wander_n_wonder

I get frustrated when I'm trying to learn a new language and when I try to speak up using it, people laugh. That's really frustrating because I can feel that people are not supportive of my initiative to learn. I also find that rather rude.

I do not have a formal language coach but I do have friends who speak the local language who are always willing to practise with me. I think it's really important if you have a chance to actually speak the language. That's the best way you can ever learn.

I prefer to study in a way that it is spread out through the day. However, I make sure as well that I allocate at least an hour before I sleep purely for studying. I believe it is the most effective time to really absorb something because you will process everything as you sleep.

I worked overseas a lot and yeah, I'm totally guilty of doing this sometimes. However, I know for a fact that it's also not polite to do so, so I try to limit myself from doing this. I also feel that it's not nice when you do it in front of colleagues, as they automatically would think that you are saying something behind their back.

I agree with you! Some of the shortcuts are not really shortcuts and it's really annoying whenever I see that. I don't know if people are just trying hard to be cute by doing that. But it's really not cute at all. Sometimes, I cannot even understand a text completely because of these kinds of words.

I feel more articulate when my body language matches what I say. I feel more liberated because it makes me feel that I express whatever I want. With this, I make sure that I am careful with certain body languages that might give off a negative impression.

For me, it was "dadada" and I kind of think this is a very common things for kids to say first. Maybe because it only requires you to open your mouth to be able to produce these words. It does not require much complicated tongue movements as well.

I am a fast talker myself and sometimes you just really don't notice it. I think it really depends on how fast the thought comes into your head. I would normally look at fast talkers as very outgoing people, mainly because they sound livelier when they speak fast. They are not boring. Also, when someone is talking fast, I feel that I pay more attention by initiative.

Yes, I do this sometimes, although my tongue gets tied each time I do so. It's really hard to transition from a local word to a foreign word. I prefer speaking straight English and then straight local language instead of mixing both. I also feel it is not very professional and formal to do so.

I do remember studying a fictional language with my playmates when I was very young, based on our favorite local television show. At that time, it was very easy to learn it (it's really true that kids remember more). We even learned how to write certain words because of the fictional alphabet that they were using. Right now, though, I don't remember any of it anymore.

It prepares the audience that you are going to say something really interesting or important and that the other person has to pay full attention and get full load about this. It's an emphasis on how important your story is going to be.

I love reading the latest books because it's contemporary and it shows me how English is currently used. I love reading classics as well, but sometimes, they are too conventional that they make me fall asleep. Bestsellers are modern and it makes me more excited to keep on reading.

Yes, this is worth watching, especially if you really want to understand the English language and its history. Sometimes, that's also important to be able to use the language in a more logical way. You need to know certain roots and it will be easier to understand why words come together that way.

Sometimes, it depends also on how much you practice. A lot of my previous English teachers advised me to read the newspaper everyday, because it somehow trains your eyes to move down a page by just looking at the middle part of a column. Since newspapers have very small columns, it will be a good start to train your eyes and then your visual scope will widen until you are able to read a whole page.

Yeah, I'm also pissed hearing that so often. And even worse, I would see it even in official newspapers! I think it has become too common that some people, even journalists, think it's actually a correct word. It's good to review the dictionary from time to time.

Yeah, I also enjoy watching Switched at Birth and get fascinated by the conversations in sign language. They are really very expressive in a quiet way. I have had an opportunity to learn a bit of sign language when I was in high school. It was not easy and I ended up forgetting about it because I don't have much chance to practice.

I would not really call them arrogant but just more of straightforward. I think that's how Americans are really brought up. They are trained to just speak their minds and that's not always necessarily equivalent to arrogance.

I hate it when I'm in another place and I cannot understand what people are talking about. I think it's really essential that you somehow know some words in the countries that you visit, so that you won't look totally ignorant. Knowing how to converse in another language widens one's horizon.

I personally think the French language is very romantic. It also sounds so elegant and sophisticated all the time. It has something to do with the accent. It's very unique and just very nice to listen to.

I personally like the Pimsleur method because of the repetitions that they ask you to do. It has been effective for me so far. I notice that even after a few weeks, it's easy to remember the things I hear in the audio. I think the scenarios that they give are also very relevant in normal situations.

Oh my! We get annoyed about exactly the same thing! Sometimes, the supposedly shortcut word is actually longer, such as in your example. It's really pointless. When I see that, I would think that people are just trying to be cute and that's really annoying!

Yeah, I agree that when it comes to other people, it's really up to them if they want to use proper grammar or not. I tend not to be judgmental when it comes to that. It depends also on how they were trained at home or in school. Personally, I might be more particular about my own grammar, but I wouldn't apply that rule to others.

Yeah, exactly. That's why, if you notice those tourist books, you would often note that they teach you the local language in a way that would apply to your situation as a tourist. For example, asking for directions, asking for the price, saying hello, asking about basic things like where to find a good restaurant and things like these.

My parents would always say it was just a mumbled version of mom and dad. But they would always tell me that they were careful not to say any bad words in front of me during that stage because they know how quickly toddlers can actually imitate what you say.

I totally agree with you. Practice is indeed the key. No matter how much you read and memorize things, if you are not really able to actually converse using that language, you won't learn it. I notice that even with the English language which is my second language. I learned that in school since I was young, but when I had to live in a place where I had to purely use English in communication, I noticed that my English got better.