tulosai
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French, German
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English
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the three magic ingredients for learning / mastering a language
tulosai replied to linguaholic's topic in Language Learning
For me it is 1. Time commitment, plain and simple. More hours = greater mastery. 2. Interest. Without it you'll never keep at it. 3. Help. Others assistance in you mastery is invaluable. -
The misuse of Chinese Characters in the western culture
tulosai replied to linguaholic's topic in Language Learning
I once got a henna tattoo that they told me said 'disobey' in Chinese. Turned out that wasn't it. I don't remember what it said instead (it wasn't particularly embarrassing or memorable) but I sure was glad it was henna and not real ink! -
Your most embarrassing "language situation"
tulosai replied to linguaholic's topic in Language Learning
My most embarrassing moment was when I tried to swear in French and no one understood what I meant. What good are swear words if no one can understand them I guess actually it wasn't that embarrassing though since no one did understand. There was also the time in Belgium when no one believed I was a native English speaker for reasons unknown. -
If you know NO Spanish and can't take a class, I think the BBC series mentioned above and Rosetta stone are great. If you live in the USA you should also be able to find a 'language exchange' though and find a Spanish speaker who will teach you Spanish in return for you teaching them English. The only con of this is that you do have to put forth effort to teach yourself- you will have a built in conversation partner and to me that is the most useful thing. If you're further along and seeking to maintain skills you already have, read in Spanish, watch movies in Spanish,and find people to talk to in Spanish!
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This is very true. When I was living in Germany I was surprised at how easily I did pick up on their figurative expressions (some of which overlap with English ones) and slang. It is so seeped into the language that it's hard to avoid.
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Spanish books that are a good read
tulosai replied to AdamDavis14's topic in Spanish Language | Discussion
If you are just starting I recommend trying to pick up a children's classic you already know and love. If you are fairly far on in Spanish this need not be a really 'easy' book but can be of more intermediate difficulty/for teens. An example of the kind of thing I'm talking about is Harry Potter (which is surprisingly hard to read in a foreign language in my opinion). -
What foreign languages have you learned well enough that you are truly conversational in them and how long did that take you? At one time I was conversational in German. That took a little over a year (including 3 months in Germany). I no longer am, unfortunately. I am still okay with basic conversational French but I couldn't call myself 'truly' conversational anymore in that language either. It took me much longer than German- probably about 4-6 years including a whole year living in France.
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Lasst uns zusammen Deutsch lernen!
tulosai replied to linguaholic's topic in German Lounge | Conversations in German only
Guten tag! Ich heiße Kate. Ich bin glücklich, dieses Forum zu haben. -
The English language is like London: proudly barbaric yet deeply civilised, too, common yet royal, vulgar yet processional, sacred yet profane. Each sentence we produce, whether we know it or not, is a mongrel mouthful of Chaucerian, Shakespearean, Miltonic, Johnsonian, Dickensian and American. Military, naval, legal, corporate, criminal, jazz, rap and ghetto discourses are mingled at every turn. The French language, like Paris, has attempted, through its Academy, to retain its purity, to fight the advancing tides of Franglais and international prefabrication. English, by comparison, is a shameless whore.” ― Stephen Fry Love the other quotes you guys have mentioned too!
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Did you have a pen pal in your foreign language class?
tulosai replied to sayitwell's topic in Language Learning
I didn't. That was okay for me, but to be honest, I really wish I had a French pen pal NOW. It would be really cool to be able to write to someone in French