Learning a foreign language

[listener1987]

Is anyone else trying to learn a language? I like it because it's a slow process.and people don't get angry if you don't master it instantly.

I took two years of Spanish in college; then, eight years later, my husband and I went to Spain. I was our "translator." And even just those two years of college Spanish came back, and I could usually communicate. You're right - people don't get angry if you don't master it instantly. In fact, the locals loved that I was making the effort to speak their language, saving them the effort of trying to speak mine. It was gratifying and made me want to keep studying!

 

[rldonah]

Using cooking to learn a foreign language is a neat idea! I've been working on learning a couple new languages - Spanish and German through DuoLingo. I'm not very far yet -- I think level 5 on both. I took too many months off and had to freshen up on what I had previously learned. Learning a new language is definitely something you have to keep at or else you may forget a lot.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

Let me count. I can speak and write English, Malay and Thai. On top of that, I can speak Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien. So, basically, I can converse easily in six languages. I count the three dialects of Chinese as separate entities because they actually sound very unlike each other. Oh, I can also speak two versions of Malay. One is the standard Malay. The other is the older version of Malay spoken in the rural areas and by the older folks in certain parts of the country. That would make seven different ways that I can communicate orally. Is it difficult? No, not really. It's all just a matter of circumstances. I learned all the languages I know by living in communities which use those languages in their daily lives. It's the writing part which requires some extra effort.

 

[Panic57]

Let me count. I can speak and write English' date=' Malay and Thai. On top of that, I can speak Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien. So, basically, I can converse easily in six languages. I count the three dialects of Chinese as separate entities because they actually sound very unlike each other. Oh, I can also speak two versions of Malay. One is the standard Malay. The other is the older version of Malay spoken in the rural areas and by the older folks in certain parts of the country. That would make seven different ways that I can communicate orally. Is it difficult? No, not really. It's all just a matter of circumstances. I learned all the languages I know by living in communities which use those languages in their daily lives. It's the writing part which requires some extra effort.[/quote']
Did you get lessons or do you have a program where you learned Mandarin and Cantonese? My mom tried learning Mandarin and had the worse time with it. I'm jealous that you know so many languages, that's so cool!

 

[ErinPaige]

I've always wanted to learn a new language. It's funny, because everyone I've dated has a different main language than me (normally Spanish or Tagalog) and it should've been relatively easy for me to pick up some translations from them, but learning languages has been so hard for me... I tried learning Spanish so I could communicate with my ex's mom better, but that was far too difficult. I then tried learning Japanese because I'm in love with Japanese culture and hope to visit there some day. Learning Japanese was even harder than Spanish. I tried learning German as well, because it's part of my heritage. I found that far too difficult. However, I'm very good at temporarily learning languages and accents (I can learn the lyrics to a foreign song and sing along pretty accurately). I would love to be fluent in a few different languages, but I get frustrated every time I attempt to learn.

 

[Kosta]

You will need a lot of time, patience and persistence to learn foreign language good. But If you invest all that, the goal will become reachable. It is possible to learn a foreign language as you know your native language and that would be the ultimate goal, if you are a true language lover. Knowing more languages may be a profitable skill and this can be one more reason to start learning process. Various companies have needs for such employee. And you can use it, in order to improve financial status. Furthermore, English is also not my native language, but I wanted to learn it and now I really know it.

 

[Julian]

Dutch is my native language, and I would consider English to be my second native language. Not because I know it the same way a native speaker would, but because it feels so natural. Words come out fluently because I know the words like I know Dutch words. If I try to speak French, I could construct a correct sentence but it doesn't feel natural. It's as if I'm looking for words I've learned, instead of words I know. Difficult to explain so I won't bother.


I've come to find out the world isn't perfect - obviously - and that people from some regions won't even bother learning English. When I ask them why they always reply with ''Why don't you speak Spanish?''.


I've always thought of them as ignorant and uneducated but have recently decided that I'll be the grown up and learn their language sooner or later. I'm also not sure why I'm trying to learn French instead of German, no one speaks French anymore. Oh, silly me.


I wish Columbus was Italian, I'd love to learn that language instead of Spanish. It sounds absolutely Beautiful.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

Did you get lessons or do you have a program where you learned Mandarin and Cantonese? My mom tried learning Mandarin and had the worse time with it. I'm jealous that you know so many languages, that's so cool!

