GingerCat

One of the things I remember distinctly from learning French in high school was my teacher talking about English grammar. A lot of people don't realize how important knowing grammar in your own language is to actually learning a new one. If you don't understand parts of speech, it's nearly impossible to get your head around them in another language, even if they are not formulated the same way in English. Thankfully, I have always found English grammar fun and interesting, so that part of learning a foreign language was not so difficult for me. But for others, this can be quite a tricky thing. I actually would recommend brushing up on English grammar before starting a foreign language if you are at all unsure of the rules.

When I was in high school, of course, I had a teacher when learning French. I really think that I could not have learned what I did at that age without a teacher. But since I did not study in college, I am now kind of left to my own devices. I actually feel that taking more courses or having a private tutor could really benefit me, but I am not sure that I can justify the cost. What would be ideal, really, would be for me to find some people who are fluent that could help me out in exchange for some other services, or just because they were my friends and wanted to be nice. But I am not sure that that is going to happen! In the mean time, I just plug away and glean what I can wherever I can. My hope is to becoming knowledgeable enough to feel confident getting around and living in Paris for a little while. I figure that while I am there, then I can learn even more by being immersed in the culture and surrounded only by French!

Meghan, I studied French in high school too. I enjoyed it and really paid attention, but I did not study it in college, so I too have lost a lot since then. I am now trying to brush up and improve. I would really like to become fluent eventually, but my next goal is to learn enough to feel that I could confidently get around Paris and really immerse myself in the culture. I feel that that would also help me to become fluent. My hope is that after I have studied some more here, I will have saved up enough money to go and live in Paris for a month or two.

Hi Meghan, I'm 23 too. Welcome to the forum. You are ambitious with wanting to learn Korean and Japanese! I hope that you find it a good place to learn and socialize with others who are into language. I am finding it a fun place to hang out.

Hi Brandy, welcome to the forum! Learning two languages at once does sound like a challenge. However, I see that you are already fluent in English and Filipino is your native tongue, so clearly you have the talent for languages. It's a little quiet here so far, but I have already found a lot of useful information. I hope you do too an that you enjoy your time here.

I would consider it. But I would consider it very carefully. I saw a relationship like this in an episode of Call The Midwife. I can't even remember what the other language was, besides English, but the couple had been married for decades, and still did not speak each others language. This is a bit of a dramatic version of what you are asking, but it worked for them, and you believed it was possible when you watched the episode. They had a lot of children, and the children spoke a little of each and would interpret or assist where their non-verbal communication was not clear. However, I would definitely want to learn the language of my spouse and would hope that they would learn mine. I would not want to go into it with any doubts about whether or not we would make an equal effort with language, as with everything else. I know a couple who are British and Indonesian. She learned to speak English. He learned to speak a handful of Indonesian words. I don't think that's fair, personally, but it worked for her, so I guess everyone is different.

I had a similar experience to you, @KimmyMarkks in that I lived in England for a few years. I was there to study, but not to study a foreign language. They also, naturally, speak English there! However, as with the language of Australia, their English is oftentimes very different to American English. I certainly got a mental workout learning slang, colloquial terms, etc. It was a really fun experience, although also somewhat stressful at times due to culture shock and isolation from family and friends. I dream of living in Paris for a year or two. That would be wonderful! I feel that I would pick up the language so much more quickly that way.

Salut, je m'apelle Ginger! Je suis de les Etats Unis et j'ai 23 ans. Comment ca va? Je voudrais rencontrer les gens qui parlent francais.

So, did you not study it formally at all? Are you self-taught in French?

Something that has helped me in the past with both languages and other skills is to set myself manageable tasks. I would give myself a bite-sized chunk per day if that was all that I could handle, but at least I knew I would accomplish one small thing. For instance, if you are having a stressful day with work, or the kids need a lot of help with homework, or whatever else may be causing you to lack motivation or interest in your language studies, try one of these bite-sized chunks per day: 1. Look up one new word in the dictionary and learn it. You could even flip the dictionary open at random to make it as stress-free as possible to choose the word. 2. Buy yourself something new for language learning. This is fun because you get a prize for learning. Maybe you could buy something like a new movie or book in that language. Read/watch a little. It's a small start. 3. Send one text/IM in that language to your friend or language partner. If they don't know the language, send it in that language and then in English. This forces you to translate, and it lets them know you are thinking about them -- in two languages! 4. Plan a language-inspired outing. You don't have to go that day, but look up some options for a day when you feel better. Maybe you could sit in on one class at a university as a guest. Or you could go to a foreign film festival. Or you could arrange a day to watch a foreign movie at home with a friend. Just a few ideas. I hope some are helpful to someone.

I actually posted about this in the French section because I was wondering if anyone knew where I could get some. My best friend and I used to get TinTin books out of the library that were in French. Our rudimentary knowledge was barely enough to comprehend half of what was going on, but we would dig out our dictionaries and look up new words. It was a fantastic way to learn! i actually hadn't thought to look at the library where I live now, so thank you for reminding me. I'm not sure they would though. We were closer to Canada where I grew up, so I think that was why there were some French children's books there.

I think that some lesser-used languages will be dying off. It is natural, and has happened even centuries back before we had technology. The more people who are wanting to be 'connected' to the rest of the world and moving into city centers (or in this age, going online to communicate and do business), the more they will want to learn the main languages that are spoken by most. However, that doesn't mean that these languages will be lost forever. In the same sense that Latin is really not spoken anymore, it is still a known language, and is in fact, still taught. For any language that has a written alphabet, there will probably be semblance of still in existence forever, although it may not be at all popular.

Fun question! 1. English (native) 2. French (next language I know the most of) 3. Russian (I guess, only because I know a few words and phrases--had intended to learn it at one point and did not) 4. Spanish (I don't know any, except a few words, but I feel like it would probably be very useful!) 5. Irish Gaelic (Because why not?! But also because I really had my heart set on this in high school, but naturally it wasn't an option. LOL)

I am the same as you, Rooks57. I am always better at reading and writing a foreign language than speaking it or understanding others. However, I decided that this was probably because the same is true of English for me. I'm a much quieter person than many, so I spend more time reading and writing than I do talking! Although, I do listen a lot, so I'm not sure why I find listening comprehension so hard.

A friend of mine was once lucky enough to come across two vintage Agatha Christie novels in French and she snapped them up. She gave one to me and one to my sister, as both of us were learning French. I do believe that I read all of mine, though I found it hard going. It helped that I am hyper Agatha Christie Fan and had already read that one in English, though many years previous. I highly recommend it. It's fun to notice the differences, and you will definitely learn some new words!