Baburra

I think English might be an easier language to learn without leaving your own country since it's so popular and vastly used, and you can turn on your tv or just browse online and come across many English videos and many other resources. I don't think it's necessary to live in the country you want to learn the language from, but I do think it does help the process along especially with languages that are not as widely used as English. 

I think it's possible to learn as much as you want as long as you have the proper mindset for it. If it were me I'd just focus on one language at a time and maybe just set some goals and deadlines for each so I can be more assured that I'll have time to learn both. I think these two are good choices to learn together though since they are from the same family and a lot of the accents and intonations used for either can be applicable for the other as well. If I had to choose on where to start I personally would go with Chinese first just because that is where Japanese stems from, if I'm not mistaken, so for me it would be beneficial to progress naturally in the same direction. 

I think there are definitely advantages to learning from someone who has been don't he same path you are about to take. For me the only things that I would look out for when it comes to this is not to rely too heavily on what they teach or what they sound like and instead just on the ones I can confirm. Their accents might get in the way, for example, and I'd also assume they have some words or phrases that are still wrong unless they have lived there for decades. I think as a start it can be very helpful but for a more authentic lesson it's still best to go with native speakers. 

My favorite word in Spanish has always been querida, which unfortunately I don't think means something nice as from what I understand it is a term for a mistress. Still, I find that the Spanish word itself is beautiful and I see it as something negative starting to sound like a positive when spoken using a Spanish word. I always find it interesting when negative connotations sound beautiful in certain languages so this one in particular appealed to me apart from just sounding good all on its own. 

It's one of the first things I learn in a new language and when I meet foreigners it's also the first ones I usually teach them, though not exactly swear words per se and instead maybe just the dirtier or sillier terms or slang. I think I do it this way, and probably most do as well, because it just is a fun way of introducing yourself to a new language. If the start seems fun then we are more likely to be curious about the rest, and a dirty word always comes in handy at making locals laugh especially when spoken with a foreign accent, so that's my theory on it. 

Sometimes if I'm in the wrong mood or wrong mindset this happens to me. Although to be fair I think when I'm in that mood it's difficult for any information to get through to my head and it's not just language, so whenever this happens I jus try and take a break whether it's just a couple of minutes or maybe even days or a week. I just try and not to prolong it too much as I tend to work best when I am able to gain momentum and if I stop for too long I tend to forget a bit of my previous lessons and that causes me to delay my progress since I have to review the past ones again before starting a new one. I think the methods employed also factor into it a lot so it's best to find a system that works for you so you know if you're just having an off day rather than working with a less effective method. 

I am determined to learn french and Japanese and I hope I can one day speak them fluently enough that I don't even have to think about it when I speak. I also hope that I get to that point with enough time and energy left to master a few more other languages like Spanish and Russian but I'd be happy just learning my two main priorities. I'm sure I can learn enough of the language with ample time to spare but I just hope I still have motivation to learn more once I past that point since I do think it will take a lot for me to learn them. 

19 minutes ago, wolfette said:

I've been mocked for my accent. I'm British and here in my own country I've been mocked and told I sound too "posh" and not understanding regional terms. I went to secondary school in a different area to where I grew up and I was mocked a lot for my accent there. By teachers too, not just pupils. One in particular when I was trying to learn French used to mock me for my accent and say I couldn't speak French properly when I was trying to learn it because of my accent. It really put me off wanting to learn it actually. 

Since then though my accent hasn't ever been mocked. I'm told I say some words a little oddly in certain languages, Spanish in particular somehow, but I think the more I speak it the better it becomes and I learn the correct way to pronounce words more and can correct my accent a bit. 

Sorry to hear you were constantly mocked for your accent. You should try visiting as much foreign countries as you can I think because British accents are appreciated in a lot of places and I'm sure having a much more "posh" type of British accent will only endear you more to the foreigners. I have heard french people are very particular about the accent used for their language to the point where many dislike Quebec accent which I guess is a little bit understandable in some ways but I don't think it's right to discourage people from learning a new language just because of it especially since it's a way of showing appreciation for the language and culture. 

On March 26, 2016 at 8:37 PM, reverserewind said:

 

Just don't think about it. I don't care much about British English claims to be the inception of all other variations and accents. 

Yeah it doesn't really bother me it's just something I tend to notice and focus on whenever I come across it and I find it interesting how I've grown so accustomed to American English and consider it the standard even though it's not the original which technically means it should be the lesser standard. It makes me wonder how different languages and dialects were formed from their original sources and eventually became the more popular to the point where the older one feels like the copy instead of the original. 

On December 17, 2015 at 2:21 AM, Lynk said:

Wow what interesting info in this thread! Who would have ever thought that it came from a Chinese word for a totally different sauce? I wonder how this came to be?

Hmmm I have seen both in spelling and on products but it never occurred to me that people would pronounce the two words differently! I have always pronounced it ketchup no matter how I see it spelled!

I think this is just a theory though. There have been a lot of guesses I've seen after looking it up but it seems like there is no common consensus on the origins Of catsup. I'd like to believe that the Chinese theory is sound because that would give me some peace and this mystery can finally stop bugging me but in the back of my mind I'm always thinking that it's only a guess and that there is still no confirmed evidence that can prove it is indeed the proper origin. 

