Taking any classes or learning about a new thing right now?

Poll of the Day

Poll of the Day » Taking any classes or learning about a new thing right now?
I want to take a bio class.
"It was so ridiculous and I have so many feelings about it."
-Virtual Energies
Still trying to learn Vietnamese. I dont think that will stop any time soon.
Glob posted...
Still trying to learn Vietnamese. I dont think that will stop any time soon.
Ah, a tonal language. Hows it coming?
"It was so ridiculous and I have so many feelings about it."
-Virtual Energies
dj1200 posted...
Ah, a tonal language. Hows it coming?

Slowly.

Ive built up a decent (but ever-growing) bank of vocab, and the grammar is very simple, but the fluency just isnt there. I can often pick out key words from people speaking naturally, but if I want to be able to engage properly I need to slow everything down, and even then I can only do it about certain topics.
Its crazy I can only see one post in this topic
I've started the process of getting into some accounting courses, which I may or may not take far enough to actually get certified as a CPA. I've been doing accounting/auditing work for the Canadian government for the past year and a half or so and not really having issues despite having no formal education on the subject, but I figure it's good to flesh out my understanding and make sure I'm qualified for any related opportunities that I might want to shoot for.
This is my signature. It exists to keep people from skipping the last line of my posts.
I'm in the middle of taking a series of web-development courses.
Number VI: Larxene.
The Organization's Not-That-Geezer's-Heart-Tank.
The Data Analyst courses from Google.
Music: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv4cNOBY2eCInbxg6B-KRks6vKMfmFvtp
Genshin Showcase: https://enka.network/u/608173646/
adjl posted...
I've started the process of getting into some accounting courses, which I may or may not take far enough to actually get certified as a CPA. I've been doing accounting/auditing work for the Canadian government for the past year and a half or so and not really having issues despite having no formal education on the subject, but I figure it's good to flesh out my understanding and make sure I'm qualified for any related opportunities that I might want to shoot for.

that would be cool. I definitely want more financial knowledge.
"It was so ridiculous and I have so many feelings about it."
-Virtual Energies
Blender and Japanese, I need to know how to make good textures now.
I'm taking graphic design because I'm too much of a failure to study what I really want.

I am deeply unhappy.
I call Cthulhu "daddy"
my job is nothing but learning so I try not to learn in my free time
Take me for what I am -- who I was meant to be.
And if you give a damn, take me baby, or leave me.
I'm on day 400 something of Duolingo for Espanol but I still feel like I don't know any more than a freshman in high school.
yeah, I'm thinking I'm back
AltOmega2 posted...
I'm on day 400 something of Duolingo for Espanol but I still feel like I don't know any more than a freshman in high school.
That could be because duolingo uses unreliable AI for their translations. It will fail to teach you all the rules of the language so you may come to speak it improperly. When learning a new language, it's vital that your tutoring / study material was made by a human. It may be better for you to read about the language in a book to start trying to learn it. There are also many travel-guides that give you direct translations for common things to say. From there you can talk to people in forums or in real life. If possible for you, you could also take a class.

The way our brain's process language is very complex and is actually different from person to person. There is a definable trait in each of our brains that will make it either easier or more difficult to learn languages. It is because you will need to find and study at your own unique pace that relying on courses that use AI may also tend not to work, on top of being inaccurate.
I call Cthulhu "daddy"
I don't think it has much to do with it being AI or not. One simply doesn't get enough exposure per session through Duolingo to develop real lasting language skills.
Take me for what I am -- who I was meant to be.
And if you give a damn, take me baby, or leave me.
Flappers posted...
That could be because duolingo uses unreliable AI for their translations. It will fail to teach you all the rules of the language so you may come to speak it improperly.

Now that makes so much sense now. I hear it completely ignores pitch accent in Japanese which is a huge problem. And will straight up just give you wrong information.

Even if it were giving you reliable direct translations, I would still feel it would be much more important to learn from an actual human. Immersion is the number one most important thing when learning a language. Language is much much more than just remembering words.
Salrite posted...
Now that makes so much sense now. I hear it completely ignores pitch accent in Japanese which is a huge problem. And will straight up just give you wrong information.

Even if it were giving you reliable direct translations, I would still feel it would be much more important to learn from an actual human. Immersion is the number one most important thing when learning a language. Language is much much more than just remembering words.

Very true.

Apps like Duolingo arent a terrible starting point for building up a small bank of vocabulary to get you started, and you can even continue using them to supplement other learning methods later (Im on a 682 day streak), but actually conversing with native speakers is always the key.
Glob posted...
Very true.

Apps like Duolingo arent a terrible starting point for building up a small bank of vocabulary to get you started, and you can even continue using them to supplement other learning methods later (Im on a 682 day streak), but actually conversing with native speakers is always the key.

I would even go so far as to say avoid it because it would teach you bad habits and feed you misleading information. Of course, Google Translate isn't much better, probably even worse, and I do use that on occasion to check a word. But I always have to quadruple check it by searching for actual conversations.
Salrite posted...
I would even go so far as to say avoid it because it would teach you bad habits and feed you misleading information. Of course, Google Translate isn't much better, probably even worse, and I do use that on occasion to check a word. But I always have to quadruple check it by searching for actual conversations.

I find that the accuracy falls over on turns of phrase or not acknowledging regional differences more than simply getting a noun or verb wrong.

However, Im only using it for one language and Im sure some of the courses have more issues than others. Im also in a position where if I want to speak to a native speaker, all I need to do is speak to my wife or go outside, and not everybody is in that position.

Id say that Google Translate is much worse, at least for Vietnamese.
Hey guys colossal squid found footage just dropped and instantly improved my mood
https://www.popsci.com/environment/colossal-squid-filmed-in-deep-ocean-for-the-first-time-ever/

I like learning about the deep sea. I want to do marine biology someday
I call Cthulhu "daddy"
Salrite posted...
Now that makes so much sense now. I hear it completely ignores pitch accent in Japanese which is a huge problem. And will straight up just give you wrong information.

Even if it were giving you reliable direct translations, I would still feel it would be much more important to learn from an actual human. Immersion is the number one most important thing when learning a language. Language is much much more than just remembering words.

im assuming it does terrible w Vietnamese then. Damn.
"It was so ridiculous and I have so many feelings about it."
-Virtual Energies
dj1200 posted...
im assuming it does terrible w Vietnamese then. Damn.

I'm sure it's not good with most Eastern languages. I've watched a video of an Icelandic speaker reviewing the app and it was pretty bad for that too.
dj1200 posted...
im assuming it does terrible w Vietnamese then. Damn.

Salrite posted...
I'm sure it's not good with most Eastern languages. I've watched a video of an Icelandic speaker reviewing the app and it was pretty bad for that too.

It gets the tones right the vast majority of the time, but what it doesnt really do is ever explain any of it. Its a very brute force way of learning.
Poll of the Day » Taking any classes or learning about a new thing right now?