tulosai

I'm not sure, but I think probably a long weekend would be the longest and I sort of doubt I've gone that long.  I skype with family and friends a lot, work 5 days a week at a job that requires speaking, and am fairly active on weekends.  I think it might be interesting to go a long period in silence, but it would also be very lonely for me.

Osculation is probably my favorite that I never ever hear.  What a cute and pompous word for a kiss!

For foreign speakers what are the biggest differences to you between English and your native language? Are the sounds different? Is the alphabet different? Are some points of grammar different?

A/an is based on pronunciation, not appearance.

"An hour"

"An F"

"A Ouija board"

Careful with this- not always.  For example, a union. U sound, definitely vowel sound, but still a. Similarly a unicorn. But an owl.

Really, you have to read a lot and hear a lot of English to get a sense of when it's a and when it's an.  There is not a hard and fast rule regarding a/an.  Usually, contrary to the post I am quoting, you do go by whether a consonant or vowel comes after the a/an except for before ultrasound 'h' (i.e. hour, honest). This is the basic rule.  All else is exceptions.

How did you learn to begin with? Is returning to that not an option? Honestly I've had bad luck learning French 'online'.  Have you tried offering a language exchange through craigslist or similar? Not sure if you are near any large cities but if so there are often groups that meet to practice French every week or so.

Good luck.  I know it is frustrating to learn and then no be able to practice!

This pretty much does correspond to what I thought.  I am also surprised Spanish is 2nd, though, and would have expected French to crack the top 10 given how important it is in some places (i.e. official language of Olympics, U.N. etc).  I am ashamed to admit I also have never heard of Bengal and don't know what it is- must look up ASAP.

One doesn't get a washboard (a six pack) from drinking (beer)?

"Geld zu sparen ist eine Sache des gesunden Menschenverstands"

Saving money is common sense

Ich bin glücklich, in Deutschland zu sein.

I also love Gabriel García Márquez!  I also love José Saramago (though I think he wrote in Portuguese not Spanish) and Enrique Vila-Matas  (Dublinesque is amazing!). I am definitely not proficient enough in Spanish to read in it but I do love many Spanish authors

For those of you who enjoy learning a new language, what makes it enjoyable to you? To me, it is the possibilities that it opens for communication.  I love speaking in foreign languages and seek out opportunities to do so whenever I can.

Especially for non-native speakers (though all opinions are welcome) what are your favorite books to read in English? Are you comfortable reading in English and is it something that you enjoy?

Yes, this has also happened to me, though I can't claim true fluency in any language but English.  After living in France, I would occasionally have these 'gaps' when talking to people in America. Now that I've been back for several years, though, I no longer have this issue.  I also occasionally would pronounce words incorrectly, particularly words that were new to me, based on French sounds instead of English sounds.

I was inspired by the monstrous and very entertaining and educational English quotes thread.  Does anyone have any favorite French quotes?

Mine is probably: "Il est difficle de vaincre ses passions, et impossible de les satisfaire." -De La Sabliére

I don't know that I have any others to mention other than the two that you did, but yes, I have noticed that hacks are EVERYWHERE now and not only about language learning but about a bunch of other stuff too.  I don't really understand what makes the word any different than 'tricks' but I guess it is just trendier than 'tricks' A lot of the hacks are useful to me though some aren't.

What is most difficult for you in a foreign language- reading, writing, or speaking? For me it is definitely writing, especially as I progress in a language.  Very early on, while I am still getting used to new sounds and pronunciation, I sometimes find speaking harder, but that usually lasts a few months at most.

What is hardest for you and why?

Adding a voice to the 'definitely not' camp.  I only know a TINY bit of Spanish but what I know I actually learned with great ease while living in France.  Since the grammar is essentially 100% the same, it was actually a great boon to me to know French because I could pretty much stick in Spanish vocab and not worry about much else.

I know only the tiniest  bit of Spanish, but going through my life in the USA I am frequently struck by the idea that it would be really useful to learn more.  Especially for those of you in the USA, does your Spanish help you and if so how?

I find the subjunctive to difficult to master but really beautiful.  I feel like once you are able to master it is it so useful and somewhat unique. I wish we had something similar in English

What is the hardest language you've ever tried to learn and what made it difficult for you?

For me it was definitely Russian or Hebrew. What I struggled with in both cases was the completely different alphabet and some new sounds.

Definitely French.  It is so flowy and flowering.  Italian doesn't really do it for me for some reason though it's obvious I'm an anomaly there

I think yes and no.  I'm not sure it is that we have an 'expectation' that others learn our language so much as it is that we grow up knowing, as a truth, that others do speak our language and that we can 'get by' with English most places we travel.  I have never (personally) seen an American upset or outraged that someone in a different country didn't speak English, though. THey sually just move on and try someone else.

I agree with the above.  It is CERTAINLY possible.  You may not be able to achieve fluency (though if you're able to travel to a country that speaks the language often or to live in a country that does, it may certainly be possible too) but there is no reason you can't reach proficiency in a language at any age if you are willing to devote substantial time to doing so.

As another concrete example (adding to the above) when my mom was around 50 she wanted to learn Spanish.  It is now 5 years later and she is certainly at an advanced conversational level.  She has sought out any opportunity possible to speak the language and devoted several hour each week to it, and it has really paid off!

Yes, I am a lawyer so when I am cross examining people I get these a lot.  I never realized what they were called either, but I have to try to be really good at hearing them so that I can ask the right question as a follow up.

My mom claims my first word was 'ducky' and that they were astounded because it was a very complicated first word.  (Of course, I said mama and dada first).

One time when running really late for a flight in a German airport, my German helped me immeasurably.  The airline staff even bumped me to first class as I was gushing about how the Rhineland was the prettiest thing I'd ever seen. 

More generally, it's helped me every time I've travelled abroad.

Oh I see! Sorry I totally misunderstood.

My favorite exercises in class tended to be when we were paired off or in groups and able to speak.  I can't think of real specifics beyond that.