I have labored to learn three other languages over my life. I've been told that "immersion" is the best way -- spending significant time in a country where the target language is native. I tend to believe that, but living for weeks someplace else is an expensive proposition, ordinarily.
But here's an interesting trick that will be available to many.
Check your smart phone (most have them now) for a built-in translator app that came with the phone. Those apps seem to have come a LONG way since I first encountered them, although perhaps some do a better job than others.
The one I have, and I'd be surprised if it's particularly unusual for an up-to-date, modern smart phone, can both translate and pronounce. And as far as I can tell, it does a pretty good job of pronouncing a target language authentically! That didn't used to be true. But it's 2024, and wonders abound.
It took some figuring out (when trying to get it to pronounce in the same language I first enter, rather than a translation that it, itself, has produced from that), but without modifying the app itself in any way (but rather by merely learning to use it better), I've learned to type in not only what I'd like it to translate in daily life, but also target-language parts of language-learning books that I wish to study.
That was a mouthful, so let me restate it more simply. I use my phone's translator app to pronounce target-language parts of language-learning books that I have separately purchased.
And my phone seems to pretty authentically pronounce the typed-in target-language material that I wish to learn! It's a bit like carrying an on-demand private language tutor in your pocket to pronounce in the target language. But tutors are heavier. And eat more. And don't fit comfortably into a pocket.
And, on my phone I have not been asked to pay any subscription fee for using its included translator app to the extent that I use it (although you'll obviously have to check your own phone and app (if any), since yours could easily differ from mine and might not be free to use. After all, some available apps are not at all free to use and / or acquire, and you (or your parent or guardian if you're a kid or otherwise unusually situated) will have to determine if there are any fees or costs that must and can be paid.
There are some language-learning books available on the Kindle for prices that did not make me groan or swear. Those, used with my smart phone to provide a pronunciation, are helping me learn some more!
Learning a foreign language is fun and provides a daily feeling of accomplishment. And it can be quite useful! Like studying mathematics. Like keeping a spouse happy. Like playing the Hippopotamus.
But here's an interesting trick that will be available to many.
Check your smart phone (most have them now) for a built-in translator app that came with the phone. Those apps seem to have come a LONG way since I first encountered them, although perhaps some do a better job than others.
The one I have, and I'd be surprised if it's particularly unusual for an up-to-date, modern smart phone, can both translate and pronounce. And as far as I can tell, it does a pretty good job of pronouncing a target language authentically! That didn't used to be true. But it's 2024, and wonders abound.
It took some figuring out (when trying to get it to pronounce in the same language I first enter, rather than a translation that it, itself, has produced from that), but without modifying the app itself in any way (but rather by merely learning to use it better), I've learned to type in not only what I'd like it to translate in daily life, but also target-language parts of language-learning books that I wish to study.
That was a mouthful, so let me restate it more simply. I use my phone's translator app to pronounce target-language parts of language-learning books that I have separately purchased.
And my phone seems to pretty authentically pronounce the typed-in target-language material that I wish to learn! It's a bit like carrying an on-demand private language tutor in your pocket to pronounce in the target language. But tutors are heavier. And eat more. And don't fit comfortably into a pocket.
And, on my phone I have not been asked to pay any subscription fee for using its included translator app to the extent that I use it (although you'll obviously have to check your own phone and app (if any), since yours could easily differ from mine and might not be free to use. After all, some available apps are not at all free to use and / or acquire, and you (or your parent or guardian if you're a kid or otherwise unusually situated) will have to determine if there are any fees or costs that must and can be paid.
There are some language-learning books available on the Kindle for prices that did not make me groan or swear. Those, used with my smart phone to provide a pronunciation, are helping me learn some more!
Learning a foreign language is fun and provides a daily feeling of accomplishment. And it can be quite useful! Like studying mathematics. Like keeping a spouse happy. Like playing the Hippopotamus.
