Polyglots???

[KennyLee]

My dog understands what I'm saying, well most of the time. Does that count?

I'm trying to improve my English here on this fine forum but it's harder to write in a foreign language than to speak.

Were you kidding? Or is English not your fluent language?

I'm German therefore it's more difficult for me to post on a forum like this. Sometimes I can't find the right words to express my feelings about a term.

 

You do damn well in my opinion.

[LedRush]

I speak Jive.

 

Sit down Mrs. Cleaver.

Edited July 3, 2014 by LedRush

[goose]

The problem with learning a second language is that it's a huge test to your ego: you speak poorly, make silly mistakes and are mocked by native speakers for a long time until you've learned a language properly.

a lot of my teacher colleagues invest time correcting kids instead of encouraging them. As a language teacher I always celebrated the fact that kids were brave enough to speak up and make the mistakes necessary for growth. Many mistakes are desirable markers of emerging language control (think of a toddler that says "I goed to the store". He understands past tense!).

[Aikenrooster]

I try, I really do, but I'm just too stupid. I took 2 years of high school french and can read simple phrases and parts of sentences, especially if there are lots of cognates, and I've made several attempts to learn Spanish, but I simply can't remember what I'm trying to learn. I also made a token attempt at learning a little German, but, again, I didn't go far. I tried to learn the Russian alphabet once.

 

I'm glad I tried to learn Spanish, because I used to be one of those people who said "why can't they learn English." Trying to learn Spanish definitely taught me to have empathy.

I am with you AR. I am stupid enough but I am more lazy than anything. Something really, really has to interest me or I am not going to bother with it. Reading also is something I hate to do so learning a language would be a problem. Truth is I really don't care enough to learn a language to even attempt it at this point. I did take Spanish in high school and have used it in the workplace in the past (hotel business) but I am miles from fluent. I can understand quite a bit but have a hard time carrying on a conversation.....

This is probably more of the truth for me; I'm just too damned lazy. That and I don't have any friends. If my wife would try to learn Spanish with me, I bet we'd be fluent. Hell, we have like 7 spanish channels on TV and I've been told that's a great way to learn. I really hate not being able to speak to Latinos in their language. I truly understand what it probably felt like to be one of the kids that always had to take remedial classes in school.

I envy Goose so much when he posts up Spanish phrases. I know he lived in Mexico, for a while, so I know he is very fluent. He probably reads books in Spanish. What's so bad about it, is that Spanish is easy. Hell, I can "read" the whole newspaper in Spanish. It is easy to pronounce. I just don't understand the word order, especially the pronouns, and, of course, the verbs, especially the subjunctive tense.

[Pars123]

I try, I really do, but I'm just too stupid. I took 2 years of high school french and can read simple phrases and parts of sentences, especially if there are lots of cognates, and I've made several attempts to learn Spanish, but I simply can't remember what I'm trying to learn. I also made a token attempt at learning a little German, but, again, I didn't go far. I tried to learn the Russian alphabet once.

 

I'm glad I tried to learn Spanish, because I used to be one of those people who said "why can't they learn English." Trying to learn Spanish definitely taught me to have empathy.

I am with you AR. I am stupid enough but I am more lazy than anything. Something really, really has to interest me or I am not going to bother with it. Reading also is something I hate to do so learning a language would be a problem. Truth is I really don't care enough to learn a language to even attempt it at this point. I did take Spanish in high school and have used it in the workplace in the past (hotel business) but I am miles from fluent. I can understand quite a bit but have a hard time carrying on a conversation.....

This is probably more of the truth for me; I'm just too damned lazy. That and I don't have any friends. If my wife would try to learn Spanish with me, I bet we'd be fluent. Hell, we have like 7 spanish channels on TV and I've been told that's a great way to learn. I really hate not being able to speak to Latinos in their language. I truly understand what it probably felt like to be one of the kids that always had to take remedial classes in school.

I envy Goose so much when he posts up Spanish phrases. I know he lived in Mexico, for a while, so I know he is very fluent. He probably reads books in Spanish. What's so bad about it, is that Spanish is easy. Hell, I can "read" the whole newspaper in Spanish. It is easy to pronounce. I just don't understand the word order, especially the pronouns, and, of course, the verbs, especially the subjunctive tense.

Any language is as easy as you make it or as hard as you work on it. Just practice and make mistakes!

Just a few pointers: Word order for adjectives/nouns is backwards in Spanish. The White House! = La casa Blanca! What don't you get about the verbs? Let's see if I can give you an assistance!

Edited July 3, 2014 by Pars123

[RushCanuck]

I can speak German (but can't read or write it). And of course, I read/write/speak English.

