Quote: (09-26-2014 09:53 PM)scotian Wrote:
While I agree, there's lots of people (on here too) who don't think that classes are essential and think they're a waste of time and money. Myself, I enjoyed my Spanish classes that I took in Bogota, met some cool people and definitely learned quite a bit, but at $250/week, they were a bit pricey, I hear that its much cheaper in places such as Peru or Guatemala.
I think people really underestimate that there are two distinct assets of learning a language, but both need to be harnessed to reach an advanced level.
One asset is building your communication skills. These are your basic speaking and comprehension skills. The best way to learn this is to immerse yourself in the language, particularly abroad in countries that predominantly speak that language. However, this can be supplemented from various sources like movies, music, basic language learning programs, or exchange groups.
The other asset is actually mastering the language. This is important because to learn any language to a high degree you need to understand and master verb conjugations, grammar, language syntax, and inflection/inflexion, ect. The only way to actually learn these things is either through rigorous and hard-core self study of grammar (which is quite difficult to do) or in a formal setting like language classes.
The thing is...you need both of them to get good at a language. For example, there are countless people who take lots of college level language classes in their native countries but if you drop them in another country suddenly they wouldn't be able to operate at all. They wouldn't understand actual conversations and would have trouble expressing themselves despite having a basic-intermediate knowledge of the language.
Similarly, if you learn all your language informally by travelling or popular sources, then you will hit a plateau. People for example will be able to operate and have general conversations, but if a conversation takes a passionate turn or they attempt to talk about deep concepts such as philosophy or politics, they won't be able to do it. Or they won't be able to write or read complex things worth shit.
So that's why I suggest to anyone who wants to reach an advanced level of language to take at least some level of formal instruction; because you just won't hit an advanced level if you don't.
About the cost thing. Yes, they can be pricey. They can also be really poor quality. You just have to be diligent in your research.
I am actually thinking about going to Quito for a month to take intensive 1 on 1 lessons because it is so cheap. In Quito you can get 40 hours of 1 on 1 lessons for $175 a week. I plan on taking 4 weeks straight to really hammer out my verb conjugations, my writing, and my reading comprehension. I have also taken a two month program at UNAM in Mexico City for ~$300, which is also a fair price. So it can be done quite economically.
My Spanish is quite solid considering I have only been learning for about a year and a half now. I do not speak English with my Mexican girlfriend at all. But I also know that I have hit a plateau and my formal mastery of the language needs to be improved.
The simple fact of the matter is if you spend 6 months-1 year of formal study and really nail down fundamentals of a language, you can use that as a backbone for the rest of your life. It's a long term investment, but learning languages is a long term thing. It takes
years to master a language.
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Learning a language is probably one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever gone through and I recommend it to everyone, it isn't easy but its a tangible goal, trust me, the first time you game a chick from start to finish entirely in her language, you'll know it was worth it.
I think the best thing about languages is they open new worlds and opportunities that didn't exist if you didn't know the language.
Sticking with Spanish, the amount of content out there on the web in Spanish is ridiculous; having access to that information because you can understand it opens up many possibilities. This really can be applied to anything, from being able to create new social circles, to being able to meet and associate with girls who only speak Spanish, to being able to actually appreciate and learn a new culture.
At the end of the day, language is a huge component of culture. Until you travel in a foreign country that has a different language than your own native one with the ability to speak and comprehend that language, you never really experience it.