Mogra

hehe, thanks, @linguaholic. If you had a Russian language section on the forum, I would post the original cartoon with this charismatic character . But you can check it out on Youtube, 'Hedgehog in the fog'. It's available with English subtitles.

Some people find Ilya Frank’s Reading Method quite helpful for increasing vocabulary. Just google it. I have a couple of books, but they are for Russian speakers, so I can't recommend them. I'm sure he has a selection of books for English speakers who learn Spanish as well.

Seriously, I find a desire to be able to read Spanish and Latin American classics in their native language a valid reason for learning the language. The best representatives of the Spanish culture would speak to you through decades or even centuries - isn't that wonderful? I'm sure 'Cien anos de soledad' sounds more convincing than 'One hundred years of solitude', no matter how masterful a translation might be.

Garcia Lorca is a poet. Many people (including me) find his poems very harmonious, with vivid imaginery. Besides, some of them are really easy for a beginner. La guitarra Empieza el llanto de la guitarra. Se rompen las copas de la madrugada. Empieza el llanto de la guitarra. Es inútil callarla. Es imposible callarla. Llora monótona como llora el agua, como llora el viento sobre la nevada. Es imposible callarla. Llora por cosas lejanas. Arena del Sur caliente que pide camelias blancas. Llora flecha sin blanco, la tarde sin mañana, y el primer pájaro muerto sobre la rama. !Oh guitarra! Corazón malherido por cinco espadas.

It's one of the most beautiful and melodious languages in the world, to my mind. It's worth learning because of its beauty. Just to read Garcia Lorca in his native language.

I feel a bit nostalgic for my gigantic hard cover dictionaries, but putting sentiments aside, I wish I had all these wonderful modern resources when I studied the language! Of course it's motivating, and so much fun! One can watch any movie with or without subtitles, and all the best audio courses are at one's fingertips! I remember I had to record the audiocourse on my friends' old tape recorder, and then to listen to these terrible recordings, trying to ignore the noise and make out the words. And of course, there are electronic versions of most of the dictionaries and text books, so even if it's fun to turn the pages of your favorite volume, you can rest assured that all the sources are available to you and you don't have to pay a fortune for all the books you need.

Though English isn’t my native language, I love how it becomes a window to the world. It allows communication between people of such diverse countries as the united states, Australia, Europe, parts of Asia (such as India, for example) and much more. If the diversity of language is precious, yet nevertheless the barriers to communication created by that diversity can be a dark wall that prevents friendships between peoples around the world. So this is what English is to me, a key that opens locks, a way to talk across the world with like-minded people who do not speak my native language, a way to make friends and to bring different places on this planet closer to my mind and my heart. And how did English change your life?

I was always interested in languages and began to learn English in my teens – there were a great many reasons for my decision, but perhaps one of the most motivating factors was that English was the language of the world, the gateway, so to speak, to a whole new horizon of people to know and places to visit. It’s not that common for a person in my country to learn English, and I’ve always thought that rather a pity, because we actually limit ourselves by so turning our backs on the rest of the world. English wasn’t the easiest language to learn, with the grammar and the usage of the words being so different – not to mention the fact that it uses a completely different alphabet, but I persevered, and found ways to practice the language, since my environment offered so few opportunities to do so. I made penfriends around the world, and used to use this opportunity to use my knowledge of the language in practice. Ultimately, of course, I graduated from university and even went on to earn my living as a translator, and much more, but perhaps I will tell of subsequent linguistic adventures in another topic And what were your reasons for learning English?

Absolutely amazing! Thanks for sharing. Will save it for myself, if you don't mind.

By the way, if someone needs help with Russian or Ukrainian, just ask

Hi there! So, I'm originally from Ukraine, but five years ago I moved to India and settled down in this fascinating land. I'm staying in Mumbai, a giant megalopolis full of people from all the regions of India and even abroad, so needless to say I hear quite a lot of alien languages Perhaps one day I'll master Hindi - mine is still on a very primitive stage. however, I'm very interested in improving my English and renewing my Spanish - that's why I'm here on this site. Hope it will be interesting for us with each other.

Absolutely agree with you. Also when your room are full of stickers with names of the objects in foreign language