No, I didn't really have to take lessons. My parents speak Cantonese at home, so I picked it up naturally. I went to an all-English school and English is my natural language. However, I have taught in a Chinese school and that was when I brushed up my Mandarin. Hokkien is spoken by the Chinese where I grew up, so it's not difficult for me to pick that up. Of the three, I think I am more fluent in Mandarin. Oh, I also teach Chinese. It started by accident, actually. I recommended a Chinese teacher to a private school once. Just a day before school started, he changed his mind. The time table was already set and the children had already bought the textbooks. So, taking responsibility, I stepped in and became a Chinese teacher. It wasn't that difficult. My pronunciation is native and I was teaching lower primary children so they were learning only a few Chinese characters per day. Just a simple matter of proper preparation beforehand.


Here's a tip for anyone who wants to learn a foreign language. Use the immersion method. Go some place where all the people speak the language you want to learn. That may be a bit traumatic but it's effective. I learned to read, write and speak Thai when I was teaching in Thailand. Also once you have a second language, the third is easier. Apparently, knowing more languages make your mind receptive to more ways of communicating.


And for those who suffer from anxiety when learning a new language, I suggest learning to sing in the language first. It makes your mind feel comfortable with the new language and when you hear yourself singing in that language, it reinforces your confidence to learn that language. All languages have songs for their native children. Start with those. You can find them in Youtube without any problems.

 

[Panic57]

No, I didn't really have to take lessons. My parents speak Cantonese at home, so I picked it up naturally. I went to an all-English school and English is my natural language. However, I have taught in a Chinese school and that was when I brushed up my Mandarin. Hokkien is spoken by the Chinese where I grew up, so it's not difficult for me to pick that up. Of the three, I think I am more fluent in Mandarin. Oh, I also teach Chinese. It started by accident, actually. I recommended a Chinese teacher to a private school once. Just a day before school started, he changed his mind. The time table was already set and the children had already bought the textbooks. So, taking responsibility, I stepped in and became a Chinese teacher. It wasn't that difficult. My pronunciation is native and I was teaching lower primary children so they were learning only a few Chinese characters per day. Just a simple matter of proper preparation beforehand.


Here's a tip for anyone who wants to learn a foreign language. Use the immersion method. Go some place where all the people speak the language you want to learn. That may be a bit traumatic but it's effective. I learned to read, write and speak Thai when I was teaching in Thailand. Also once you have a second language, the third is easier. Apparently, knowing more languages make your mind receptive to more ways of communicating.


And for those who suffer from anxiety when learning a new language, I suggest learning to sing in the language first. It makes your mind feel comfortable with the new language and when you hear yourself singing in that language, it reinforces your confidence to learn that language. All languages have songs for their native children. Start with those. You can find them in Youtube without any problems.

Oh, I hadn't thought of singing thought that makes sense. I got into Korean because I love k-pop and I like to sing along to the songs when I'm alone. Unfortunately moving isn't an option for us. But thank you for going more in depth about your background with your languages. It's really cool of you to step up to teach the children Chinese when the person bailed, that was awesome of you.

 

[theduck7]

I was lucky enough to be raised in a French neighborhood. English is my first language but I can't actually remember learning to speak French. The sad part is that when I started attending English school and hanging out with more English friends I lost a lot of my fluency in French. I can still speak and understand some but I want to study more and hopefully get back to where I am just as comfortable in either language. That's how it was when I was a kid and it's really nice to be where you don't have to think so hard about everything you say.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

You don't really have to move to another place to make use of the immersion way of learning a new language. Of course, physically moving to the place where they speak the language natively is the best option. However, it's still possible to get the benefits, albeit not fully, of the immersion method without moving. What you need to do is move elements of the new language into your home. If you live alone, it would be easy to do. Replace all your listening material with that in the new language. Put away your English songs. Listen only to the songs in the new language. Put away all your videos. Don't watch TV. Watch only videos in the new language. Remove all the pictures and posters on your walls. Replace them with pictures and posters in the new language. This will not be as good as moving to a community using that new language but it helps a lot.

