Language Learning Lounge

Starlight

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Language Learning Lounge

During the last event some of us were talking about language learning, and I saw someone propose the idea of a thread for language learning discussion. It seemed like a good idea to me, so I decided to make this hangout! Feel free to discuss language learning, offer advice, update us on your progress, recommend resources, converse in your target language with other learners*, and talk about non-language learning topics as well!

*If you choose to converse in a language other than English, make sure to follow this forum rule:
"Users must use English as the main language of Voltra. If another language is used, you must make sure to avoid spelling mistakes so that it can be easily translated for review, or that you provide a translation alongside your main post inside a spoiler."

Index
Opening Post
Language Learners List
Language-Specific Resources
General Resources
Song Recommendations

Starlight

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Language Learners List

This is a list of users who are learning a languages/languages and the language or languages they're learning! If you'd like to be added to the list, just make a post in this thread stating the language or languages you're learning. Feel free to state other information, such as your native language(s), your levels in the languages you're learning, and anything else you feel is important to note.

Starlight
Native Language: English
Target Languages: Korean (intermediate) and Russian (beginner)

Goblin
Native Language: Spanish
Target Languages: English (advanced/fluent) and Korean (beginner)

GoblinsAndTea
Native Language: Flemish/Dutch
Target Languages: VGT(Flemish Sign Language)

Starlight

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Language-Specific Resources

Feel free to suggest resources for specific languages and give reasons as to why you recommend them.
I'll add them to this post as they're suggested.

🇩🇪German🇩🇪

Deutsche Welle

Natürlich German
"In the classroom we are told to endlessly study grammar and memorise concepts, however, research shows that language is acquired through authentic experiences. The concept of Natürlich German is based on Dr. Stephen Krashen's second language acquisition theory, in which one uses comprehensible input to acquire a language, rather than 'learn' it."

🇰🇷Korean🇰🇷

Talk To Me In Korean
This is a pretty popular site among Korean learners. They also have a YouTube channel and various books you can buy. I used the site (free version) and watched some of their YouTube videos for a short time when I was beginner, and I do think it's pretty good for beginners. I never used any of their books though, so I can't comment on them.

How to Study Korean
This is another site I used as a beginner, and I also used it as a reference to look up grammar points from time to time. I think it's a pretty good resource, so I recommend checking it out.

Korean Grammar in Use
This is a series of books that teaches Korean grammar. I found some PDFs of these books online along with the audio and worked through all three of them making Anki cards for the grammar and vocabulary as I went. If you enjoy studying grammar, then I definitely recommend this series. I know some language learners don't enjoy focusing on grammar as much though, so you might not like these books if you fall into the category.

Naver Dictionary
This is the main dictionary I use for Korean.

Naver Papago
A translator

Mirinae
Translates and breaks down Korean sentences.

🇷🇺Russian🇷🇺

Real Russian Club
This is a YouTube channel run by a woman named Daria. She posts videos explaining grammar, speaking in slow Russian, reading children's books, and so on. I've watched some of her videos, and I've found them helpful. If I don't feel like I fully understood a grammar point after learning about it from the book I'm using, then I'll watch a video of hers about it.

Comprehensible Russian
"Comprehensible Russian is a resource of learning content for those who want to develop real abilities in the language rather than just getting knowledge about it. Watch interesting videos, acquire real Russian language naturally and… enjoy progress! The method is based on Stephen Krashen's Natural Approach, ALG (Automatic Language Growth) approach to language acquisition and much inspired by Refold Roadmap by Matt."

In Russian From Afar
"Привет! My name is Sergey, and I'm living in Vietnam, away from my native land, mother Russia. Here I want to share with you about my life, and help you to learn Russian easier and in a more fun way. If you want improve your Russian and you are curious about life of a Russian expat in Vietnam, stay with me, cause it would be "ofigenno"!"

Russian With Max
"My aim here is to provide interesting and useful materials for your language acquisition:
- Slow videos in Russian with PDFs.
- Vlogs in Russian with subtitles (Comprehensible input)
- Storytelling method (TPRS)
- Facts and culture. Real language!"

Boost Your Russian
This is another YouTube channel that seems good. Her slow Russian videos where she goes over the dialogue from a movie/video clip are of particular interest to me. I'll probably use them more once I'm slightly farther along in my studies.

The New Penguin Russian Course: A Complete Course for Beginners
I saw this book recommended a lot, so I found a PDF of it, and I've been using it as my main book for learning Russian. The one downside is that it doesn't have audio.

Yandex
Good for translating, giving the definitions of words, and giving example sentences.

OpenRussian
Dictionary

VGT (Flemish Sign Language)

Vlaamse Gebarentaal Leren
A YouTube channel for learning VGT. (in Dutch)

Starlight

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General Resources

These are resources that aren't specific to just one language. Feel free to suggest any that you think should be here.

Anki
"Anki is a free and open-source flashcard program using spaced repetition, a technique from cognitive science for fast and long-lasting memorization." -Wikipedia

Language Reactor
"Language Reactor is a powerful toolbox for learning languages. It helps you to discover, understand, and learn from native materials. Studying will become more effective, interesting, and enjoyable!"

