wholesaleblogger

Some good ideas and I like the basic approach of reading the children's books it reminded my that I actually watch the local version of kids shows such as Sesame Street. Its a basic step by step approach.

Add to this the many cartoons for children that are available also.

When and why did you decide to study Chinese? Do you still study it today If so do you find it to be useful in your life? For instance do you use it in business?

I have had some Mandarin lessons and it was useful to me while in university here in Liverpool as we had a large number of Chinese students. It enabled me to have (limited) conversations and make some new friends.

My main aim however is to continue with my lessons and so use my new skills in business.

As in the topic. My personal no.1 is "manhole"

I am English and my wife is Spanish. I am always saying words that are normal to me but then I see a puzzled look on her face.

The worst words are the slang words that can't be found in a dictionary.. This week it was Spondoolicks ... which is a slang word for money :-)

Add to this the word 'Flim' which is the slang word for a five pound note.

For me, I find it useful to have sticky notes stuck all over my house. My living room had labels on almost everything, lamps, TV, radiator, each with the name in Spanish.

I picked the names up much faster as every time I used the item, I said the word and it wasn't at all like I was revising.

You should see my kitchen now :-)

What tips do you have?

Do you think that Spanish, Italian and French are roughly the same? I was sitting in Bella Italia the other day looking at their menu and of course it is in Italian but I was reading spanish off it like pollo for chicken. Also I noticed french words that are similar to spanish, sort of, so I started wondering, would it be easy for me to learn French or Italian from Spanish? I know that there are different pronunciations and stuff but it would be easier wouldn't it?

There are very similar words in all of those languages and you could add in English also. I think this is down to the proximity of each country to each other along with the history of those countries way back and the wars, invasions that happened.

I have friends form each of these countries, as well as Turkey and they all have words that are the same, sound the same and indeed have the same meaning.

You might have to ask your parents about this, as you probably won't remember 

I did not yet ask my parents about it but I guess it must have been something like Mum or Dad..hopefully it was something a little bit more interesting xD  I will ask my parents later today and will let you know. I am excited to hear about your first words :=)

It would also be interesting to hear at which age it actually happened.

As far as I am aware, and this has been proven in some way, a childs first words are always 'mama' This isnt because mum is the most important person around but it is down to the natural way a baby is first able to form words and shape it's mouth.

Apparently, the muscles in the mouth arn't so strong and saying 'mama' is just opening and closing the mouth.

I was wondering what people find the best or most useful parts of language learning videos.

Is it the way the lesson is delivered or maybe any graphics used in the videos to help you understand what is being said?

So I am now sharing a rented place with a few people and one of these includes a Swedish girl. Her native language is of course Swedish, but she speaks fluent English to a high standard. A few weeks ago I asked her if she would start to teach me some basic Swedish and she happily obliged. I am now following this up with some online lessons while getting her to explain different scenarios and word placement to me.

I am also going to Sweden with her and a couple more friends in November, so I am really excited to try and put some of what I learn into good use.

How have you guys come to the point of wanting to learn new languages? Through school? From a holiday experience? Friends that speak other languages?

It would be interesting know how the choices come about with other people.

I have a Swedish friend (A girl) and I could listen to her speak English all day, its a treat. She spent a little time with me here in Liverpool for a few days and taught me just a few words and phrases... mostly forgotten now. however, the one that has always starued with me is 'Puss och Kram' which means 'kiss and a hug' ...

I don't really get to use it anywhere, but who cares :-)

Thanks for the link. The video's arn't the worst Iv'e ever seen but for me, when learning a new language I often find myself going for the free Youtube options. There are some good ones there and far too many to link to. Also, I think it really depends on what you want.

If you were going to start trying to learn a new language now which one would it be and why?

I would definitely want to try Croatian.  My family is there and I am visiting in a few weeks so it would be really useful to me!

For me it has to be Chinese (Mandarin) as I see it being great for my business prospects. However, it may have to wait a little while as I am still in the early stages of learning Spanish :-)

Im English and as many in my country when we go off to Spain, the first words we learn is 'Dos Cerveza' ... If we can do nothing else as learners we can always get a beer.

The pity is though that many Brits never get beyond this ;-(

Hello all

Just popping in to say hello to you all really. I am English (living in Liverpool, England) and married to my Chilean wife. I am learning Spanish, although I have a long way to go I am enjoying it all and look forward to chatting to you guys here.

My wife is Spanish and although fluent in English she still makes mistakes in pronouncing certain words. Mostly because of the use of the letters B & V which sound the same to her and most Spanish people.

The other day my wife pointed at a cat and told me that she loves Bolbo's .... She meant a Volvo :-)

What words do you have problems with?

With English being the universal language and the national language of several countries, its no surprise that you'll find a long list of different English accents. From the list below (which only includes some of the more popular English accents) which is your favorite accent, I personally like the English accents of people from Jamaica and Spain.

English Speakers from..

-America (New York)

-America (South)

-America (California)

-Australia

-Canada

-China

-England (Cockney)

-England (Standard)

-England (South)

-England (Welsh)

-England (Midlands)

-France

-India

-Italy

-Jamaica

-Malaysia

-Mexico

-New Zealand

-The Philippines

-Russia

-Scotland

-Scandinavia

-Spain

(I'm sure there are a lot of others so please don't limit your answers to this list)

I note that (English) Scouse isn't on the list and so as a 'Scouser' I am adding it. Scouse is the accent from Liverpool and to be honest, I don't really like it myself although I know many people who visit Liverpool Love it.

For me, I like lots of accents from outside Liverpool but not Cockney or Brum (from Birmingham).

I would like to share some of my favourite English quotes with you here. Mostly inspirational quotes…it’s incredible how much motivation a quote can give you…don’t you think so? Just a few words…but sometimes really powerful! I am not going to mention the author of the specific quotes…there is no special reason for that. Feel free to post your favorite quotes AND the author if you feel like :=)

“You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.”

“Risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.”

“There is no dishonor in losing the race. There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose.”

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”

“Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings.”

“It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living.”

“I never made one of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking”

“It's not what you say out of your mouth that determines your life,it's what you whisper to yourself that has the most power!”

“What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.”

„Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way.“

“Our biggest regrets are not for the things we have done but for the things we haven't done”

“You cannot expect victory and plan for defeat.”

“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.”

“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”

I am looking forward to see YOUR favorite quotations! Happy Posting 

Well I have to say, as entertaining as these quotes are; as an Englishmen, I have never heard of these. It may have been to offer where the quotes came from :-)

When I read the title of this thread I thought we would be seeing the likes of 'An Englishman's home is his castle' .. Maybe it was just me :-)

I am just getting along with Spanish with a long way ahead before I am fluent. However, I also fancy Chinese (mandarin). I have taken lessons in it before but that was a few years ago and I was never very good at it.

The problem for me in the lessons was the culture divide. The teachers were so timid and giggled at the end of each sentence... I really couldn't understand what the heck was going on.

Why Chinese? Well, I see it as a door opener to new jobs and business opportunities.

Well for me its that my wife is Chilean and so it makes sense to be able to talk to both here and her friends and family in their language.

I have to say though it isn't always easy even when living with a native Spanish speaker. I first imagined it would be like having a 24/7 language lesson but life takes over. In addition to this, my wife speaks fluent English and so we slip back into English very fast.

Must try harder !!