I've had 6 years of formal spanish classes. When I speak spanish, I need to think of the phrase in english, and then translate each word to spanish, and it's all very awkward with no real fluency or soul. My accent is good, but I think that's just because the Spanish phenomes which are not present in English are present in Hindi.
I've had sporadic contact with Hindi via family members and movies. My Hindi is just as bad as my Spanish in terms of raw communicative power...but the nature of my knowledge is different. I can spontaneously and naturally say entire phrases with all the proper communicative cues (changes in pitch, expression) without any English in my mind. And I can directly understand the meaning of Hindi speech, whereas with Spanish I need to map it to English before grasping meaning.
So, if I said one sentence in Spanish, a Spanish speaker can immediately tell I'm not a native speaker. If I say one sentence in Hindu, for that one sentence I'm reported to sound exactly like a native speaker (but there is very little I can actually say, so I essentially sound like a child who has been speaking sentences for about 6 months. (People find it hilarious)).
So while I can co...
Use spaced repetition software. This is the formal explanation about why it works. The intuitive explanation goes something like:
Spacing effect: the less frequently we review something, the stronger the memory.
We have computer programs that calculate when we forget things, so we only review them when we're about to forget.
This results in less frequent reviews. By (1), this results in a stronger memory, so the computer program calculates that your next review should be later, resulting in a stronger memory, resulting in an even later review...
The best program I'm aware of is anki.
Also, if you read through Gwern's article, you'll find this under External Links. May be helpful.
I've found myself in a very similar situation last year. I had to go from nothing to fluent in Dutch in 7 weeks in order to be able to study there. Already knowing German as a similar language certainly played a role in making this possible.
Here's what worked for me, in order of importance:
As you probably guessed, conversation is the key. I traveled to different people I knew in the Netherlands for several days each just to talk to them. They were very willing to help. I don't know if you have this possibility, but it would be hugely beneficial. For most of the time I couldn't do this and had to learn in other ways.
Starting with the most common 100 words. These account for 50% of all communication. Then move on to the most common 200 (75%). Work your way up to 500 or more. These lists can be found online. Learning vocabulary lists other than the most common words can be very inefficient.
Your most important phrase should be: "How do you say X?" (in Hebrew)
On reading: Reading can be quite effective. I borrowed some books, read them, and looked up every word that I didn't know on my laptop. I put all the important ones into spaced repetition software.
On spaced rep
I am an interpreter. Immersion among native speakers is unbeatable for learning fast. If fast is the priority, stop using any other language but the target language by the end of this sentence.
To increase immersion, download some music in given language, so you can listen to it in your free time when you are too tired to learn otherwise.
Some stuff that helped me (I speak decent Chinese, some German, and basic Japanese and Esperanto):
Immersion, of course, especially if you can insinuate you can't speak English (I'm French, we don't have a reputation for being great at English - so I can just say the equivalent of "me from the France" in the target language and I'm less likely to be answered in English)
A high tolerance for embarrassment (not having much of a peer group around probably helps, e.g. shopping alone or talking on the internet)
Instant Messaging with young girls of
Listen as much audio spoken by native speakers as you can. My guess is that children programs are best. Maybe some Hebrew dubbed cartoons that you are already familiar with. First priority is to get your brain trained on the sounds of the language.
Speak with a native speaker that knows English. You can use http://livemocha.com/ for this.
Speak badly but speak.
From my personal experience, biggest hurdle in learning a new language is actually using it. Getting past the "shame" filter of your brain. If you accept that mistakes are unavoidable and...
Try Pimsleur. It's an audio-based method of language learning which incorporates spaced repetition.
Also, Rosetta Stone.
Immersion is not an option for me currently.
Whatever you do, immerse yourself as much as possible in your circumstances. This most likely means having radio blaring in Hebrew most of the time when it's not actively obstructing whatever you're trying to do; plastering your living space with labels, adding Hebrew blogs to your blogroll, seeking social activities outside your comfort zone such as volunteering at a retirement home with lonely seniors or attending insipid school plays at your local center for Hebrew language and culture.
Memorize songs you like. Best way to learn vocabulary. I brought my Hebrew from weak to strong by learning all the songs of Poogy.
But the only way to really learn a language is immersion, which I have only seen happen at work, army, or university (making sure that you are not around English speakers). It is very rare for people to find immersion opportunities by just seeking to hang out with speakers of another language.
...After experiencing the government-sponsored Hebrew programs, I totally refuse to accept such a ridiculously inefficient and traumatic
Look at what LW has on spaced repetition, procrastination, and pomodoros. If you have the money I would suggest hiring a private experienced teacher.
Obviously it's too late now but next time you plan a drastic life change with steep prerequisites you should probably make sure to give yourself plenty of time to finish the prerequisites. Planning fallacy and all that.
