Learning a new language

Post Reply New Topic

I've practiced understanding spoken language by watching my favourite TV show, Star Trek DS9 in English, while using English subtitles. Also, since I've read books from John-Elder Robison and Temple Grandin, I watched their presentations and interviews on Youtube, this way I could have an idea what they are talking about beforehand and could grasp the meaning of their words easier.

In Germany, once I tried to put together my 3 years worth knowledge of German at the cashier to ask something, but the answer was so quick and undecipherable to me, I switched to English right after, you know, equal chances on both parties...

Try listening to Spanish music, preferably with lyrics and translations. I translate a lot for this site, which is for lyrics translations: Lyrics Translate I have done a few translation videos in Spanish, although mostly they're in Romanian. Take a look, and a listen:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnYb1o2-SQU&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHOr_i1otfk&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube]

When I've listened numerous times, even the grammatical structures of the lyrics have stuck in my head and helped me to remember things.

~Kate

thanks so much. Yes music helps me, and I have a small collection of spanish music on my youtube. Those songs you posted are easy to understand, and I'll add them.

My Aspie daughter speaks English and Spanish and wants to learn French (has being bugging about it for a while now). She has talent for languages. My Aspie husband also speaks English and Spanish and wants to learn German, and also has talent for languages.

I can practice Spanish with you, if you want. I am native Spanis speaker.

I'm not a native speaker, but I've known Spanish for 30 years and I use it fairly regularly in my work...I'd be willing to practice as well, if you want. Languages are one of my special interests, so it's no trouble.

~Kate

That would be cool. I'm sick right now (a cold) and my brain has been too scattered to think...in any language. So I haven't been on in the last couple of days. I hope yall bare with me. I run hot and cold. I tend to overfocus on language and yall might see me a lot, and, i might get embarrassed (by something i may have said stupid to one person, not necessarily you) or either absorbed in another special interest and fade away for a day or two, but I always try to come back.

I will pm you my skype id.

I'll also say that it means a lot to practice with people who know a little bit about my "issues".

also, i love the part where native spanish speakers who are learning english, ask about the meaning of a particularly challenging word. I love obsessiving over the perfect simple meaning for them to clarify it for them.

I did languages at university- I carried on French from school, and started to learn Spanish and Italian.
I've always found the reading and listening by far the easiest- I can understand anything you give me in French and Italian, and most in Spanish except for strong accents.
I have a love of learning grammar- I could sit for hours practising conjugations of verbs quite happily.
Writing was ok- given that I struggled with writing in English, I always found it hard in another language and so only got average marks, compared to almost perfect marks in listening and reading.

Speaking was another problem altogether- at uni, I had my worst time with selective mutism, and often just couldn't speak at all. I wouldn't speak in class, got put with a french person for more practice and couldn't do that, and so barely scraped a pass in my exams. I didn't speak at all in lessons, even when we worked with Italian students rather than the teachers and even with my firends it was the same; I burst into tears several times in Spanish as they kept trying to force me to speak when I couldn't; in French they just gave up asking me after the first few failed attempts.

In my year abroad, I barely spoke to anyone and made no friends, though I could then read and understand practically anything.
It gave everyone a shock in final year though when we did interpreting (from foreign language into english and back again) as I aced it- got almost full marks: when someone was telling me exactly what to say, I had no problems at all with speaking- very strange. It even meant I got a distinction in spoken Italian!! That was a bit of a shock for them.

I love languages, I love learning new languages, but I hate the speaking part, so I just don't do it. I learn the reading and listening so that I can read news/internet and watch tv, not so I can communicate with people: this must be where my aspieness comes in: no wish to communicate but desire to learn information!
I'm obsessed with languages and learning grammar rules- I love learning by rote as it just seems to work in my brain.
Since leaving uni, I've tried to learn German, Czech, Russian, Catalan, Portuguese, Finnish, Bulgarian, Polish... the list goes on. I can read words, yet I cannot speak any of them at all.

Thinking about this, autistic people generally are thought to be good at learning and replicating the spoken accent of foreign languages, even if they lack the communication skills.

Thanks..I'm also sick with a horrible cold and laryngitis so you'd probably not hear much of what I say right now But, I'll add you to my skype when I get a chance and when we're both feeling better maybe we can give it a try.

~Kate

kt24, thanks so much for sharing your story. that sounds a lot like me. it's extremely difficult for me to talk to people too, and i went through a phase like that when i was growing up. I only wish i could understand people as easily as you seem to be able to. I'll get there, it's just going to take times and partners who have patience and understand.


also, thanks meow.

I've been learning spanish for years now. I'm getting pretty good at it, but my learning method is considered quite odd. The listening part and grammer I learn as normal, but I literally write out every word I learn 100 times. An old friend once saw the papers lying around and said it was like something out of the Shining. Do any other aspies do this? I've been learning Romainian the same way too.

I can't learn a language for the life of me. I had German in college and struggled like a starving artist. I can only say a few things in it. I like saying certain things. The homework was a struggle as were the tests. The first quarter I got a C. Then in the following quarters I got B's. I have no clue how I passed the class. I truly felt like I was the slowest dumbest student there and in fact there were times I actually cried like a baby because I couldn't understand anything. Also I love languages but can't grasp them. I never really learn past the just saying "hello" or counting. I also know how to pronounce the words but can't have a conversation in it. After college for awhile I tried learning Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, and I forgot the rest. I could read Russian but not Arabic and Hebrew. It was too hard for me. I have no clue how I kind of am able to read Russian though. I am able to simply pronounce the words but not understand the words. I don't understand why languages are one of my special interests because I can't get far in it.

Woot, another American in Brazil with the same problem, though I haven't been here nearly as long and I don't know any Spanish.

Learning languages is actually a special interest of mine. A couple of years ago I spent about 9 months doing almost nothing but studying on my own. Well, I was working at the same time but it wasn't that time-consuming and I managed to follow my schedule almost all the time. I took up about five languages then, I think, and at least two of them, Italian and French, went on very well.

I actually don't mind taking language classes even in groups, it's just that I don't have enough money. When my parents were paying for my English and Spanish, I was only glad to go. The social part was difficult, before going to my English classes for the first time I was throwing tantrums for a couple of weeks when my mom even mentioned going there. But I immediately felt that I was learning quicker than anyone else and felt pretty confident. So I was more or less experienced when I decided to learn Spanish. These were four really cool years, pity that right now my knowledge of Spanish is very passive, because I live surrounded by the Italian language and my brain has a problem switching between them. I still understand Spanish perfectly, both oral and written, write in it myself, I even explained some Italian grammar stuff to a Spanish friend of mine giving her examples in Spanish to make her understand that the part she had troubles with was absolutely the same in both languages. But speaking... no(

And, naturally, when I was taking an exam for an English certificate I almost failed the oral part. For everything else I scored about 90%, so the graph that they made with the results looked really funny.

Now that I have some free time and no expected changes in my daily routine, I decided to try studying on my own again. I just think if I know that it's already worked once and I enjoy languages that much and they are relatively easy for me, why not do it again? Today was actually the first day and I was so glad to bury my head in textbooks, write things down and do exercises... I really hope it goes well and I have enough will power to go on.