[Chronos]

The problem with learning a second language is that it's a huge test to your ego: you speak poorly, make silly mistakes and are mocked by native speakers for a long time until you've learned a language properly.

a lot of my teacher colleagues invest time correcting kids instead of encouraging them. As a language teacher I always celebrated the fact that kids were brave enough to speak up and make the mistakes necessary for growth. Many mistakes are desirable markers of emerging language control (think of a toddler that says "I goed to the store". He understands past tense!).

 

Bingo.

[greyfriar]

My dog understands what I'm saying, well most of the time. Does that count?

I'm trying to improve my English here on this fine forum but it's harder to write in a foreign language than to speak.

Were you kidding? Or is English not your fluent language?

I'm German therefore it's more difficult for me to post on a forum like this. Sometimes I can't find the right words to express my feelings about a term.

welcher Teil von Deutschland? Ich kann Ihnen mit Ihrem Englisch zu helfen! Ich bin immer noch Deutsch zu lernen.

I'm from the south area. I live in a small village straight at the banks of the river Rhine, not to far from the beautiful Black Forest.

Always a good feeling to read some familiar words. :cheers:

[Pars123]

My dog understands what I'm saying, well most of the time. Does that count?

I'm trying to improve my English here on this fine forum but it's harder to write in a foreign language than to speak.

Were you kidding? Or is English not your fluent language?

I'm German therefore it's more difficult for me to post on a forum like this. Sometimes I can't find the right words to express my feelings about a term.

welcher Teil von Deutschland? Ich kann Ihnen mit Ihrem Englisch zu helfen! Ich bin immer noch Deutsch zu lernen.

I'm from the south area. I live in a small village straight at the banks of the river Rhine, not to far from the beautiful Black Forest.

Always a good feeling to read some familiar words. :cheers:

 

Ohhhhh! Awesome! Es ist immer lustig für mich, in einer anderen Sprache zu schreiben! Keep practicing your English! You're doing great!

[greyfriar]

My dog understands what I'm saying, well most of the time. Does that count?

I'm trying to improve my English here on this fine forum but it's harder to write in a foreign language than to speak.

Were you kidding? Or is English not your fluent language?

I'm German therefore it's more difficult for me to post on a forum like this. Sometimes I can't find the right words to express my feelings about a term.

 

You do damn well in my opinion.

Thanks Kenny. :cheers: I'll try my best, but sometimes I stumble across the grammar and I really miss the spell checker, that the forum once had.

[greyfriar]

My dog understands what I'm saying, well most of the time. Does that count?

I'm trying to improve my English here on this fine forum but it's harder to write in a foreign language than to speak.

Were you kidding? Or is English not your fluent language?

I'm German therefore it's more difficult for me to post on a forum like this. Sometimes I can't find the right words to express my feelings about a term.

welcher Teil von Deutschland? Ich kann Ihnen mit Ihrem Englisch zu helfen! Ich bin immer noch Deutsch zu lernen.

I'm from the south area. I live in a small village straight at the banks of the river Rhine, not to far from the beautiful Black Forest.

Always a good feeling to read some familiar words. :cheers:

 

Ohhhhh! Awesome! Es ist immer lustig für mich, in einer anderen Sprache zu schreiben! Keep practicing your English! You're doing great!

Thanks Pars. Wow, sehr gutes Deutsch, Hut ab. :)

[1-0-0-1-0-0-1]

I speak Jive.

 

Sit down Mrs. Cleaver.

 

Chump don't want no help, chump don't GET da help!

[Chronos]

greyfriar, ich habe gar nicht gewusst, dass du Deutscher bist! Vielleicht "RiverRhine Burgermeister" hätte ein Hinweis sein sollte!

 

Ich hab drei Jahre in Augsburg gewohnt. Ich vermisse diese schöne, ja wunderschöne Stadt so sehr!

[greyfriar]

greyfriar, ich habe gar nicht gewusst, dass du Deutscher bist! Vielleicht "RiverRhine Burgermeister" hätte ein Hinweis sein sollte!

 

Ich hab drei Jahre in Augsburg gewohnt. Ich vermisse diese schöne, ja wunderschöne Stadt so sehr!

Mensch Chronos. Ist ja der Hammer. Haha. Was hast du denn in Deutschland so getrieben?

Good to see that a lot of people here have a connection with Germany. :cheers:

[goose]

I try, I really do, but I'm just too stupid. I took 2 years of high school french and can read simple phrases and parts of sentences, especially if there are lots of cognates, and I've made several attempts to learn Spanish, but I simply can't remembber what I'm trying to learn. I also made a token attempt at learning a little German, but, again, I didn't go far. I tried to learn the Russian alphabet once.