Speaking from experience: there is no substitute for immersion. You can pick up a simple language like Hebrew in a couple of months if you are OK with languages in general. Also, IDF has a lot of experience getting foreigners to speak Hebrew really really fast, ever since the early 1990s. Failing immersion, you can try Rosetta Stone, which is generally considered the best language-learning software out there. Also, Scott Young of "all of MIT CS in one year" fame has been discussing his experience learning Portuguese and now Chinese on a very acce...
There are a lot of good suggestions in the comments already. I'd like to emphasize immersion (films, audio books etc.) and especially lots of practice talking (!). Try to find as many possible ways to increase your talking time in the target language. E.g. by talking over skype, seeking out a local Hebrew club or whatever.
Also I'd like to point to http://www.fluentin3months.com/ because Benny (the blogger) has a lot of good tips for language learning.
Related question:
Suppose your goal in learning a language was not to acquire conversational fluency, but rather to read untranslated literature in its original language. For example, nobody learns Latin in order to go to a country where Latin is spoken. What might you do differently in this case?
1) Remember that there many different techniques for learning language, and only some will work for you. For example, I haven't found 100% immersion useful. I like to ask questions in my native language about the target language. That helps me learn faster.
2) Recognize you're actually learning several skills: Speaking. Aural comprehension. Thinking in your target language. Writing. Reading. I find learning to read in the target language first to be the most helpful for my learning style.
4)This link may be helpful to start: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/b...
As someone who moved to Israel at the age of 25 with very minimal Hebrew (almost certainly worse than yours), went to an ulpan for five months and then served in the IDF for 18 months while somehow avoiding the 3 month language course I certainly should have been placed in based on my middle-of-ulpan level of fluency:
Ulpan (not army ulpan, real ulpan) is actually pretty good at doing what it's supposed to. I had a great time - it depends on the ulpan but I haven't heard of a single one that would be psychologically damaging. Perhaps your experience with a ...
The language you use to talk about something influences the way you think about it. If the chemistry you’re talking about is truly something new, then a fight over terminology may be quite an important part of getting to understand that chemistry better.
You can never be loved for your successes-only for your vulnerabilities. People may be attracted to you and may admire you if you are a great success. They may also resent and envy you. But they can never love you for your success.
David Burns in "The feeling good handbook" Page 126
Genuine self-esteem is based on humility and an acceptance of your shortcomings.
David Burns in "The feeling good handbook" Page 69
If you try too hard to fight a problem within yourself or someone else, the very act of fighting will often create resistance. Sometimes when you accept the problem and stop trying so hard, things will suddenly begin to change.
David Burns in "The feeling good handbook" about the "acceptance paradox" Page 67
I'm in a foreign country for at least the next three months. It's for work but I've been considering partnering with someone to try teaching them English while they teach me the local tongue. One problem though is I don't know a lot of people here. I may have to make first contact. :) I've also been considering Rosetta Stone for extra practice.
Immersion is not an option for me currently
Are you sure it's not an option? Hebrew's not a particularly obscure language, so if you live in an area which isn't particularly obscure, it should to be possible to set something up without spending money?
Obviously getting literature on language acquisition is out of the question. I wouldn't even know where to start.
I'm not sure I understood this part. Are you saying that the general advice, "Read stuff about how to learn languages" is not helpful because you wouldn't know what to read? Whereas, if someone had a specific recommendation for something to read, that would be the sort of thing you're looking for?
(Note that I don't actually have a recommendation, I'm just following the somewhat questionable policy of always asking for clarification when I don't understand something someone has written :P)
I'm not at all sure how this site works yet (I've gone only on traditional forums), so bear with me please if I do something foolish. I'm being drafted to the IDF in a few months and I need to learn Hebrew very quickly if I want to avoid being put into a program for foreign speakers. I currently reside in the US, but I've previously lived in (and have citizenship of) both countries.
After experiencing the government-sponsored Hebrew programs, I totally refuse to accept such a ridiculously inefficient and traumatic method of teaching a language. When I get enlisted, I'll want to focus whatever little time I have left on studying more important things. Something that will damage me psychologically, not to mention take up huge amounts of time and effort, will take away any opportunity I might get.
I can speak a few basic phrases in Hebrew and and can understand a bit more. Immersion is not an option for me currently. My attempts at teaching myself the language have been stunningly misguided (which is to say, like reading Atlas Shrugged to get a proper understanding of Objectivism) and I'm not interested in a lengthy trial and error process. Obviously getting literature on language acquisition is out of the question. I wouldn't even know where to start.
So, I'd just like some methods or heuristics for picking up languages as fast as possible. (I am extremely literate, so there's that.)