Baburra

I haven't few friends who grew up speaking English mainly although I'm not sure I would say that automatically makes English their native language. I've also met a few acquaintances in the past who were born and raised in the U.S. but none that really stuck around long enough. My English speaking friends are the closest I have to native English speakers but they also speak my native language fluently.

I get to practice it often because I have a lot of people around me who speak English mainly, including family members and some friends. I honestly would much rather just use my main language all the time if I could but since they are more comfortable with it then I try to oblige. Also debates and technical explanations tend to be easier for me when I use English for some reason.

I've never heard of this method before but I can imagine it does work since I grew up in a household that speaks a different language and even though I was never expected to speak it myself I eventually learned a lot of common phrases just by being around to hear them. The only thing I would have to work on after that had I chosen to use that language was the pronunciation but I think the most important part was learning the language.

Same here. I listen to a lot of foreign songs so I tend to memorize ones that I keep on loop, so I more or less have memorized many phrases I don't know the meaning of by now. Although I'm sure I could just easily look them up and figure out but for now I just prefer to keep them mysterious. Plus the translation doesn't always come off as pleasing so I tend to get disappointed when I find out sometimes.

Agreed. I think it's worth teaching even if just solely for the reason of having something to compare the formal version to. It's best to give students proper context of what they might learn outside of school just so they would have more knowledge of what they may find, so even if they will eventually figure it out for themselves it's still better to know the rules for it.

I just like the way it sounds. Also, I hope to go to France someday and if I can I want to live there for a while. I'm trying to learn a bit now so I wouldn't have to start from scratch once I do finally arrive. I think knowing some of the basics could help me a lot with the adjustment for when the time comes.

I'm choosing to learn french because I just love how it sounds. I find it very elegant and I just think it would be a nice language to learn. Also I hope to travel there someday and I also wish I could live there for a while so it would help if I already knew some basics so I wouldn't have to start from scratch when the time finally comes.

I tried this a few times in the past and although I met some nice people it just never worked out because of the time difference and busy schedules. With agreements like this, you need someone who has the same amount of dedication and discipline and that's not always easy to find. It's still a very fun experience though and it's definitely worth a shot.

The best way is to just learn the basic words and phrases by finding some resources that give you instructions on pronunciations because french is very tricky when it comes to that. I don't think there's one best tool for everyone, and it's probably just better to keep searching for one that will work for you since there's so much abundant resources now that it gets a bit difficult to choose these days. It's still much better than the alternative of having scarce resources though.

I think it's possible to learn languages without being immersed in the environment. I've seen a lot of anime fans take on learning Japanese and succeeding at it without ever going to Japan. It probably takes a while to learn though, I'm guessing at least a year or toe, but if you are very dedicated then you might learn a lot earlier than that.

You could try finding someone to skype with, and if you find someone willing to do it in exchange for teaching your own language then that would be a huge plus. The only problem is that most people you'd find probably are in a different time zone so you'd have to work around that but I think it's worth it since just having these types of conversations can make you feel a lot more comfortable speaking a foreign language.

I think people's minds are just sometimes wired that way and it makes them excel in certain things over others. To me, it's just like how some people are able to draw almost naturally even with only a little practice, and some people are able to draw very well only with a lot of practice, while some will most likely never be able to draw or paint in more traditional ways which would push them to form a style of their own instead.

Agreed, and I love how it sounds so much and it really gets frustrating sometimes when you can't get yourself to sound accurate to the original accent. I also try and be cautious not to adopt certain french accents outside from the main one because I know the french people don't find that all too appealing. You're right though all it takes is a lot of practice.

Whenever I try to study with music playing or with other people talking, it never works for me because I tend to just hear the lyrics or the conversations and it ends up just mixing with the words I'm reading out in my mind. I know lots of people who are great at just focusing on the text but I myself never was that good at multitasking.

I think it is possible, especially if you stopped using it at a very early age. I guess it just depends on how much the person really utilized the language prior to stopping, or maybe their proficiency at retaining this particular knowledge, but I think if you use it enough before you stop then you'll most likely still remember the basics forever at least.

I have a friend who is a son of an immigrant so he and his mother speak the native language while the father spoke the language of his original country. I don't think they spoke that much to be honest and whenever I came by I had a hard time knowing how to speak to both my friend and his dad whenever we were in the same room.

I think most of the time it is generally just difficult to find someone on the same page as you, whether that be with concern to their availability, or their dedication to the goal. For me, it was difficult to find someone because the time difference I had with the person living across the world was just too much effort and I ended up just calling it quits.

It's definitely in our best interest to preserve a a much of our history as we can because there's so much more we can learn from it that would be wasted if it were all to go away without a grace. I think this is very similar to how Chinese words are written since it also utilizes picture type symbols to form words.

Yes I think so. I find it hard to express my anger in any other language other than my native one because usually when I'm angry I don't want to exert much effort into thinking about what I'm going to say and prefer to just allow myself to express it freely. If I were more fluent in another language I'd be more open to using it when I'm angry though.

I'm trying to learn Japanese and French but there aren't many french people here so I never get to practice it. I have made a good number of Japanese friends here though and they always help me with my pronunciations and grammar. I try to speak to them in Japanese when I can because I like to practice and I also just love the language, and they are cool enough to let me practice on them.

I don't think it's entirely necessary nor would it help much, since I'd guess that even natives often don't know these studies themselves. I ink just learning the language at present state is already good enough, especially considering that it's already very complex and challenging to learn in itself most of the time.

I think it is acceptable because super foods, which I hear a lot, sounds correct. I'm guessing it is used when using interchangeably with the word ingredients, or other similar words. I agree that it never really sounded correct though. I always found it to be very awkward to use and to hear.

I try to start with the basics first so I have a much better foundation for the language I'm about to learn. I've tried doing shortcuts and just memorize phrases, which does work to some extent as it gives me the ability to have simple dialogue with native speakers but I found that it's way more difficult to advance that way since there is no foundation to sport learning the more complex sentences.

Yeah, it would be very awkward, and additionally knowing the same language does not automatically mean that they do indeed want to carry a conversation with you so it's best to just keep it to yourself unless addressed. I'd maybe jump in if I overhear them needing some help but if they are just having a conversation then I'd stay out of it.

I can see how this could happen. I think it's very easy to rely on your instinct if you use the language everyday, but if for one reason or another, you stop using it for a while, then what was once familiar will cease to come naturally. I also experience this with my second language as it's been a long time since I last used it in practice, so I can't distinguish whether or not I'm writing it correctly anymore.