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Pimsleur Mandarin Chinese vs Pimsleur Digital Mandarin Chinese

I'm using Pimsleur audiobooks via Audible.com to help learn Mandarin. There seem to be 2 different series, "Pimsleur Digital Mandarin Chinese" and "Pimsleur Mandarin Chinese" but I can't find any explanation of the distinction. Does anyone know what…
Hack-R
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Happy Thai videos?

Since there doesn't seem to be a Thai group, perhaps someone here is aware of something for Thai similar to "Happy Chinese." That's a series of fifteen minute videos that are somewhat entertaining and have some extremely basic language lessons…
WGroleau
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How can I speak in impromptu situations without organizing my thoughts beforehand but still communicate properly?

I have a problem that has been bothering me since I became conscious of it. I am not fluent in my speech. This has really affected my confidence such that I'm not able to speak in impromptu situations, ask questions or answer questions when asked. I…
Mahonix Honix
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Are there any studies showing that you will tend to be more fluent in the first L2 you learn compared to your L3?

As an example, take the case of someone who speaks English as an L1, and wants to become fluent in both Spanish and French. If they learn Spanish first and French second, will they tend to be more fluent in Spanish than French (assuming the same…
fi12
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Are there any tests or certifications in Old English or Middle English?

Are there any formal assessments (e.g. tests or exams) or certifications in Old English (e.g. Beowulf) or Middle English (e.g. Chaucer)? By Old English and Middle English, I am talking about the Medieval forms of English that are not always readily…
Robert Columbia
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Additional sentences for language deconstruction (CEFR levels A1-A2)?

Tim Ferris' blogpost How to Learn (But Not Master) Any Language in 1 Hour (Plus: A Favor) describes a "language deconstruction technique" to help people find out what a foreign is like before deciding whether they want to learn it. The technique…
Tsundoku
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Efficient techniques to use songs to learn and retain vocabulary

I'm learning a language that is morphologically rather unrelated to my native tongue. I find great difficulty in retaining vocabulary in this new language, to the point where I have reached something of a plateau as words that are not 'everyday'…
Нет войне
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How does the existence of a case system affect the learnability of a foreign language?

Case is a grammatical category that can be found in Slavic languages, Finnic languages, Greek, Japanese, Tamil, etc. (The Finnic language Veps apparently has 23 grammatical cases, and tops even Hungarian.) Even for learners who are already familiar…
Tsundoku
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Are there any professionally edited digital dictionaries for Mac?

I find it a bit cumbersome to go to websites like linguee or dict.cc to look up words as it slows me down and requires an internet connection. Also I find that online dictionaries, that are community curated contain translations that are out-dated…
codingFriend1
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Advantages of audio-only courses compared to more traditional ones

Are there any known advantage associated to follow an audio-only language course (like Pimsleur or Michael Thomas) instead a more traditional one? With "more traditional one" I mean those courses with a book holding lessons and media as a…
Nicolás
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Minimal pairs for Mongolian

What minimal pairs are available for a native speaker of English learning Mongolian? Ideally, they should be based on real words, have spelling in Mongolian Cyrillic available, and have pronunciation sound files for each particular word. The closest…
Golden Cuy
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How to find Mongolian tutors in Sydney

How do I find Mongolian tutors in Sydney, Australia? I'm trying to find a tutor for Mongolian in Sydney, but haven't had much luck. I managed to find one tutor who is a native speaker, but she'll soon be unavailable to give me lessons. Her ads on…
Golden Cuy
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How can I find the meaning of a sign language sign that I don't know the meaning of?

If I have a sign language (specifically, American Sign Language) sign which I don't remember the meaning of, how can I search online to find its meaning? I've tried describing the sign in Google, but that doesn't always work. For example, if I knew…
Yelp
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Are native English speakers explicitly aware of the difference between "a/an" and "the"?

I know that native English speakers can use "a/an" and "the" correctly by the age of 3, but how do they explicitly learn the grammar of articles in their grammar classes? I'm not asking how to use articles correctly, but how much a native English…
naruto
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Where to find computer aided tools to improve French pronunciation?

I have heard of Elsaspeak which is an AI software to correct English pronunciation. Does something like this exist for French as well? If not, what would be a good computer based method to improve French pronunciation? Thanks for your…
poseid
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