Trellum

I love the new forum software, but I am facing some issues and I am not sure everyone else is since the update.  I might have to send you a message on the topic! 

@lushlala In my case was because I dare to speak English to them, they were the meanest because of that, because they assume everyone touching french soil should know at least a bit french. Funny thing is I didn't have the intention to ever touch french soil, sadly I missed a flight back in Houston, so I had no choice but take the flight to ugly Paris.  So I could make it to Oslo! Needless to say I will never go there again, I'd rather spend the night at the airport than end up there again  

Finally the sun shines again, and a soft and cool breeze can be felt, the summer has already gone and with it all the...

Hi guys!  Just wondering if anyone here has already checked out the Memrise app.  I recently installed this app after trying the web site. I must say that ever since I started using that web site my dutch has improved a lot. I know understand most of the things I read and heard, I definitely needed something like Memrise in order to learn a lot new words. I am currently working on my very own course!  That is right, I am using all the words that I need to memorize in order to pass my inburgering examen.  

I use the app mostly to review the words I've previously ''learned'', I use the speed review mode, because it feels as if I am playing a fun game that tests my knowledge, but I am also learning  I love it!  I don't use it to learn new words though, I use the web site for that, because it's easier that way.  So if any of you has used this app, let me know what your experience has been   

Learning more languages widens your scope economically and socially. I want to learn more languages but at the same time I do not want to overcrowd my brain. At the end of the day I don't think I will be able to stay abreast of all the languages that I've learned because it takes a lot of revision and continuous practice. Unless I plan on teaching many languages at a language school.

Then start with only one, once you master one jump into another one. Nowadays you have so many choices, the best ones are paid ones, but while you decide what language you really want to study, you might want to give the free choices a  try

I got used to it in English,  but it was weird at first the the adjectives didn't have an ending based on the gender of the thing being described. I kinda liked that actually. Now with Dutch I've noticed they often use  ''hij'' to refer to something like a car, when in English we often use ''she'' for example to refer to a car or any other inanimate object''   It's odd.  You get used to this kind of things eventually

There are hundreds to thousands of new words that you need to remember if you are serious about learning a new language. That would require the same number of flashcards should I choose that route so I just create my mental flashcards by associating each word with something that is directly related to or quite similar to my native language. When there is no relation at all I just force my mind to just remember it

Flash cards or using Memrise   Thanks to them I have learnt a lot new words in dutch ;D  It's 100% free, and you can create your own word lists.  I'm currently working on my own word list... using all the words from the dutch course I need to study in order to pass my exam. Memrise really makes things much easier.

Hi!

I have wanted to learn Spanish and needed help in learning the language effectively.

Anyone can help me out and be my learning buddy?

You can contact me in Skype, email or whatever is more convenient for you.

You can PM me for your information on how I can contact you.

Thank you so much.

Cheers!

Chari

Chari, I'd love to help you out, sadly I'm preparing for the inburgering examen in a couple months. Have you tried using sites like: http://www.spanishpod101.com/  If you are a serious learner then that site if for you, I invite you to try their one week long trial.  You won't regret it. I recommend you to start with the absolute beginner lessons.

What I love about this site (I used the Dutch one) is that they provide you with a clear transcription of each lesson, as well as the chance to listen to the audio over and over, sentence by sentence if you like.  Also it offers you the chance to improve your pronunciation by allowing you to compare the pronunciation of each word by a native with your own!  You can practice with that tool until you master it.

I have already tried studying multiple languages such as Japanese and French. However, I have never became fluent in each one them. I just know basic greetings in both Japanese and French. Well, it really depends on a person whether studying multiple languages would work for him/her or not. As for me, I think I have to focus and master one language first before going to another one.

I am the same way   I tried studying several languages at once when I was young and naive (18 or so) and that was when i found out that didn't really work for me. I'm not really good at multitasking in general, let alone when it comes to learning languages.  For me it's better to only focus in one language (which is hard enough since i suffer from ADD).

He has been using Duolingo in order to learn Swedish, but he needs some way to practice his understanding.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  I had thought about maybe finding some tv shows for him to watch but would have no clue what would be suitable for a 12 year old boy.

Thank you so much!

Swedishpod101, for real, I  tested the dutch version and let me tell you the way they teach languages is really efficient. I really recommend your son to try it. Also if your son wants to improve his understanding and learn more new words, then he should really give Memrise a try.

