hey everybody, whether ur a native or just happen to know the language (french OR italian) pls help me, i'd really like to learn/practice by chatting... +obviously u can speak english too which will make life so much easier :))... i'm a lot better at french than i am italian but i'd loooooooove to be able to speak both fluently, i'm doing a masters in paris OR venice next year. pls IM or email me on jammiecon@yahoo \n\nOR\ndid anybody ever teach themselves a language successfully and has good pointers on HOW??? besides like taking a course/class.
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Search yahoo answers for 'french penfriends', 'learning online', and 'french texts'. I know there are some good threads that will help you out.
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Try Michel Thomas's audio CDs, He does French, and he is very very good. I'm using it myself, it isn't free, but it is the easiest and best way to learn a language. No memorizing, no homework, no books, no work, just listening.\n\nCe Bonn!
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Immersion in the language, living in another culture is, hands-down, the best way.  It's also the most disruptive to your life, and few can do it.\n\nIf you're learning on your own, some general tips for learning languages:\n\n1. Look at people's reviews on Amazon to determine what are some of the best courses.\n\n2. Go to the library and check out different types of courses, and see what works for you best.\n\n3. Put aside 30 - 60 minutes per day and study some each day.\n\n4. If you get discouraged, take a couple of days off, but set your next time to study and stick to it. If you go too long (say a week) between study sessions, you'll start forgetting.\n\n5. Go into the experience realizing that you'll make lots of mistakes, don't worry about them and keep going.\n\n6. Try to find someone better than you in the language to speak with. You can't learn to speak a language without speaking it. If you're trying to learn with someone else who is also learning, you'll lead each other into learning errors.
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Hi! I also live in Quebec, in a francophone city and French is my first language. First of all, as someone pointed, reading the dictionary won't help you learn the language. Have you considered taking private lessons? It really helps when someone only has to focus on your difficulties to make you progress. Watching television in French is also a good thing, though it might be frustrating not to understand what people say, at least you hear some French. From time to time, watch a movie in English subtitled in French, or the other way around. even a french movie with French subtitles is a good way to lear, you get to hear AND see! Look for language schools and conversation groups in the phone book. Oh, reading the paper could also be good. Eventually, you'll be able to recognized the most frequently used words.\nDo you live near Montreal? Quebec city?\nGo see web sites from universities around you, most of them have programs in French as a Second Language. Like http://www.fep.umontreal.ca/langues/eng/coursfrint.html\nAnd you can always try to look for the basics online!\nGood luck!
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Only you can decide which is a better choice for you. You may want to consider the third option. If your goal is to learn French, why not France? Paris is fascinating, I really want to go back there someday.
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I've been doin some research on this myself and i think you can find the best tutorial www.frenchtutorial.com, all you need to do is sign up, it has audio, examples, all you need.
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I work as translator and interpreter for Italian French and English and can tell you that in this field unless you have a perfect knowledge of the languages and the technologies that go with it, earning a living is impossible. Translation in particular is reaching such a level of complexity that it takes years to train a good translator and that applies to ONE language combination. On top of that, the learning process never stops as new languages may be required, which leads you to invest lots of money for crash courses in weird languages to learn the basics as quick as you can.\nAntoher chance you may try is working in hotels or teaching foreign languages...although the income will be pretty low.
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I'd have to go with everyone else and say Spanish (although, I'm hardly a business person, so I don't know how useful Mandarin would be). However, there is one language that no one else mentioned that I would really like to learn: Sign Language. Other useful languages could be French (If you live in the northeast or New Orleans area) and Italian. One of the nice things about Spanish, Italian, and French is that once you are competent with one of these languages, the other two are much easier to read because they are all Latin based.
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Speaking French in addition to the other languages you speak will only complete your venture into the various languages of the world - and you'll find that French is not too far away from any of the others - it's all in the roll of the tongue in any of them.  In fact, I encourage you to try Japanese, Farsi and any other languages of the peoples who may live and thrive in your community.  I love languages and learning to speak them.  French is so romantic! I teach 8th grade and I dip into the "language bank" all the time and speak to them.  They look at me as though I am crazy, but I have heard them often repeat the phrases I have said - and I have had many come to me and want to know, "what did you say". Believe it or not - some of these phrases show up on their state tests and they are not without knowledge - just because I have introduced a language to them.  I also point out how very close the language is to all of us in our cultures.  Go for it.  Learn as much as you can in any language - you will enjoy it - and be better for the time you put into it.  I admire you for your ability.
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It takes time to learn the program.  4 & 5 Of French I gave me no and of trouble.  You may have to go back and redo every lesson from the start now & then.  Some sections you will get the first time others will take several trys.\n\nIt wasn't until I reached the upper lessons that I was begining to realy catch on to speaking French.  Keep going you will get it.  Then you'll be ready for the next set of 30 lessons.
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The 'Alliance Francaise' has a good reputation around the world. I'm French and I know many people who have learned Franch with this organisation: they were satisfied and their French is very good indeed!\nStill, the quickest method to learn a language is to spent a few months in the country.
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(-: I started out in a little midWestern town in the US, and wound up in Japan -- and just this morning, someone complemented me on how fluent my Japanese was. (OK, most Japanese have pretty low expectations about how foreigners can speak their language, BUT, I would call myself fluent in many situations.)  The point is: if I can do it, you can do it!\n\nFirst, go to the library and see what they have on offer.  If you find something you really like, you can then see if you can buy it for keeps somewhere else.\n\nNext, do you live in a place with Japanese exchange students?  They might be willing to trade you Japanese lessons for English lessons.  Many towns also have sister-city relationships with Japanese towns, so it may be possible to host a Japanese student in your home.  I really think that speaking and using Japanese is the best way to learn it.\n\nNext, there are a lot of websites with the hiragana, katakana and Chinese characters on them.  The Chinese characters take devoted study for months to learn, but you can easily learn the hiragana and katakana charts in six weeks.\n\nBut learning to speak Japanese is really difficult to do by yourself.  I'd recommend getting into a class -- either on-line or at your local university.  \n\nGood luck!
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I’m sorry but there “aint” too many options for an English speaking student.\n\nIf you don’t speak Italian, you will have to study at one of the few private universities in Italy.  Bocconi in Milan only offers business classes.  However, many American universities have campuses in Italy where classes are held for credit in American universities.\n\nIf you just want to study Italian, there are two Italian universities where the language is taught.  Those two universities are in Perugia and Siena.
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Well... all we dream about that: to be able to speak a new language over night. But there is not such a thing. Learning a language is a matter of hard work. No shortcuts here! If the books you are using now are too slow for you, try to get Croatian friends on MSN and start chatting. Ask them to correct you when you are wrong. Okay... traveling there would be awesome! but... to be honest, everybody tells you that, as if it were a few blocks away.
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I know English and I am learning French. I know a lot of Urdu and understand it, but I cannot speak it fluently. My first choice to learn another language would be French cause it is really beautiful, but i am already learning it. I would choose Greek because it is rich in history.
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I'd say hang around people at school who speak that language. You can also take classes. Like Irish said, the older you are, the harder it is to learn.
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i'd try what i did....and that is:  if you want to learn french, change yahoo's webpage (or your favorite webpage) into french and then MAKE yourself translate it DAILY....using altavista.babelfish.com   or whatever online translator you choose...it has worked pretty good with me, i work with a bunch of LEGAL mexicans and i have learned pretty decent spanish in a short amount of time...it's still hard to understand it, but i can speak it well