Miya

No, I don't think so. I agree with you... I think they should be supplementary tools. I don't think they're enough as the "primary" tool for learning a language. I still prefer traditional textbooks even if they're less convenient.

What do you mean? In California (where I lived), most children start learning a foreign language in middle school. I think that's a good age to start because before middle school, they have to master English first. In high school, foreign language is also a requirement (2 years required, 3 years recommended). I don't feel deprived as an American. I'm teaching English in Japan now and the kids here don't start learning English, a universal language, until the 7th grade. They are exposed to English from 5th-6th grade, but they don't learn how to write until they're in 7th. And even then, they're learning super basic stuff like "She plays basketball". So I think America is doing pretty good with teaching foreign languages.

^Maybe you'll have a better chance at getting an answer if you look here: http://linguaholic.com/topic/3026-rosetta-stone/ Rosette Stone is program/app focused on language learning so it's not really a "non-language app" for language learning.

While I agree it's just a generalization, it's so true for me LOL. I'm way better at language/literature/art/etc. than I am at math or science.

Mine right now would be: 1) Japanese - fluent or near fluent (at least in speaking) 2) Chinese - fluent (I already have a good grasp of Cantonese, but I need to brush up on my Mandarin. Also, I don't know a lot of grammar or 'proper Chinese'). 3) English (LOL, actually this is my most 'fluent' language, but since becoming a teacher, I've come to realize that there's a lot I don't know. So I'd like to learn even more about this language.) 4) French - conversational level (I studied French for 4 years in high school and basically gave everything back to my teacher when I graduated. I would really like to start studying French again). 5) Dutch - basics 6) Korean - basics 7) Indonesian - basics I'd also like to learn different Japanese dialects, but that's going to be hard. I'd have to live in that area to learn that dialect.

Yes. I always want to talk in Chinese when I'm angry or excited. I don't know why it happens, but it does XD I've been trying to not do it though because it confuses my friends, lol.

I might give it a try. I watched the Japanese version and I absolutely LOVED IT. I hope the Korean one is just as good.

Is this the Korean version of the "Liar Game" manga series? I've only seen the drama in Japanese... I didn't know they had a Korean version too.

No problem. I have another app to recommend. This one is for Japanese Kanji study. It's called "Kanji Nankuro" (漢字ナンクロ). It's a crossword puzzle app. It's pretty hard, but do-able if you have a dictionary. Perfect for Kanji studies.

This is true. But I think an even bigger problem is language changes all the time. So things that were "correct" in the past might not be correct now. That's why we can never find the perfect book.

Incorrect books are everywhere, unfortunately. I teach English in Japan and the textbooks they use here are ridiculous. They teach grammar points using phrases that no one uses any more. They also focus more on syntax which means that some sentences in the book are grammatical, but don't "make sense". It's hard to find a language learning book with no mistakes. I don't think I've ever encountered one.

It's possible to learn two languages at once, but it's also easier to mess up that way. I was learning Mandarin Chinese and Japanese at the same time a year ago. The two are very similar so I often mixed them up. I remember writing my name in Japanese on my Chinese test one time without even realizing it. I would recommend sticking with one language, mastering it, and then going to another language.

I think Duolingo is interested in adding Japanese into their program. They recently partnered up with my program in Japan to do some events. Hopefully that means they'll have a Japanese course up soon.

Do you guys know the game "4 pics 1 word"? It's quite popular in America. I play a game similar to that, but with Chinese slangs/idioms. Basically, they have some emoticons and you have to guess the word. It's called "123 猜猜猜" and there's a Hong Kong (Cantonese) and Taiwan (Mandarin) version of the app. You can learn a lot of Chinese culture (they have some popular song names), slang, idioms, and words from this app. It's a great little game to play if you want to study Chinese.

I don't think speaking with your own accent is "wrong", but I think I prefer to get as close to the native pronounciation as I can. I know it's hard to speak unaccented when you're learning a new language, but with practice, I think it's possible to get better (up to the point where it's not obvious).

I think they should learn a foreign language, but not at a super young age. I teach English to 5th and 6th graders in Japan and they can't even write proper Japanese yet. I know and agree that foreign languages are important, but I think that before we start to teach kids a foreign language, they need to have a good foundation of their own language. Otherwise, the "foreign language" will be their mother language.

Speaking is the hardest for me. I'm not good at speaking in any language so it's hard for me to grasp speaking when I'm learning a foreign language. Plus when it comes to writing and reading, I know that I will eventually get better if I study. You can't really guarantee anything when you 'study' speaking.

I would try to find a language partner either online or in real life. I also think that watching shows or listening to music in different languages helps us learn. So you might want to try that if you can't find a partner.

Thanks for the advice. I'll try to speak to some Japanese people even if it's hard for me. I'm really shy and self-cautious in real life so I don't know how I'll do... but I'll try it and just hope for the best.

Honestly, I could careless about the author. When I read a book, it's the content that matters the most to me. So what if this person isn't a world famous author? That doesn't mean he/she can't produce good books. For me, I never look at the author when I'm reading a book. I read the synposis and decide if the plot is worth my time.

I feel like I'm having the same problem as you did in Japanese now. I live in Japan and I don't feel comfortable speaking Japanese. How did you get over this? I can understand the language fine, but it's hard for me to form sentences. I've never been good at speaking so are there some tips that you can recommend?

What a nice site! I'm glad I stumbled on this topic. I've been wanting to revive my non-existant French skills, but couldn't find a place to start. This site looks like a good place to start reviewing.

I don't purposely try to do it, but it happens sometimes. I either make languages I know together or I make up the word based on my image of the item. It's really weird now that I think about it.

This is a hard question for me. When I immigrated to America, I didn't know any English. They dropped me in a class and I was able to learn English by myself. So in that sense, yes, traveling to a new place helped me learned a language. But now I'm living in Japan and I don't feel like it's helping me much. In fact, I think my Japanese has gotten worse because everyone tries to speak to me in English (I'm an English teacher). Everyone wants to learn English so I don't have a Japanese partner to speak with. So now, I would probably say no. Traveling to a new place didn't help me improve my language skills.

Thanks. Nice to meet you Ania! Thanks! A lot has changed for me since I last visited this forum. I'm having a great experience in Japan now