How long does it take to pick up a new language?
545493
A friend of mine lived in France for six years and in his sixth year I was helping him with French translations (this was my third year there).\n\nAnother guy came with zero French, was sent to a special immersion course in Vichy for three weeks, found a French girlfriend and three months after his arrival his French was very good.\n\nIf you REALLY want to learn French - pretend (even for yourself) that you don't speak English.
471743
The easiest way to learn any language bar non is by making a friend who is fluent in the language you want to learn and knows very little of your language (or will agree to speak mostly in their native tongue). I know of this from experience. I was fluent is Italian and had moderate French knowledge when I moved to Japan 5 years ago due to my husband being in the military. I knew not ONE word of Japanese. I bought books, Cd's, DVDs, PC programs etc and  learned close to nothing as Japanese is an EXTREMELY difficult language to learn. Then, once I made a Japanese friend who spoke close to NO English, I started picking up so fast it was unbelievable. I am now FLUENT in Japanese and it took all of 6 months. I could get myself around in about 1 month. Many people had recommended this to me and now tried and true I recommend it to you. There are a couple of ways to find friends for such as well. Finding language exchange partners on-line is easy or visiting local colleges culture clubs which most members are second language English generation. Good Luck on your endeavor!!
969855
Languages are best learned between the ages of 1-6. At that point the number of language that can be aquired is limitless, literally. The older we get the harder it is to learn a new language because languages are rule-governed and the rules are not always the kind you can pin-point unless you study language. It is widely accepted that to carry on with conversational speech in a new language an adult must have been studying at least 7 years. This number is not just a coincidence with the 6 year span in which a child learns language. Hearing the language and seeing how the language is used is the best thing for him.  And the reason that English is one of the most difficult languages to learn is that we frequently borrow words from thousands of different origins.  So English words dont necessarily follow one specific pattern. Additionally, he has to learn syntax of a new language which refers to the rules governing the word order of forming sentences.  It takes more than simply learning vocabulary.  It is also very limiting to try to teach someone a new language if you dont know the differences between the old and the new.   One suggestion I can give you is to teach him word components like prefixes and suffixes and define them so that he can begin to extract meaning from words which can serve as a foundation to build upon. Language is infinitely complex. It sounds to me like he is doing a fine job and is putting in the effort.  you will just have to encourage him to keep learning.
21651
I personally reccomend the Rosetta Stone language education software. It's specifically designed to teach people fast. My father was at conversational italian after an hour a day for six months, and was reading and writing it by the end of the year. I'm going to get a copy before I go to Japan. It comes in almost every language, too.
253849
It really depends how you are learning it.\nIf you are just having one two-hour lesson a week then it's going to take a very long time to get anywhere near conversationally fluent in that language. You'll pick up the basics in a year or two this way, but only the basics.\nHowever, if you are emersed in that language, by going to a full time language school, or living in a country where that language is spoken, you should get a good grasp of the language in a year, and be pretty well fluent within 3 to 5 years.
1049059
Well this is my favorite question to answer! \nI lived in Germany for a year after studying German for 2 years.  Let me tell you when I stepped off the plane it felt like I had studied for about 10 minutes.  After about 3 months I had no problem holding a conversation with someone.  Everyone learns languages differently.  I know people who learned a language fluently in only 3 months, well others take longer.  But 10 years??  Maybe if you never go and live in a German speaking country.  I don't know if it's just the German language, but I have always found that it is easier to write than to speak.  Mind you, I'm also studying Spanish, and after only one year I find it's much easier to speak and learn than German.
209587
It's a setup.  Do you want to go where you don't know the language?
93496
Learn english, then return
1182253
............time to speak ENGLISH???
186780
To tell U the TRUTH, LEARNING A LANGUAGE, is A LIFE-TIME commitment,as a Language, like English, even French, is in a constant STATE of FLUX.As r the Methods of Teaching them.\nBut with conscious effort, U can learn ENGLISH, passing-well, in USA, in 3 years, even less, as You will be 'LIVING ln THAT MILIEU'.
151435
Hmmm... What do you mean by fast? Is 4 years fast? This is how much it got me to actually say I can use my Japanese... I think all the languages you would like to learn take at least 2 or 3 years. For Japanese, there are plenty of good sites on the internet. You could use them. I dont know any courses, though. Don't worry for your spelling. It's perfectly understandable. Good luck with the others!
957099
Not till you learn to speak the language !
959387
Try to read comics in the new language. *That* helped me a lot. I started learning English (I'm German) with Beetle Bailey comics...\n\nGo to movie screenings in the new language. Subtitles help. If you get DVDs and repeat things you hear (you better do this alone at home ;-)  ), it also speeds up the process.\n\nListen to radio stations in the new language (with internet radio, you'll find anything on the planet).\n\nIf possible, practise with a native speaker.\n\nBest of luck!
1029048
The best way to learn any language is through a technique called "total immersion".  This is where nothing is spoken except the target language.  So, no English whatsoever, only Spanish in your case.\nUse the latest technique of "Total Immersion," which can be more specifically called the "Communicative Method of Total Immersion".\n\nWith this method, the student is submersed in a Spanish-speaking environment that extends beyond the classroom, to include all aspects of his or her life during the time it takes to learn the language. So the classroom becomes in reality, an extension of the student's reality while studying . Therefore, language acquisition never ceases to take place. \n\nThis Total Immersion technique is based on three open structures:\n\na. Integrated skills, \nb. Grammar by analogy, not by analysis, and\nc. Themes selected by the learner, i.e restauraunts, banking, travel. \n\nWith this system, the learner is able to feel the success, and hear how they are making progress in the language, in different communicative situations.\n\nI don't know if you will be fluent in 30 days.  That depends on prior knowledge of the language, language proficiency apptitude, and a variety of other factors.  It will be difficult even if you do pick up languages quickly, but if you are determined enough, you could potentially have a rudimentary understanding of the fundamentals of the Spanish language within a month by utilizing total immersion.\n\nThe Defense Language Institute in California (the military language school) teaches all of it's languages in this manner.
637487
It would be interesting to know how many languages the average American knows.  One of the things that I always found disturbing is that even if an American takes a foreign language class, the American will rarely make the attempt to practice using the language.  \n\nThink about it, how many people do you know take Spanish?  Quite a few.  How many actually try to speak the language?  I am shocked when I am a manager or teacher, and I see a room of employees or students scared to speak a word of Spanish to a person that might be struggling.  I understand that there are many ethical and political questions whenever speaking a foreign language.  For goodness sake, we're the land of immigrants and we need to step up.\n\nYes, I am proud to say that I have made the attempt and have spoken both Norwegian and Spanish to native speakers.  I have even spoken the few words of German, Russian, and Korean that I know as well.  Please keep in mind, that the only languages I can truly speak are English, Spanish, and Norwegian.\n\nRather than concentrating on how many languages are learned, let's focus on actually applying our knowledge of the international community.  One world, one people.  We can communicate and come together.
481458
Learn the language.  This is a repeat question.
390250
You cannot learn any language "quickly". Languages necessarily take time to learn. Anyway, if you want to hurry it up, try being exposed to the language just as much as you can.