 

[ReadmeByAmy]

They say as we grow older our minds should be always active and I think learning something new will help to makes our mind busy. I had married a foreign man that is why I am speaking 3 languages, My native language, English and my husband language. Before I got married I am already studying their language because it is one of the requirements in order that I will be granted a spouse visa in their country. And then when I arrived here the government had free schooling in learning their language for all migrant spouses and we should really avail taking up that kind of studies. It's great that I was able to learn another language and maybe if there is another opportunity I want to learn a new language again and why not because I always believe that learning is a continuous process of our life and everyday we should learn more and many things in life.

 

[justsayyes]

I've always wanted to learn french and italian, matter of fact, i started learning french a few months back but my inner pessimist discouraged me in continuing it because there's a part of me that believes it's just a waste of time and that I'm never going to go to France anyway, so i stopped altogether. Maybe i'll give this another shot and while I'm at it, learn Italian and Spanish too. I hope i can actually follow through with this.

 

[Panic57]

I've always wanted to learn french and italian' date=' matter of fact, i started learning french a few months back but my inner pessimist discouraged me in continuing it because there's a part of me that believes it's just a waste of time and that I'm never going to go to France anyway, so i stopped altogether. Maybe i'll give this another shot and while I'm at it, learn Italian and Spanish too. I hope i can actually follow through with this.[/quote']
French, Italian, and Spanish are all Romance languages which means they are Latin derived. If you figure out the structure and grammar of French, you'll basically understand how the other two work. I was able to take Spanish and French simultaneously in high school because of how similar they are in structure. Plus the words, especially the verbs are really similar in how they change tenses and sound between the languages. So if you forget in one language you can remember it in another and work your way around the problem. I love how French sounds but part of my problem with French is that it looks nothing like it sounds, oui (yes) sounds like whee and h never make a sound but are found everywhere. Most French words seem like only the front half of the word is actually said. Spanish was a little more straight forward though I could never roll my rs properly. So yeah, figure out French and the other two are structured just the same, so good luck.

 

[tgthewriter1]

I been trying learn another language. I been having a hard time focusing on other things. I just need to take some time off. That's what I need.

 

[x0xLikeMex0x]

I can speak two foreign languages - English and Russian. I started learning English in 3rd grade and Russian in 6th grade. My native language is Estonian. I've also tried learning German and French.


What I've learned about learning languages? The most important thing is the environment. If you manage to get into the foreign-language-speaking environment, you'll pick up the language faster. Listening to music, watching films with subtitles - it helps you to learn the language faster. And if you can, watch news and other TV series in the language you want to learn. Making friends with a native speaker will also help.

 

[fuzyon]

That's an interesting way to learn! I'm currently trying to learn German via Duolingo, I turn on the app on commute to work and try to learn as much as possible for 30 minutes - 1 hour. One of the nicest things that happened to me is that I learned English without realizing it (I'm from Romania) when I watched movies and played games. Over time I realized that I can understand people when they're talking English so I poached on to this ability and I'm now a freelance writer!

 

[GrubbyRose]

During elementary school, I had to take 2 years of French. I never retained a bit of it. I would like to learn a bit of Spanish because I live in the southern part of the United States, and we get a few Spanish only television stations, and I would like to know what they are saying. That is one of those things I can never find the time for though.

 

[rz3300a]

I been trying learn another language. I been having a hard time focusing on other things. I just need to take some time off. That's what I need.

I think I need some good time off too. Actually, now that I think about it, I think I need like a year or two off. That would really be something, and give me the time to do a lot of things that I have been wanting to. I say that, of course, and then I know I would realize 600 some days in that I have not done anything, but that is a whole other story. In all seriousness, though, having a clear state of mind certainly does help when trying to learn a new language. Best of luck.

 

[sorrowscall]

I'm in the excruciating process of learning Spanish. Unfortunately, despite what my esteemed college may believe, I'm a terrible Spanish speaker. I don't have the drive nor the want to learn it like I have for the languages of the east. Despite that, I bit my tongue and chose to learn Spanish since it was the more realistically helpful choice for the states. I can't speak it well yet, and I doubt I ever will. However, I'm quite keen at listening to other speakers and understanding the gist of a conversation.