sidney

Well, English is taught and used regularly in schools in my country, so learning it doesn't count. Right now I'm casually trying to learn Spanish and German, and I'm assuming that it may take around 2 years or more for a person to be decently fluent in a particular language.

Well, not really translate, but I helped them create proper English sentences, because some of my former classmates were struggling in English, so they asked me to help them construct what they wanted to say in English because we were doing some school quizzes.

I'm not sure which language to pick.. Probably the one that is widely spoken by many countries, so I think it would have to be Spanish. The language must be popular to be able to replace English.

I think that's an absurd idea, because English is already considered as the universal language, so no point in trying to make a completely new language from scratch. People who want to converse internationally with people from around the world should just simply make an effort to learn an actual, existing, and common language which is English.

Over here in the Philippines, when someone says, "salamat" (thank you) we can say "walang anuman" (you're welcome) so over here there is a standard reply when someone says "thank you".

I currently know only 2 languages, I'm fluent in both English and Tagalog. Right now I'm casually trying to learn German and Spanish. If I were to live in another country for many years then for sure I would learn my 3rd language.

Mine would be "The Terminal" starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Tom's native country of origin is fictional and so is his native language, but it is a very entertaining movie just the same. It's one of Tom Hank's funniest roles in my opinion.

Well you're not in front of the computer most of the time right? So during those times that you're offline and you want to translate a certain word, then it would be handy to just have a dictionary with you.

The idiom "hold the torch" means to have an unrequited or unspoken love, and I only encountered that idiom only once as of now, so I guess it's pretty uncommon.

Yes of course! I love Rammstein's songs and a bunch of other songs that I think are in Danish. I immediately liked the beat, so I kept listening to them even if I don't even know the meaning of what they're saying.

I checked out the site and it has an option where you can try it for free, so how about you avail of that and see if you will like it? After all, it's free anyway.

Your bf doesn't seem to be quite supportive, lol. Anyway, I think you can start by buying an English to Spanish dictionary, so you can at least know the basic Spanish words first before trying to construct a sentence.

Yeah, it is actually a good way to learn a new language, since the translation is already written on the subtitles, but sometimes the subtitles are not accurate, because I was watching a Tagalog film that had an English subtitle, and I saw some mistakes.

I think that that technique is the same as immersion. You immerse yourself in the people who speak the language, so in the long run, you acquire an "ear" for it.

Most countries definitely have become more English-friendly, because English is the international language, so they adapt to the trend and learn it and even speak it often instead of using their native tongue.

I'm not really annoyed at any word in particular, but I dislike seeing intentionally misspelled words, and that oh so prevalent "loose" and "lose" misconception.

You may try checking out Ebay or Craigslist, but when I buy books in general I go to bookdepository.com, they offer free wordwide shipping too, so you might want to look for language books there.

Oh yes, the time when I did that quite often was when I was still studying, most especially in high school. I would write down the "cheat notes" on my palm so that during exams I can just peek into it, lol.

Of course you should carry a dictionary with you, it will come in handy when you see a sign or hear a word and you don't know the meaning to it. It's not really to be used in normal conversations though, it would be too awkward.

Our language is mixed, meaning we have Spanish and Tagalog language over here in the Philippines. Obviously the Spanish ones were introduced when the Spaniards colonized us, but the Tagalog language origin is unclear though, but it has always been with us and it probably originated with our native people.

Aside from the subtitles suggestion, you can also listen to German songs and then google the translation. I noticed that the meaning sticks more to your memory because your keep playing the song and it remains in your head.

Yeah I agree that that's a good idea, I think you should really just start by asking which words or sentences you really want to know in another language, then the other words can just be studied later on.

What started my interest in learning languages is when I started listening to foreign songs. I got curious to know what it meant, so I started to study their language.

Not really fluent, but I guess they can be semi-fluent, you know? Like they can understand the basic words and they can get by without a translator, but when the word is not that popular, then they will start to have some difficulties.

I also prefer to study at home in my room, because I can never get to learn anything if the background is noisy or while there is music in the background. The room has to be silent so that I won't get distracted.