If you hear Spanish (which is your native language) everyday, obviously, you are in a good shape for keeping your native language around, because as long as you need it I guess you will keep it around. You may miss the newest expressions if you fail to communicate enough with people, but that wouldn't go further, as long as you maintain everyday communication in your native language. However, I don't specifically recommend keeping the native language.

I'm moving to the Netherlands soon, so this might change soon   I will not be hearing Spanish at all, only when I call home... but once my mom dies I won't have any kind of connection with my country. No reasons at all to visit the country either, so I am a bit afraid I might lose my proficiency level, but I hope not!  I'll try to find people who speak Spanish in my own city and keep on practicing it.

Well, so far I haven't had a really bad experience... the only bad experience I can recall was Paris, people there were incredibly rude. Not all of them, of course, but most of them were incredibly mean and rude.  Amazingly enough this happened at the airport.  I can't imagine what it would be like in the street... odds are I'd have ended up getting all beaten up, lol. 

I have heard a lot things about dutch people,  a girl told me they often talk very fast to her and something they pronounce things oddly on purpose. When she says something some of them say something like: wat zegt ie?  Oh yes, this is going to be so fun.

Right now my only problem with dutch is with the definite articles de and het. Biggest problem arises with the endings that I must give to the adjectives depending whether a de or het word is used... I think I will create a mind map so I can remember. 

Everything related to de and het confuse me, including the use of ons and onze... it's so hard to remember the definite article of each word, I know there are so rules to tell them apart, but they are so many...  I also have issues with the demonstrative articles as well for the very same reason.

I'm still learning the basics of dutch, but considering the course the dutch government made us buy to practice for the exam doesn't even come with any kind of grammar bits or clear explanations...  I'd say I'm not doing bad at all. I think I will surely manage to dominate dutch in one year or less. I definitely feel confident my dutch level is near to A1 right now, so if I pay for that Dutchpod101 sub for one year and i study daily.. I'll surely dominate in after one year or less  

It will surely take me less time to dominate dutch than dominate English, I'm 100% certain, even more now that I have the help of Memrise.

I enjoy the dutchpod101 ones, I never thought i'd like them, but they are great, specially if you are not that experienced with languages. They come divided by levels and are really fun to listen to!

I've used free sites exclusively due to time restraints. I really don't feel I'd get anything better using paid sites. There's so much knowledge and information available for free on the internet (lessons, radio, podcasts, books) that there's almost no reason to use sites you have to pay for. I guess if you need a quick and direct information on a topic, maybe someone to practice conversation than it might be better and easier to consider a paid site.

I agree (but things downloaded via torrents shouldn't be considered as ''free'', since those are paid materials that are being shared without the permission of the authors), for someone who is not very serious about learning a language free sites are great. But if you are serious like me (learning a language against the clock knowing you got to pass an exam on that language in a few months) then paid is the way to go, same for the students looking to master a language. 

Of course you can also aid yourself with some free stuff, but for me it's better to have a guided learning, at least during this stage of my life. I no longer have time to spend it in different sites when I can get all I need in one site.

Free is always a good choice for starters though.

There are probably people out there who believe paid for sites are the best through which to learn, but I personally don't think I'd pay as there are too many free learning resources online. I've made note of quite a few, which have been endorsed by a great many people. I'd certainly not get myself locked into an annual subscription, especially an expensive one.

Most free sites offer the exact same thing the other free sites do, it's the same recycled crap to be honest. I know because I've checked all the free dutch learning resources out there... they are good for starters, some sites are even good for intermediate levels...  it's ok because that kind of sites work for some people.  But if you are serious and need to learn a language fast, then paid is the answer. 

I used to think the same way thinking free was enough, but it wasn't until I took language learning seriously that I found out paid is necessary in order to really get ahead... do it fast and effectively.  Plus it motivates you loads to know you paid for something like this... that make you want to try harder and harder, be more consistent with your studies, etc. So many factors to take into account.

Why would you have to go with paid ones if you can have other alternatives that are totally free? If you are going to ask me, I would definitely choose and utilize free sites that would help me learn a new language. Always make the best out of the internet and take advantage of its perks.

Lol, why?  Because I've tried ALL the free choices and they all fall short, that is why! You are bound to end up frustrated if you are a serious language student who is actually forced to learn a new language well and fast enough if you are only using FREE resources.