Language Learning with YouTube and Language Learning with Netflix
These are extensions that allow you to have dual subtitles on YouTube and Netflix videos, look up the meaning of a word, and so on. I've only used the YouTube one so far, but I like it a lot. Personally, I have it set so that the English subtitles are hidden unless I choose to reveal them.

CaptionPop
This is the same general idea as Language Learning with YouTube, but it's a website instead of an extension. I prefer LLWY because the subtitles are on the video while with CaptionPop they're below the video. I use this one on my iPad sometimes though.

Drops
Drops is an app for learning vocabulary and phrases. You can see the available languages here.

Forvo
Forvo is a pronunciation dictionary. You can search words, phrases, and sentences to see if anyone has uploaded themselves saying the given word, phrase, or sentence. Users can request pronunciations of words, phrases, and sentences, and other users can upload their pronunciations. I use this site to get audio for some of my Anki cards.

LangCorrect
"Master grammar, spelling, and syntax in the language(s) you’re learning through direct feedback on your writing from fluent, native speakers."

Polylogger
This is a site for logging your language learning.

InterPolly
"Watch YouTube videos and develop your vocabulary quickly."
Available languages: English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish

Refold
"The Refold roadmap is a step-by-step guide for learning any language from scratch. We explain exactly how to combine media, strategic study, and educational technologies to achieve high-level language fluency faster than any other method in the world."
If you're new to language learning, then I think there are a lot of helpful tips here as to how to go about learning a language. Of course, everyone has their own methods, and I only recently learned about this site myself, so use the info on this site it if you'd like, and don't use it if you don't want to.

Voracious
"A video player for learning languages (esp. Japanese)"

Migaku
"If you want to learn to speak, and more importantly, understand a language the way a native speaker does, then immersion is the only path. Migaku is here to help you on that journey, from your first steps, until you reach fluency and beyond!"

Learning With Texts
"The goal of Learning with Texts is to learn a foreign language while you read books, articles, or any text you want. When you find a word you don’t know, click on the word to bring up an online dictionary. Enter the definition you want and choose a status between 1-5 how well you know the word. Unfamiliar words will have a red background and familiar words will appear green. The goal is to move words from red (1) to green (5) by seeing the words used in context many times. Definitions are saved across texts and can be displayed above the word. LWT also has a built in audio player for text with an accompanying audio."

Tatoeba
"Tatoeba is a collection of sentences and translations. It's collaborative, open, free and even addictive."

Readlang
"Learn a language by reading whatever you like. Translate words & phrases live on any web page. Use these words to practice flashcards."

Filmot
Search YouTube for videos with subtitles in specific languages or videos with a specific word/phrase.

Zero To Hero
"This is a platform that provides tens of thousands of videos with subtitles and dictionary tools across hundreds of languages!"

Starlight

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Song Recommendations

I love music, so I enjoy listening to songs in my target languages. If you'd like to recommend some songs(in any language), just post them in the threads, and I'll add them to this post!

🇯🇵Japanese🇯🇵

Namie Amuro - Can You Celebrate? (x)

🇰🇷Korean🇰🇷

BTS - House of Cards
Dreamcatcher - Piri
Exo - Growl
Exo - Monster
Gain - Paradise Lost
(G)I-dle - Lion
Girl's Day - Something
Infinite - The Chaser
IU - Dear Name (Live)
IU (feat. Suga) - eight (Live)
IU - Love Poem (Live)
NCT Dream - Boom
NCT U - Boss
NCT U - The 7th Sense
Oh My Girl - Closer
Stray Kids - My Pace

🇷🇺Russian🇷🇺

Dora & Tanny Volkova - Doradura
Leningrad ft. Gluk'oZa - Ju-Ju
Polina Gagarina - Lullaby

Starlight

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Reserved

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Open for posting!

Starlight

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@KDA Drew: Getting started can be one of the hardest parts it seems. For me, I started off by learning hangeul, then I used Talk To Me In Korean and How to Study Korean for a bit, and then I started working through the Korean Grammar in Use series. I think the most important thing is to find a resource and stick to it, which is what I finally did with Korean Grammar in Use

Totalanimefan

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This thread is so cool! I know Japanese because I learned it in college (It was my major).

Totalanimefan

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I also listen to Japanese music all the time.

Shark

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Ooh cool thread! :3

I'm pretty ok at reading Spanish, but I'd embarrass myself if I tried speaking it lmao. And also I tried learning Turkish, but I realized I don't encounter it enough IRL to remember anything.

Ping me!

Hangout

Starlight

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Total- That's cool! Japanese is a language that I've thought about learning, but I haven't really gotten around to it. Also, the grammar is similar to Korean grammar, so it might be better to learn Japanese when my Korean is more advanced and try to ladder from Korean. Kanji and pitch accent seem interesting to learn. There are some Japanese songs I like, but I haven't listened to them much lately. Feel free to recommend Japanese songs that you like~

Goblin- I learned a bit of Spanish at school, but I don't think I really learned much at all. It's on my short list of languages I want to learn though. It's nice to see other people on Voltra who are learning/interesting in learning Korean! What're you using to learn? I can try to help if there's anything in particular you have questions about, but I'm only at an intermediate level myself, so no promises that I'll be of much use :viosweat:

Shark- I can understand that. Speaking is definitely the skill I'm least confident in as well. I'm not sure how good my pronunciation of certain Korean sounds is, and I'm only a beginner at Russian, so my pronunciation would surely be atrocious. I don't really encounter Korean or Russian much (or at all) in real life, but I try to watch and read things in Korean, and I'll try to do that with Russian too later on.

