies or best practices for a technical support how to communicate in multiple languages?
I am a technical support engineer.
My mother tongue is not English, I still write and speak with a lot of mistakes, constantly improving my English skill, please do not judge me strictly ;)
In my job I have to communicate with people around the…
Qwerty
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7
votes
1 answer
From an economic point of view, what are the most important foreign languages to learn for Germans?
Discussions about which foreign languages to learn are often based on the number of native speakers a language has. However, on the job market, what languages look good on a CV is determined by other factors, especially,
the economic relationships…
Tsundoku
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7
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2 answers
Is shadowing really a technique for interpreter trainees?
Shadowing is a technique for improving pronunciation popularised by the polyglot Alexander Arguelles. There are many YouTube videos about the technique; most of them don't demonstrate shadowing in the way it was described by Arguelles. A very…
Tsundoku
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7
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2 answers
Spanish audio or video resources to practise shadowing
I am looking for audio and/or video resources in Spanish (as spoken in Spain, not Latin America) to practise shadowing. Shadowing is a technique that involves listening to audio and simultaneously speaking out loud the words you hear. The goal of…
Tsundoku
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7
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1 answer
What resources are there for learning Lingua Franca Nova (LFN)?
I find Lingua Franca Nova to be one of the more interesting constructed languages because of its extreme grammatical simplicity. It's almost like Chinese in its analytic nature but with Romance-based vocabulary.
Are there resources, outside of…
AML
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7
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4 answers
What are the benefits of intensive reading?
As a corollary to this question, what are the benefits of intensive reading for acquiring a second language? A reference paper would be nice but is not required.
Intensive reading refers to reading a smaller piece of text in a very analytical…
AML
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7
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2 answers
How can I quickly learn to understand a Latin text if I know Romance languages?
After studying French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and now looking at a Latin text it seems like I’m basically there, I’m just missing things.
What are some things I could/should learn to transform the knowledge I have to reading comprehension…
Dr. Shmuel
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How to comprehend what we read properly?
I have problems with comprehending sentences. Many times what I understand after reading a sentence or sentences is totally different from what it actually means. I can understand the meaning of each word, but as a whole it's difficult to get a…
teja surya
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7
votes
1 answer
Differences in language learning abilities and strategies between a 30 year old and a 70 year old?
This is a question about language learning for different ages, specifically people in the second quarter of their life versus someone in the fourth quarter of their life (assume average life span of 80 years, then age 20-40 is second quarter and age…
AML
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7
votes
1 answer
How to combat the predisposition to forget certain types of words?
When memorizing vocabulary lists, I found that I'm rather good at remembering nouns and adjectives, but verbs tend to slip my mind quite easily.* It's led me to wonder if others experience the same thing: that is, as a rule, remembering some types…
Hatchet
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7
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3 answers
Is there evidence that languages with complex grammar take longer to learn as a mother tongue?
This question is about learning to speak a language as a mother tongue (i.e., from birth (L1), not as a second language (L2)).
Some languages have more grammar rules than others (number of cases, number of tenses, etc). Is there any evidence for or…
AML
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7
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2 answers
What are the most widespread languages besides English, Spanish, and French?
A great inspiration for some language learners is to be able to speak to a large number or wide range of people in more than one country. To that end, a language learner may want to know which languages (besides the obvious English, Spanish, and…
AML
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7
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2 answers
How long between each CEFR level for learning Spanish?
A common question among language learners is how long will it take me to learn ?, and the usual answer, for a native English speaker, is to refer to the FSI list, which divides languages into different categories of difficulty and…
AML
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