I'm sorry to say it, but all those ''FREE'' choices you are talking about... they're practically the same recycled crap. Sites like Dutchpod101, can help someone like me learn quite fast and in a very efficiently manner... because  they put at your reach in a single site really helpful tools... other than just the bunch of re-used phrases and audio you see in the free sites. I have checked them out during my trial week and wow!  I am DEFINITELY going to buy the subscription later, so I can get ready for my final exam (to get dutch citizenship).

I would go for something that offers a well- structured lesson plan. Free sites do not necessarily provide everything we need to learn. Some of them drops the lesson in one chunk and you figure how to go about it on your own. It helps if the lesson is presented to you properly with a timeline and you know what to expect.

In my opinion most free sites don't, but people who are not serious about learning a language think a free site can actually help them achieve their goal.  I know that is not the case with most free sites, because I tried that route myself, and yes, if you really want to learn a language well and in a short period of time you need to pay, sadly. Isn't something I liked to find out to be honest.

I would never pay any penny to learn a new language, because the time of learning a new language isn't fixed and we can never know how much it would take, so if you buy monthly subscriptions it will cost you a lot !

That is why one year and two years long subscriptions are waaaaay cheaper, lol.  That is the idea.  Plus if the person is diligent enough they can make it in one year or less.  This is of course only good for people who seriously want to to learn or improve a language. Like myself, because i ma going to get tested twice  in total.

English is widely spoken in my country. Among my friends, we have the tendency to use English more than our native tongue. It's primarily because there are thoughts that are easily expressed in English.

Having native-English speaking friends is definitely a big help when you are trying to improve your English. There are nuances in the language that only the native speaker can offer. In my case, we have a Korean colleague, but was raised in the US since he was two years old. So, that's the closest I have to a native-English speaker. It can be quite challenging to speak with him, but thankfully I can get by, LOL!

I feel the same way towards English   I feel it's easier to express what I really feel through it, even easier and more natural sounding than my mother language. In my opinion Spanish is not as expressive as the people think, but that might be because I'm no poet   It's great to have a native English speaker as a friend, whenever I have a doubt (not very often anymore) I ask my British friend.  Now what I really need is a smart native dutch speaker... those are hard to find, lol.  I have a lot grammar related questions...

I speak English more than I speak my own mother tongue because it's the official language of Botswana, my country. So as I spend most of the day in work, and English is the medium of communication in all work situations, I'm always speaking it. I'm married to a non-Botswanan, so at home we speak English. English is widely spoken in Botswana, so even among friends, we often speak more English that our own language.

That is so interesting!  Where is your husband from?  I'm also getting married to someone who is not from my own country, right now we communicate in English only, but in the future we will have to do it in Dutch.  I feel very comfortable speaking English with him, but I know he'd feel better if I spoke dutch.  I will eventually   I'm studying that language very hard!  I'll have an exam in a couple of months so I can get my MVV.

All day, every day. Like you, I prefer speaking and talking in English rather than in my native language - it just feels 'right' for some reason. I post in English forums, listen to English music, watch English TV series & movies, play English games (both online and offline), etc. In fact, I dislike their non-English counterparts. I guess after doing them in English for so long suddenly doing them in another language feels really weird.

I feel the same way when it comes to anime, for some reason if I watched a series in a language first as a kid, I can't watch it in it's original language or any other language. That doesn't happen with any other kind of TV shows, only with anime   I prefer my dubs to be in Spanish, rather than English or the original language most of the time.  English is still my preferred language for everything else   I hope I can continue using it a lot at work (when I find one in my new city).

I must admit that I have discovered that I have a very imaginative mind. If I apply for a job I see myself already in that office.  If I meet someone that I like, I imagine what it would be like to see them every day. I cannot control my imagination as much as I like to. It leads to building of castles.

I'm like that as well, over the years I've learnt it can't be helped   I think being like that is great, because it gives you something to look forward to, but be careful with the expectations you might create in your head!  If they are too high you could end up feeling very disappointed.

It seems this is one of the sections with the least activity   Is no one here interested in learning dutch anymore?  What happened with all those posters who were studying dutch or who had already learned it, but were working on improving it? 

I've stopped here for the same reason, most of my posts have zero replies   This sub-forum looks like a ghost town D:  Which is super sad, because just recently I've taken dutch very seriously

Of course we show a lot emotion, lol.  Spanish is probably one of the most effusive languages out there... odds are your Spanish speaking friends are not that good at translating slang.  They shouldn't feel bad though, because even some translation pro (even the people translating subtitles for TV) make huge mistakes from time to time... sometimes they pick the less favorable translation, over one that doesn't quite fit the bill...it happens to the best of us.