Learning a language for business

[KatyMan]

I posted this in the Languages and Linguistics forum, but thought I'd try here too.

My wife and I want to retire in Ireland. She will retire before me, so I'll have to work when we get there (we've lived there before, have citizenship, etc), and a whole lot of jobs in IT (which I do) require a second language. I was thinking that learning German would probably be a good bet. Are there programs out there to help with learning a language from a "business" or "working" standpoint? Is Rosetta Stone a good program? Should I take one of those adult education classes that colleges offer (no credit, just for fun type ones), since those would be in person and interactive?


thanks, and I'll hang up and listen.

[LuckyLib]

1. Don't waste your money on Rosetta Stone and another programs. Learning a second

language well enough to engage professionally is extremely difficult, and requires (in the best of circumstances) years of immersion in that language, particularly in the context in which you will be using it. Accepting the fact that it will be unlikely that you can become extremely proficient in the language as a retiree and by doing limited study, there are steps that could get you on the road to whatever goals seem reasonable for you. Begin with local study, through a college or university or community group that brings native speakers together with those eager to learn (Alliance Francaise, is an example for French).

Find an individual with fluent German skill who is eager to tutor you -- meet for coffee and direct your learning in the area you want to go -- technology, computer science, etc. Read, read, and read in German. Watch documentaries, films, listen to podcasts. Immersion would be the best route, of course -- living in a German speaking environment for a period of months would jump start the process. Much of second language instruction is still the "drill and kill" model, with hours of conjugating verbs and repetitive exercises thought to produce meaningful language learning. Find beginning texts that help you develop a framework in your mind and workbooks if they help you. There is no easy route to developing a skill in another language. Your adventure sounds exciting!

[KatyMan]

2. Thanks LuckyLib

Great points. I suppose it was kind of a longshot to get proficient in 2 or so years, but we're exploring various options, and Ireland has a lot of call centers/technical support sites that handle EU support, so I thought it was worth investigating.
Appreciate the reply, it was a definite eye opener.

[SwissTony]

3. LuckyLib makes some sound points.

I'm an Australian living in the Netherlands and I taught myself pretty basic Dutch before I moved to The Netherlands. While I was still living in Australia, I bought some Dutch books - comics were useful as the Dutch isn't too "high-level". I did the same with Dutch newspapers when I got here. I read the low-level papers and gradually moved on to the better papers. See if you can get hold of some German newspapers. Das Bild would be good from the language point of view. The politics is something else.

But immersion is the key. Are you able to go to Germany and immerse yourself in the language for a while? It will make a hell of a difference.

I don't know of an Alliance Deutsch, but it would be worth checking up on (says he, adding more text so that he doesn't end a sentence with a preposition). Contact German clubs in your area in Ireland and also the universities which offer language courses. They might have contact information.

Best of luck.

[Aristus]

4. I speak German with near-fluency,

and I can tell you that watching movies is one of the best ways to learn idiomatic German. It can also be instructive in the conjugation of verbs and so on. It's one of the best ways (other than having long conversations with a native speaker) to get a feel for the rhythm and cadence of the language.

Also, once you've attained a certain level of skill, you can follow the English subtitles of German-language films and see what mistakes the translators made.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. Try exploring the options at Deutsche Welle (dw.com) ...

http://www.dw.com/en/learn-german/s-2469

http://www.dw.com/en/learn-german/german-courses/s-2547

There's even German News Spoken Slowly (not kidding): http://www.dw.com/search/?languageCode=de&item=Langsam%20gesprochene%20Nachrichten&searchNavigationId=2055&sort=DATE&resultsCounter=10

They're all free, and all with audio accompaniment -- so grab a good traditional textbook instead of something like Rosetta Stone. The latest version of "German Made Simple" is not a bad choice. Or get recommendations from this Web site (there are dozens for language learners): http://www.thegermanprofessor.com/books/ Particularly note http://www.thegermanprofessor.com/free-german-books/

A surprising number of textbooks for learning German are available in pdf format, possibly illegally:
http://www.prsformusicfoundation.com/docs/408/Schenke%20-%20Seago%20-%20Basic%20German.pdf
http://www.mercaba.org/SANLUIS/IDIOMAS/Alem%C3%A1n/Intermediate%20german.pdf

Free German books (no audio) at
https://www.gutenberg.org/browse/languages/de
http://www.thegermanprofessor.com/free-german-books/

Two recommendations most particularly worth considering: (1) Find a specialist German dictionary for your field -- "German-English Dictionary for Information Technology", etc. and (2) find a relatively elementary textbook in your field in German -- a direct translation of a book you've already read, if possible. The idea is that you already know all the information in the book, you're just seeing it expressed in German. That way you're not struggling with new content, but only on familiarizing yourself with the language. This is good with books outside your specialty as well, even children's books and comic books.


DISCLAIMER: This advice comes from someone who has never managed to become fluent in spoken German, but who has never worked too hard at it, either. Mostly I got to the point of being able to read chemistry papers in German, with dictionary in hand for the unfamiliar words. (Experimental procedures are particularly easy, because they use the same vocabulary over and over. You might look for similar situations in your own field.)