 

I'm glad I tried to learn Spanish, because I used to be one of those people who said "why can't they learn English." Trying to learn Spanish definitely taught me to have empathy.

I am with you AR. I am stupid enough but I am more lazy than anything. Something really, really has to interest me or I am not going to bother with it. Reading also is something I hate to do so learning a language would be a problem. Truth is I really don't care enough to learn a language to even attempt it at this point. I did take Spanish in high school and have used it in the workplace in the past (hotel business) but I am miles from fluent. I can understand quite a bit but have a hard time carrying on a conversation.....

This is probably more of the truth for me; I'm just too damned lazy. That and I don't have any friends. If my wife would try to learn Spanish with me, I bet we'd be fluent. Hell, we have like 7 spanish channels on TV and I've been told that's a great way to learn. I really hate not being able to speak to Latinos in their language. I truly understand what it probably felt like to be one of the kids that always had to take remedial classes in school.

I envy Goose so much when he posts up Spanish phrases. I know he lived in Mexico, for a while, so I know he is very fluent. He probably reads books in Spanish. What's so bad about it, is that Spanish is easy. Hell, I can "read" the whole newspaper in Spanish. It is easy to pronounce. I just don't understand the word order, especially the pronouns, and, of course, the verbs, especially the subjunctive tense.

Narpski and Aik...Language is best acquired rather than learned. If you really want to pick it up, immerse yourself whenever you can. Order Mexican food in Spanish, talk to random gardeners when you come across them, and engage people in public places. You'll get the feedback you need to keep the motivation. :) Edited July 4, 2014 by goose

[Narps]

I try, I really do, but I'm just too stupid. I took 2 years of high school french and can read simple phrases and parts of sentences, especially if there are lots of cognates, and I've made several attempts to learn Spanish, but I simply can't remembber what I'm trying to learn. I also made a token attempt at learning a little German, but, again, I didn't go far. I tried to learn the Russian alphabet once.

 

I'm glad I tried to learn Spanish, because I used to be one of those people who said "why can't they learn English." Trying to learn Spanish definitely taught me to have empathy.

I am with you AR. I am stupid enough but I am more lazy than anything. Something really, really has to interest me or I am not going to bother with it. Reading also is something I hate to do so learning a language would be a problem. Truth is I really don't care enough to learn a language to even attempt it at this point. I did take Spanish in high school and have used it in the workplace in the past (hotel business) but I am miles from fluent. I can understand quite a bit but have a hard time carrying on a conversation.....

This is probably more of the truth for me; I'm just too damned lazy. That and I don't have any friends. If my wife would try to learn Spanish with me, I bet we'd be fluent. Hell, we have like 7 spanish channels on TV and I've been told that's a great way to learn. I really hate not being able to speak to Latinos in their language. I truly understand what it probably felt like to be one of the kids that always had to take remedial classes in school.

I envy Goose so much when he posts up Spanish phrases. I know he lived in Mexico, for a while, so I know he is very fluent. He probably reads books in Spanish. What's so bad about it, is that Spanish is easy. Hell, I can "read" the whole newspaper in Spanish. It is easy to pronounce. I just don't understand the word order, especially the pronouns, and, of course, the verbs, especially the subjunctive tense.

Narpski and Aik...Language is best acquired rather than learned. If you really want to pick it up, immerse yourself whenever you can. Order Mexican food in Spanish, talk to random gardeners when you come across them, and engage people in public places. You'll get the feedback you need to keep the motivation. :)

When I worked in the hotel business I heard and spoke Spanish almost daily. I knew lots of folks from all over South America (ladies mostly to be honest) and I was curious and sought them out. I would go out of my way to speak the language and understand it. That was from around 88' to 99'. I have lost most of it since then however.....

[Pars123]

My dog understands what I'm saying, well most of the time. Does that count?

I'm trying to improve my English here on this fine forum but it's harder to write in a foreign language than to speak.

Were you kidding? Or is English not your fluent language?

I'm German therefore it's more difficult for me to post on a forum like this. Sometimes I can't find the right words to express my feelings about a term.

welcher Teil von Deutschland? Ich kann Ihnen mit Ihrem Englisch zu helfen! Ich bin immer noch Deutsch zu lernen.

I'm from the south area. I live in a small village straight at the banks of the river Rhine, not to far from the beautiful Black Forest.

Always a good feeling to read some familiar words. :cheers:

 

Ohhhhh! Awesome! Es ist immer lustig für mich, in einer anderen Sprache zu schreiben! Keep practicing your English! You're doing great!

