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Linguaholic

sidney

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Posts posted by sidney

  1. Thank you for the answers, if I have time only to watch tv series or attend on online english speaking classes, would be much better to attend on classes, right?

    I guess if you don't have the budget for it currently, then that would be fine. I suggest downloading songs of the artists that sing the language that you are trying to learn, play it repeatedly, and look up the meaning or translation online. That's how I unintentionally learn foreign words, and the constant repetition helps, so choose songs that you like the beat so that you will play it often.

  2. My daughter opted not to do a foreign language as one of her electives for school and I support her. She is very artistic and she decided to do some art classes instead. I think that the student really has to want to learn the language in order to be successful at it and she is just not ready yet.

    Good thing that you didn't force her to, since my mom also tried to force me to attend certain activities in school when I didn't feel like it. She even signed me up when I was 7 years old to attend a girl scout meeting. The first time I did, it bored me to death.  :laugh: She is not with me when I go to school, so she can't yank me to attend their meeting.

    Let her take the course on her own initiative, when that time comes then you'll now she really is interested in it.

  3. @ VNtomboy, I guess it's also because we were colonized by Spain for 300 years, so the preferred "look" over here are the "mestizo" and "mestiza" looks and features (meaning fair skinned) so even if they don't look like it, at least they try to act like one! Whitening creams and soaps are also popular here since most dark skinned women want to lighten their skin.

    @ lushlala, When speaking to such people, why don't you pretend to not understand them and only respond in your native language? For sure they will be forced to speak it, then they will stop trying to impress people who won't buy into their act, lol.

  4. I think that it can help you with learning some words or phrases, since I now know a couple of various words through constant repetition by looking at the subtitles. But for thorough learning, it's not enough. You need to take formal lessons or be immersed enough in the language by being exposed and conversing to the natives.

  5. When you're writing, you also have the luxury of going back and correcting mistakes. When we speak, once we've put it out there we can't take it back! Like Petrushka said, chances of making mistakes are higher when we're speaking as opposed to writing.

    Yeah, I agree. I guess we should try to stall our speaking to avoid making mistakes by saying "um", "uh" as we think, filter and correct the words that we are about to say.

  6. @ Lushlala, I guess some non-white people like to act one, after all America is the "it country", the worlds superpower, so the people in your country and my country bask in living there and they brag about it and act "white".

    @ VNtomboy, I don't think they really "forgot" their language, they just act like they forgot and continue to speak in English to be able to brag about their accent and for people to assume and think that they have l lived abroad. Typical 3rd world mentality.

    @ petrushka, It's because I DON'T buy the fact that those adults genuinely forgot their mother tongue when they left at 18 years old, that's why I say it's common. I think you believe it's possible, but for me, I don't. I think they're just bragging.

  7. Hehe Sidney, your comment made me laugh out loud! It's funny how this seems to affect most of us across the board, with a few exceptions here and there. This is what I mean, in part. Some expressions and insults just don't translate well, and don't carry as much of a 'punch" when translated. You lose some nuances somewhere along the line, and subsequently, the meaning's not quite what you were going for!

    Yeah, and you're angry for God's sake, you're not supposed to think about appearing eloquent to your compatriot! Your goal is to express your anger and to retaliate verbally to their tirades. Of course, if the person is foreign and doesn't know your local language, then you have no choice but to speak English when you guys are arguing.

  8. My boss is a firm believer in repetition. A lot of the language programs we made in the past emphasize the method of repetition. While a lot argue that there is nothing to gain by merely repeating things, I , however, agree with my boss to a certain extent. Only having audio to use as tool, he believes that the more you constantly repeat the audio you hear, the more things become 'familiar' to you. I tell you, it can be tedious and boring, but I think the more you do it (repeating what you hear (ex. saying out loud and repeating scripts of German movies), you somehow are able to build confidence.

    I too believe that 'speaking' skill has much to do with confidence. If you are not too sure if you are saying things right, then you're likely just going to be mum.

    I agree with this method. I remember being able to learn a bunch of phrases and words just by hearing a couple of Japanese and Spanish words being repeated in movies, and the meaning has stuck to my mind because I always encounter the words. So repetition is the most effortless way to go.

  9. I agree with you to a certain point sidney, yes slow learners need much more attention and should be giving a chance to learn at their pace. However what of someone who like I stated previously is excellent at writing a certain language but still struggles with the oral bit of it? Do you think that particular person should be allocated to the 'slow learner' class anyways just because of that factor?

    In your first post, it said that she struggled with writing the language, so which is which? Anyway, I think that your friend should be placed in the advanced section, but maybe because of her writing or oral skills, she was placed in the slow learning group. I guess to be properly placed in the fast learning group you really would need to be improved 100% in your oral and writing skills. Which part is she having difficulty doing anyway, the written or oral part?

  10. That is quite common here in the Philippines where the people who have lived in another country for quite some time pretend to forget their native tongue and speak with an emphasized English accent to make it seem like they "have arrived". I really doubt that those 18 and 21 year olds really forgot their native language. I think they're just putting on an act to make them look superior since they have lived in another country.

  11. I chose to learn the language that I'm studying which is German and Spanish mainly out of curiosity. I chose German because I like the songs of a German rock band, and when it comes to Spanish, I chose it because Spanish is used by many countries, and Tagalog also has Spanish roots because we were colonized by the Spaniards for 300 years.

  12. 1) I think that depends on the learning ability of the person. A person might be a slow learner, so it might take him several years to learn a new language, but for some who are fast learners, it might take them only several months.

    2) Yes, if you want to be very fluent in the language that you are trying to learn. But if you are just a casual learner like me, then I think that it's not really important to reach that level.

    3) Yes, as long as you are committed to learning the language that you are trying to learn, then it is not important if you are not being immersed in the language that you want to learn in another country.

  13. E-books have been around for a decade or more, but tangible books are still around and lots more are being published, so I guess that there will always be a market for those tangible books, otherwise they would not be around today and you won't see any more bookstores and libraries. I personally prefer e-books though, since they're free and they don't take up any space.

  14. The Tagalog idioms that you have mentioned are the rare ones that are not used anymore. The idioms that came to mind are the more common ones like "Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo", at "balat-sibuyas". They also don't sound too formal or awkward to use in casual conversations as compared to the idioms that you mentioned.  :smile:

  15. Isn't it funny how your moth always seems to be lagging far behind your brain and thought process when you're new to a language. You want to say one thing, but for whatever reason; it doesn't come out quite how you intended, or worse still it comes out all jumbled hehe Maybe this only happens to me!

    Yeah, in a way I experience that too. When I speak in English it's like I'm also thinking, like I'm also double checking my grammar as compared to speaking in my native language where I just speak and speak and I don't double check. But nowadays I don't seem to do that as often as compared to before, my brain must be getting used to speaking English.

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