I was just curious on how long it would take (roughly) to be able to have a basic conversation in a new language. Is it true that some languages are harder than other to learn? I was under the impression that if it's new to you, it's all 'Greek' anyway until you learn it. I'm not new to languages as I'm semi-fluent in Dutch, passable in German and spent 6 months last year trying to learn Swedish (which was an interesting mental challenge). Looking to have a go at a Central European language such as Czech or Slovak.
What is the best way learning a new language? When I tried Swedish I had no idea where to start and just tried brute forcing it by memorising hunderds of words without looking at sentence structures, tenses or verbs. I have a Swedish friend that helped me with prenounciation so I got it right. The idea was that if I knew enough words, I'd be able to recognise some of them in sentences and figure out what the conversation was about. While it worked to some degree, it didn't feel like the best way of doing it. I'm sure there is people here that knows how to go about it.
Oh, the reason for wanting to learn Czech/Slovak is a 9 week trip through Central and Eastern Europe next summer coming up and would be so much easier being able to speak some of the Slavic languages. Even if knowledge is just basic.
What is the best way learning a new language? When I tried Swedish I had no idea where to start and just tried brute forcing it by memorising hunderds of words without looking at sentence structures, tenses or verbs. I have a Swedish friend that helped me with prenounciation so I got it right. The idea was that if I knew enough words, I'd be able to recognise some of them in sentences and figure out what the conversation was about. While it worked to some degree, it didn't feel like the best way of doing it. I'm sure there is people here that knows how to go about it.
Oh, the reason for wanting to learn Czech/Slovak is a 9 week trip through Central and Eastern Europe next summer coming up and would be so much easier being able to speak some of the Slavic languages. Even if knowledge is just basic.
