sillylucy

My goal is to pay off 2 of my credit cards, save enough money to move in with my boyfriend and to get a new job. I also plan on losing weight in 2014. I have been out of control and wild in 2013 and I feel like 2014 is my time to buckle down and do the things I need to do.

I have never really thought about keeping track of my vocabulary. For me, I like to spend my time learning instead of tracking what I have learned. I know how far I have come when I have a conversation with locals and don't trip up over my words. 

When I first started learning Spanish I thought it was a hobby, but now it is a life enhancer. First off, it helped me get the jobs I have had because I was bilingual and helped me earn more money. It also helped keep my mind sharp and helps me make new friends. It has opened up my world and I love it.

It would be so much fun to be thrown into an environment where I didn't speak the language. I would like to see how I react to that and how quickly I could learn words when force to. I would probably also feel alone because I wouldn't know how to communicate.

I like French because it sounds so beautiful. French just reminds me of those wild independent movies I would watch in high school and college. I love the way it just rolls off the tongue.

Living in Los Angeles and learning Spanish in HS has helped me out a lot. It helped me get hired in college and after college because so many people speak Spanish here. It has also helped me order food and get directions when I am lost.

I have often wondered this myself. I sometimes dream in Spanish and I am not that fluent, but the people in my dream speak it perfectly. I don't know how my brain does it. I wonder if it just taps into those telenovela shows I watched as a child.

I think one of the biggest stereotypes is that Native English speakers are not willing to learn another language. That they have this air of superiority about them and are not willing to learn some other language. I think that gets me the most.

My favorite book in English is J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye." I have loved it ever since I was in high school and read it in 2000. It has been 13 years since I first read it and it still resonates with me even as an adult.

I try to learn more words by using the old flash card system. I do that and I keep a word log so when I come across a word I do not know while reading, I jot it down and then look up each definition in the dictionary at the end of the day or week (if I am busy). This helps me learn new words all of the time.

I don't think it is all that difficult, but I find it to be amusing at times. I like the idioms and the slang in British English. I think understanding the accent is the biggest hurdle for me.  :confused:

I think it really depends on which friends I am speaking with. With my boyfriend I try to use proper English at all times because he is a grammar Nazi, but with some of my other friends we speak in slang. I think it's weird when we all get together too. Then I have to speak a mix of both.  :indian:

I think you should stick to puns if you want to make people laugh and smile at work. Just don't come up with anything that can be considered harassment. Those are words you want to stay away from.  :speechless:

I learned the crossing out method when I was in college. I rephrase things like "It was given to Tom and me" and think "It was given to me" sounds better than "It was given to I."  :confused:

Thanks Fates! Wow, didn't know it was going to be that pricey. I guess you have to spend money to make money?  :nerd:

I don't think it confuses me too much because I can guess which meaning is implied based on the context of the sentence. What really confuses me is when words sound alike and have different spelling. Ugh, so confusing at times.  :clown:

Cool! I'm excited to follow and see what fun things you guys post on Twitter. Good job at expanding your web presence! First a FB page and now Twitter. Woohoo!  :grin:

Yes!  I watch La Rosa de Guadalupe and 12 Corazones to learn spanish. The first is a telenovela and the second is a dating game show. I love them because they are so dramatic.

I always thought they were interchangeable, but usted was used in more formal settings. You are going to use usted instead of tu if speaking to someone older than you to show respect. That's what I was taught.

Hola. Yo quiero practicar español también. Yo puedo hablar inglés muy bien, pero yo necesito aprendes más en español.

Thanks for sharing this. I really need to brush up on my Spanish and this is just what I needed to kick start that process. I have been busy practicing my French that I have neglected Spanish.

Thanks everyone! Now I feel like a fool!  How could I not realize it was an idiom.  :shy: Thanks for clearing up the air.

I always saw ads for Muzzy when I was little! I would watch Nickelodeon and see the ads and I wanted the French Muzzy vids, but my mom said, "Do you know how much that is going to cost me?" Boo. I wish she would have at least tried to find something similar at the library. Aw, Muzzy!  :cry:

I really like duolingo. I haven't used it for Spanish, but have used the site to learn French and I must say that it is one of the best free sites on the web. Their design is really cute and they teach you so much quickly.

Yellow, do you know if that exam is used for teach positions? I work with elementary students in CA and at Los Angeles Unified School District, you get a raise when you are bilingual. Just wondering.