Language learning recommendation??

lloyd

The best advice for learning languages is to practice all the time-no matter how stupid you feel or how shit your pronunciation is.

If you know 15 sentences in Czech, use them all the time when speaking to your gf, like every time-even if it's to ask how the weather looks outside or make me a brew.

You need to immerse yourself in it and then slowly expand your vocabulary.

Listening to tapes and practising is useful, but unless you're using it then it's easy to forget.

Clarky

given that your girlfriend is a native speaker you have a great opportunity

you can learn on your own [books, roseta stone, evening class etc]

but every opportunity you have to use it, do so..

hello, goodbye, how are you, yes, no, numbers, colours, objects etc

then start adding to it

the more you use it the more it sticks

I talk to my youngest in Spanish quite often.. just simple stuff..

even though he mostly replies in English, he loves it..

slacker

In addition to the above advise, try to think in the language you are using don't translate in your head. If your vocabulary is that of a 3 yr old just do that. My Spanish is appalling but there's no satellite delay whilst I try to work out what I'm saying. I know what I know and use those words. People will correct you.

MtB

I had a rush move to France in the 1990s and stayed there for a year. I had almost no knowledge of the language before I went. I had one-to-one lessons every day for about a month (paid for by the company). 

The one thing I did learn (eventually) is not to over-think grammar and the construction of sentences, but learn complete phrases for what they are, from a phrase book - and get them embedded in your memory.

I still retain many of those phrases 25 years later, having not used the language at all for almost 10 years!   

StanleyAccrington

I learned Esperanto 40 years ago. Don't bother...I haven't met anyone since who also speaks it!!!

Fretwired

lloyd said:

The best advice for learning languages is to practice all the time-no matter how stupid you feel or how shit your pronunciation is.

If you know 15 sentences in Czech, use them all the time when speaking to your gf, like every time-even if it's to ask how the weather looks outside or make me a brew.

You need to immerse yourself in it and then slowly expand your vocabulary.

Listening to tapes and practising is useful, but unless you're using it then it's easy to forget.

^^

This is the best advice.

As @lloyd says learn some basic phrases and speak to your girlfriend at meal times even if it's about the weather .. I learnt some Danish when I worked in Denmark .. I couldn't get on with courses. I just spoke with my colleagues .. they laughed a lot (their English was perfect) but I got by and slowly picked up some of the basics.

Good luck.

Bogwhoppit

I took up Australian a decade or so back, but I've forgot most of it.

Dopesick

I've started using the Memrise app on my iPad. I've already learned about 80 words/phrases in Italian and I've only been using it a week. It's free as well. You'll need to upgrade for more options, but at the moment I'm getting by on the free version just fine. Probably the best language learning app I've found so far.

Edit: Oh you need something on headphones. Ah well scratch that then.

fields5069

slacker said:

In addition to the above advise, try to think in the language you are using don't translate in your head. If your vocabulary is that of a 3 yr old just do that. My Spanish is appalling but there's no satellite delay whilst I try to work out what I'm saying. I know what I know and use those words. People will correct you.

Total immersion is the only thing that worked for me, this is with Spanish. My brain would constantly be half a second behind, consciously translating while (hopefully) another part of my brain listened to the current piece of conversation. Then, one day, bingo! I just understood.

My wife's English is fantastic, so I never got that good at speaking but I can understand quite a bit of everyday conversation.

I doubt we'll move to Spain, she doesn't like the heat. Doh. No-one has shown any animosity towards her so far, but there's no logic to bigotry and I think most distaste is aimed towards Eastern Europe and beyond. 

snakemanStoo

Dopesick said:

I've started using the Memrise app on my iPad. I've already learned about 80 words/phrases in Italian and I've only been using it a week. It's free as well. You'll need to upgrade for more options, but at the moment I'm getting by on the free version just fine. Probably the best language learning app I've found so far.

Edit: Oh you need something on headphones. Ah well scratch that then.

You could download lessons to the app and use it offline.  It's been updated several times since I tried it so I don't know if you still can.