How to learn a language
Meet the people who speak many languages. How do they do it, and why?
Simon Calder asks how to go about acquiring a new tongue. He gets tips from those who know - innovative teachers and polyglots. The answers are surprising. At school, it is repetitive drills, shouted out loud by the whole class, that seem to lodge the grammar and pronunciation in the pupils’ brains. But if you are an adult learning by yourself, then, on the contrary, don’t stress about grammar and pronunciation, there are better, and more fun things to focus on. Simon has a go at learning Slovenian, can he order coffee and cake after just one lesson?
(Photo: Olly Richards and Katie Harris, with kind permission from both)
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- Tue 9 Jul 2019 12:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service except News Internet
- Tue 9 Jul 2019 17:06GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service Australasia
- Tue 9 Jul 2019 21:06GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service
- Wed 10 Jul 2019 01:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service
- Sat 13 Jul 2019 08:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service except East Asia, Europe and the Middle East & South Asia
- Sun 14 Jul 2019 17:06GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service News Internet & Online only
- Wed 28 Oct 2020 05:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service Australasia
- Wed 28 Oct 2020 06:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service Americas and the Caribbean
- Wed 28 Oct 2020 09:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Wed 28 Oct 2020 11:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Wed 28 Oct 2020 21:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Wed 28 Oct 2020 23:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sat 31 Oct 2020 02:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service News Internet, West and Central Africa & East Asia only
- Sat 31 Oct 2020 08:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service except East and Southern Africa, East Asia, Europe and the Middle East & South Asia
- Sun 1 Nov 2020 19:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service except Americas and the Caribbean, East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
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