Tracey Said:

Is reading a dictionary and memorizing as many words as you can a good way to learn any foreign language?

We Answered:

You can use the babylon for this purpose. It's the best translator in my opinion: http://babylon.gnds.info/?l=us

Katherine Said:

who can offer a way to learn foreign language quickly?

We Answered:

There are several pointers to keep in mind:

1) Do not learn the vocabulary by translating chinese into any language - especially not english. The grammar used in chinese is very precise, and it is unwise to mix up the sentence structure or the meaning will be lost.

2) Try to learn short phrases and attempt conversing in them to familiarise yourself with the phrases. Examples are "good day", which is "??", "how do you do?" which is "??????", "goodbye" which is "??"etc.

3) Be patient. Chinese is especially difficult to master, so it takes more time to learn. Practise makes perfect when it comes to learning a new language. It is impossible to learn chinese well in a short span of time.

4) Expose yourself to different avenues where you are able to hear the people converse in chinese. For example, you could watch chinese drama serials - if they have the appropriate subtitles. While you will rely on the subtitles, you will unconsciously pick up on the structuring of sentences and common vocabulary used.

Veronica Said:

pls suggest an institute to learn foreign language in mumbai.?

We Answered:

Go to Mumbai University- Dept of German or French, Kallina Campus.
Sunday or Thursday batches.
Degree/diploma/certificate courses available.
Good teaching, low fees.

Clayton Said:

How do you learn Foreign Language SLANG, IDIOMS, etc, when you have no plan in going to the country?

We Answered:

I've actually pondered that same question myself...I took 6 years of German yet there is a lot of "street German" I don't know. Here are a couple of suggestions.
First, try your local library. They have an interconnected system and may be able to help you find the books you seek through interlibrary loan, rather than buying them and finding out they don't have the info you need.

Second...Here's something that helped me out. In my case, I looked up my local German-American society and went to a couple of their functions. They are happy to help someone learn the nuances of the language. You mentioned "Japanese" in your post; I assume you're working on learning Japanese. Try looking up a Japanese-American group or society in your area. I'm sure they would help as well.

Hope this info helped you a little.

Felix Said:

What's the best way to learn a foreign language when you do not have the opportunity for full immersion?

We Answered:

here is a tip, from my own experience:

but many dictionaries from the target language, keep one in the car, some in your bedroom (on top of the desk, next to your bed), keep one dictionary (mini pocket size) with you all the time. this way you will be able to check a dictionary for the meaning of a word, no excuses. believe me, the number of words we do not learn because we didn't have a dictionary at hand is overwhelming, so the positive effect of neutralizing this situation turns to be a great advantage.

Dianne Said:

What program do you use to learn foreign language?

We Answered:

Rosetta Stone is awful. Since that's not what this question is about I won't go into detail, but if you're interested in knowing why I think it's not that great of a program just send me an email :].

Anyway, there's Tell Me More, Eurotalk, and Byki.

For audio programs there's Rocket Languages, Pimsleur, and Michel Thomas.

Andrew Said:

How did people learn foreign languages before language schools were invented?

We Answered:

Yes, that´s absolutely the best way! I have learned Spanish and German by living and working in Spain and Germany. I also studied the languages before going to those countries. That way it´s far more easy to learn a foreign language!

I´m fortunate to live in a country where many languages are being thought to children.

If we speak of the time before there were any schools, I guess just the rich and sophisticated people had the opportunity to go abroad and learn languages that way. Of course there have been books in foreign languages and dictionaries for centuries, but ordinary people did not have access to them.

So we are all lucky living in the western world, as almost all of us have the possibility of studying any language we want to. It´s really up to ourselves what we want to study! So why not start to study a foreign language, although it´s hard work, it will give you so much! Trust me!

Happy Holidays to all of you from Finland!