GoblinsAndTea

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(˵◕ ᴥ ◕˵)ﾉ Hello there

Im actually trying to learn VGT (vlaams gebarentaal = flemish sign language)
Im not deaf or hard of hearing but ive always wanted to learn sign language. My native language is flemish/dutch (so if anybody needs help with that...) I do eventually want to lear ASL aswel tho.

I can read just a tiny bit of french (i understand surtain words and thus will get a rough idea what the text is about)
And i can understand a tiny bit of german since its close to dutch.

Id love to one day learn japanse, korean, Inuktitut and russian oneday! However curently im focusing on sign language.

Im not sure if anybody is intrested in VGT but these videos help me alot: https://www.youtube.com/c/vgtleren/videos
Ofc youd need to know dutch first to learn it tho

。.:☆*:･ヽ(˵◕ ᴥ ◕˵)

♦ My Art Shop ♦

Totalanimefan

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@Goblin: That's really cool. Your English is so good I honestly didn't even know it wasn't your native language. ^^

@Starlight: I remember a lot of people in my college that were also learning Japanese picked to also learn Chinese or Korean. I would think that Korean is easier to learn than Japanese because of the Japanese writing system. (Which is why I think Chinese is the hardest of the three). I didn't know that Japanese and Korean had similar grammar. That's pretty cool. Kanji is kinda a pain to learn but once you know the Kanji it's much better. Still to this day I'm not that good at Katakana. Doesn't help that the Japanese-ified versions of foreign words are hard to understand sometimes.
As for music recommendations, what genre do you like?

Totalanimefan

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@GoblinsAndTea: I took ASL in college and my teacher was deaf so I really learned a lot in the two college classes I took. Enough to be fluent. But then I moved to the UK and there sign language is nothing like ASL and then I was also learning Japanese. So a lot of times I'll see ASL and I'll be like, I know it but I don't know it anymore and it's frustrating.

Starlight

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Goblin- I think sticking to one thing and making it a habit to study are the most important things. I felt like I truly started to make progress once I forced myself to use one thing as my main resource and study every day. TTMIK is probably good since it has a course you can follow from the first level to the last, and then after that you might be able to start learning more with extensive and intensive immersion. I'm not sure what level of Korean it gets you to though since I only used it for a short time. I used Drops a bit the first few days when I started Russian, but I haven't really touched it since. It was fun though. And I get what you mean, I don't necessarily know the rules of English that well, and taking dialects into account only makes it more complicated. Sometimes the best I can do is know that something doesn't sound right in English, but I can't always put into words why that is.

Starlight

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GoblinsAndTea- Sign language is something I'm interested in learning at some point as well. I'd most likely learn ASL since I'm American, but it would probably be interesting to see how it compares to other sign languages. Focusing on VGT first seems good, I focused solely on Korean until I reached an intermediate level. Trying to focus on multiple languages from the start would probably get confusing for me. I hope your current and future language learning endeavors go well~

Total- That makes sense. I also have some interest in Chinese (Mandarin specifically) and Japanese. One fun thing is when I watch a video in Chinese (with English subtitles) and recognize a word that's similar to the Korean word. Of course that usually because the Korean word is of Chinese origin. I also know the word for giraffe is the same in Korean and Japanese because it comes from the name of a mythical Chinese creature. And yes, when it comes to writing systems, hangeul (the Korean alphabet) is known for being somewhat easy to learn. Chinese and Japanese on the other hand, not so much. At the same time I think learning Chinese characters or kanji could be kind of fun. For music, my tastes can be kind of eclectic. I like pop, Kpop, some rock, some EDM, some hip-hop, a bit of rap, a bit of country, a bit of folk music from various countries, Korean hip hop, and so on I guess. I think genres like heavy metal, screamo, and such with screaming are the only genres where I've never liked a single song that I've heard.

★~~Questing~~★

Totalanimefan

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@Starlight: Yeah I agree with you on the different alphabets if you learn Chinese Han it's the same meaning in English as a Japanese Kanji, but how they are said is different.
For songs my wedding song was a Japanese song. It was Can You Celebrate by Namie Amuro (She is my favorite singer). I'll pull it up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut1E_xH6Lz4 <--Someone put together a video of Namie singing it live during her various concerts over the years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LPXnBLBZpo <-- From her own Youtube channel, but it's not the full version.

Totalanimefan

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@Goblin: Honestly, I feel like I make more mistakes with English than you do. XD When did you start learning English? Was it hard?

By Ghost
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Discord: Totalanimefan
@me
I'm friendly and will chat with anyone!

Forums Hangouts Language Learning Lounge

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