Maybe they are just not that interested in doing so which I think is understandable because we all have our different motivations. I think I would also be a little too lazy to teach anyone my languages because it takes quite a bit of effort and if I'm spending that much effort then I think I would rather be paid for it. I've had friends who spoke Japanese and I never thought of asking them to teach me because I always thought they had a lot of other stuff to do and aside from the few words I get to learn here and there I think any more would not be worth their time and effort if I didn't end up paying them for it even though they are my friends. 

For me, not really, because  prefer reading in English than in my native language. Not that I'm against my own language as I do appreciate it for what it is but our words are very elongated that it sometimes become very tiresome to read lengthy books entirely written in our language. Not to mention that there is an odd dynamic wherein a lot of our proper words are considered too ancient and outdated by now but there is no modern counterpart to take their place so we don't have much choice other than to use these outdated terms that sound very out of place or we just use English as a placeholder but maybe just change the spelling a little to fit our language better, at which point I think there's not much of a reason to not just put the text completely in English already. 

When I was very young I learned a lot of my vocabulary just from reading comics so by the time I went to school where English was being taught as a standard second language I didn't have much trouble anymore. I think this method is really very helpful indeed as surely books will always have the proper syntax although I guess the biggest drawback is that sometimes the way they are written won't lend themselves well to conversational versions and speaking like it might feel like you are reading off of a Textbook but I suppose it is a good enough start and will surely be very helpful in learning proper structure. 

On April 9, 2015 at 1:07 PM, VNtomboy said:

 

You mean AMERICANS pronounce things differently? The Brits were the first to speak English...hence the name, lol

Lol. I agree. I think American English has gotten so popular due to their media that it has become the standard instead of the original and people tend to forget that. I myself am so used to American spelling and pronunciation that I find it hard to think about British English as being the origins and technically more proper version of it. Spelling words with an "s" instead of "z" for example has become very weird to me even if I know at the back of my mind that it is the original and more proper version. 

I like them both for different reasons but I would say I prefer American English more just because I'm more used to it and it's also mostly due to my enjoyment of American entertainment. I agree that British English but I prefer American spellings , again, just because it's what I grew up with and am more comfortable with.

That being said is the correct one, I think and that would be the same as saying "that said". When you say that being said, you are saying that there is something that has been stated and you are ready to move on, so you phrase it by saying something to the effect of "now that I have finished saying my previous statement...".

The links Trellum gave are great. I don't know each and every situation that it would be applicable but I try and just go by the general rule provided in the second link which is to use it whenever the meaning might get confusing if used in conjunction together such as when saying cooking oil, it could mean you are heating up some oil as opposed to when you say cooking-oil there it is clearer you mean that it is a type of oil. Although I have to admit I never use hyphens in cooking oil because I always just assume everyone would understand what I'm talking about.

I think if you are having some second thoughts then just don't try to force yourself too much so you don't feel too pressured. Just try watching some videos online and see if you are enjoying yourself learning and if not then you can just move on to something else. I think enjoyment plays a big part in learning so just try and not be too serious with it to start if you are feeling intimidated.

I don't make it my priority since I usually look forward more to being able to use it for conversation and writing it down doesn't help that much with me at all so I just try and memorize the right pronunciations. However, when I was learning Chinese I found it to be very helpful to learn writing at the start since learning the alphabet afforded me to learn the rest of the characters, pronunciations ,and their meanings on my own afterwards.

I'm sure they have it since I'm pretty certain I've heard many of them call it "zed" before, which I even think is a bit more efficient since you won't confuse it with the letter C. They just spell some words differently and I have to admit it always catches me off guard whenever I come across it since I'm so used to the American spelling.

I'm having a bit do a hard time picking up some of my new languages and I've taken a break but I wouldn't necessarily say I've given up on them. I still plan on picking it up back again in the future when I have a bit more time and luxury to focus on it more. I think putting it on break and just being realistic is okay and even if you give up it's alright as well since you could just spend your time on something that you really like.

I also remember the song about a spoonful of sugar helping the medicine go down, which I'm pretty sure can still be considered an idiom to some extent. I think it was a song sung by Julie Andrews and although I've never heard it in full or even watched the movie I still know of the saying which I guess is a testament to how much engrained in culture that particular scene is.

I've tried teaching business in English a few times and the part where it gets a bit difficult is the jargon so though I've had a bit more of an easier time than most, probably since the people I was teaching already had a knowledge of the language to begin with so the technical terms were easy enough to explain. I'd say just start with the basics so you can build a good foundation for the more complex lessons.

Whenever I want to learn a new language I'd usually just try and repeat a good amount of phrases to myself. If I could, I'd try and work it into my routine by listening to audio of common phrases repeatedly and at some point I'd eventually have them memorized without even putting that much effort into it. After that it's just a matter of practicing pronunciations.

I don't think language classes are particularly more beneficial than music classes since music is arguably just another form of language anyway. I think if she excels in one particular space then that's all that really matters since if she finds passion in that then she can get really good and find employment in that area eventually. I don't think high school elective classes are taken that seriously anyway and if she picks one that she is actually interested in then there's more chance for her to actually want to learn something.