Thanks Pars. Wow, sehr gutes Deutsch, Hut ab. :)

 

Danke! Das bedeutet eine Menge von einem Muttersprachler

[Pars123]

Ich möchte nach Deutschland reisen bald!

[greyfriar]

My dog understands what I'm saying, well most of the time. Does that count?

I'm trying to improve my English here on this fine forum but it's harder to write in a foreign language than to speak.

Were you kidding? Or is English not your fluent language?

I'm German therefore it's more difficult for me to post on a forum like this. Sometimes I can't find the right words to express my feelings about a term.

welcher Teil von Deutschland? Ich kann Ihnen mit Ihrem Englisch zu helfen! Ich bin immer noch Deutsch zu lernen.

I'm from the south area. I live in a small village straight at the banks of the river Rhine, not to far from the beautiful Black Forest.

Always a good feeling to read some familiar words. :cheers:

 

Ohhhhh! Awesome! Es ist immer lustig für mich, in einer anderen Sprache zu schreiben! Keep practicing your English! You're doing great!

Thanks Pars. Wow, sehr gutes Deutsch, Hut ab. :)

 

Danke! Das bedeutet eine Menge von einem Muttersprachler

Kann ich nur zurückgeben. Thanks man. :cheers:

[Pars123]

My dog understands what I'm saying, well most of the time. Does that count?

I'm trying to improve my English here on this fine forum but it's harder to write in a foreign language than to speak.

Were you kidding? Or is English not your fluent language?

I'm German therefore it's more difficult for me to post on a forum like this. Sometimes I can't find the right words to express my feelings about a term.

welcher Teil von Deutschland? Ich kann Ihnen mit Ihrem Englisch zu helfen! Ich bin immer noch Deutsch zu lernen.

I'm from the south area. I live in a small village straight at the banks of the river Rhine, not to far from the beautiful Black Forest.

Always a good feeling to read some familiar words. :cheers:

 

Ohhhhh! Awesome! Es ist immer lustig für mich, in einer anderen Sprache zu schreiben! Keep practicing your English! You're doing great!

Thanks Pars. Wow, sehr gutes Deutsch, Hut ab. :)

 

Danke! Das bedeutet eine Menge von einem Muttersprachler

Kann ich nur zurückgeben. Thanks man. :cheers:

Ja, Sie können! Cheers!

[greyfriar]

Ich möchte nach Deutschland reisen bald!

Any concrete plans or are you just playing with the idea? It's very beautiful and worth the trip, I ensure you.

[LedRush]

The problem with learning a second language is that it's a huge test to your ego: you speak poorly, make silly mistakes and are mocked by native speakers for a long time until you've learned a language properly.

a lot of my teacher colleagues invest time correcting kids instead of encouraging them. As a language teacher I always celebrated the fact that kids were brave enough to speak up and make the mistakes necessary for growth. Many mistakes are desirable markers of emerging language control (think of a toddler that says "I goed to the store". He understands past tense!).

 

Can't you encourage and correct?

[Rod in Toronto]

The problem with learning a second language is that it's a huge test to your ego: you speak poorly, make silly mistakes and are mocked by native speakers for a long time until you've learned a language properly.

a lot of my teacher colleagues invest time correcting kids instead of encouraging them. As a language teacher I always celebrated the fact that kids were brave enough to speak up and make the mistakes necessary for growth. Many mistakes are desirable markers of emerging language control (think of a toddler that says "I goed to the store". He understands past tense!).

 

Can't you encourage and correct?

 

I did a course called TESOL - Teaching English as a Second Language, and they said it´s better to use the "mirror correction technique". So when a kid says "I goed to the store" you reply by saying "Oh, ok...you went to the store? I went to the store too...what did you buy thre?" and so on...

[Pars123]

Ich möchte nach Deutschland reisen bald!

Any concrete plans or are you just playing with the idea? It's very beautiful and worth the trip, I ensure you.

Hopefully concrete! I plan on visiting all of Europe!

[Pars123]

The problem with learning a second language is that it's a huge test to your ego: you speak poorly, make silly mistakes and are mocked by native speakers for a long time until you've learned a language properly.

a lot of my teacher colleagues invest time correcting kids instead of encouraging them. As a language teacher I always celebrated the fact that kids were brave enough to speak up and make the mistakes necessary for growth. Many mistakes are desirable markers of emerging language control (think of a toddler that says "I goed to the store". He understands past tense!).

 

Can't you encourage and correct?

The most important part is encouraging and telling them they're doing good! Correcting is also important, but making mistakes is inevitable!