Recommendations for learning language

[epsilonprodigy]

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I am learning Amharic and have gotten about as far as I can go with informal instruction. I need to invest in a good program (something like Rosetta Stone, that I can do on the comp. on my own time.) Except Rosetta Stone doesn't have one for Amharic. I practice with people from the Ethiopian cultural center in my city but I need something that will let me establish more systematic understanding of grammar rules and stuff. Any recommendations?

Also, totally unrelated, but is it possible to sync your SDN PM's to your smart phone? Anyone know how?

 

[Morsetlis]

I didn't know that language exists.

 

[NatrixCaelicola]

I am learning Amharic and have gotten about as far as I can go with informal instruction. I need to invest in a good program (something like Rosetta Stone, that I can do on the comp. on my own time.) Except Rosetta Stone doesn't have one for Amharic. I practice with people from the Ethiopian cultural center in my city but I need something that will let me establish more systematic understanding of grammar rules and stuff. Any recommendations?

Also, totally unrelated, but is it possible to sync your SDN PM's to your smart phone? Anyone know how?

At a certain point, you just need to go there...

Try online stuff like http://www.livemocha.com/

But again, you need to be in a situation where you live breath and eat Amharic (that is how I did it with Arabic).

 

[phltz]

At a certain point, you just need to go there...

Try online stuff like http://www.livemocha.com/

But again, you need to be in a situation where you live breath and eat Amharic (that is how I did it with Arabic).

Just going there will help you nail down concepts and broaden your vocabulary, but it's difficult to develop a good understanding of proper grammar through simple immersion. If you want to get good at Amharic, you'll pretty much need to take some sort of structured class, or at least spend a lot of time with a good text, in addition to having a lot of living, breathing, and eating experiences.

OP, it's hard to give you advice with no context. Did you just decide you want to learn Amharic on your own? Why? Do you have an end goal, and if so what is it and when do you want to get there? How much time and money are you prepared to spend? Are you aiming for conversational proficiency? An ability to comfortably travel or live in northern Ethiopia? To be able to write in clean prose? In poetry? Each of these goals would suggest a different strategy and focus for your efforts.

 

[Stumpyman]

Visit the place for a 2-3 months (like someone said) and you'll learn the language really well.

 

[kpcrew]

I'm not sure about how this has anything to do with applying to medical school.

 

[puchero]

Best way to learn is immerse yourself, so you need to find some time to go there. I learned two languages this way. If that is definitely not a possibility then try to get access to things like news, songs, movies, tv shows, etc in that language. Also livemocha.com is good, sharedtalk.com is good too, I use that more. On these sites you can connect with native speakers and either chat online or set up skype calls where you practice.

I'm also trying to learn a language right now without the possibility of going to a country that speaks it and this is what I'm doing. I'm also studying a language textbook to learn grammar rules, vocab, etc. I think it's working well so far.

 

[snorlax]

Many of the interactionist theories in second/foreign language acquisition maintain that you need one-on-one interaction to increase your proficiency past a certain point. Even the most motivated older learners reach a plateau quickly if they don't have the proper context for language acquisition. This is why ESL classrooms are increasingly using the communicative approach.

If you have already done the best you can on your own, you need to find people to converse with (I don't think a computer program will help here). If traveling to another country is not an option, then you have to search for native speakers around you that will practice with you.

 

[zwitterion34]

Use online radio and listen to the language daily. Set aside a specific length of time. This will help you get used to how the language sounds and how the language is used.

 

[Pose]

Did not read the other replies, but felt like mentioning spaced repetition systems (like Anki or Mnemosyne). Google them. Using native (or whatever) sources to create your cards, and perhaps focus less on grammar. This has worked very well for me while learning Arabic -- much better than my classroom instruction both in the US and the Middle East.

At the same time as using the SRS to create cards using native sentences, supplement your learning with radio and/or tv. Or whatever recordings of native speakers. Just listen.

For inspiration, check out alljapaneseallthetime.com and/or how-to-learn-any-language.com forums.