thenextGeek

I'm Filipino and we use Tagalog as our national language. What's amazing about being Filipino in terms of languages is that we have lots of different dialects despite already having a national language. When you are living in the province farm from the mainland that is Luzon, it is more than likely that you speak in a different dialect than the ones living in Manila (the capital of the Philippines). This is the reason why a lot of Filipinos speak English very well because it sometimes become the common denominator when you are communicating with people from different provinces. Me being born in the province, then transferring to a city in Luzon a few years after I was born allowed me to learn Tagalog, while still learning how to speak my local dialect which is Illongo.

I was 16 at the time and I was reading a book about our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. He was a linguist and a master of different languages. Being a fan of Jose Rizal, I naturally wanted to follow his footsteps and become a linguist myself. That was the start of my love for different languages. Now that gasoline that helped the little fire in my heart grow into a blazing inferno (aspiring poet here as well, LOL!) was my passion for travelling. I want to travel and see different cultures and communities. I guess being cooped up in a small town made me want to break free and find out about the places beyond the borders of my country.

Well I'm a huge cheapskate so enrolling in a class is a big NO for me. I prefer free methods or other alternatives in learning a new language. Luckily, there are literally thousand of materials available online and in libraries that cost nothing, and I learn by reading those. I also watch Youtube tutorials because hearing the pronunciation and grammar of helps a lot when learning a new language. Finally, there's Duolingo which I think most people on this forum use on a daily basis. It's a great app that offers a bunch of language courses and it definitely works!

I never experienced any anxiety whatsoever when I tried talking to an African friend of mine in college. He's very fluent in Spanish and since I'm a student of the Spanish language, I asked him if I could practice my grammar and pronunciation with him. I was comfortable speaking with him and he was very accommodating. I also told him beforehand that I was a beginner and he understood right away that I'll commit mistakes which he simply corrected right faster thus helping me learn after. I guess the moral of the story here is that you just have to be honest and tell them that you're still not well-versed in the language, in order to prevent yourself from being anxious when you're talking to a native speaker.

Most Filipinos grow up being very un-nationalist. I don't know why and how, but I do know that the reason lies somewhere during the children's adolescence. I guess the continued patronage of Filipinos to foreign brands and products play a role in this negative behavior. It is ingrained in the minds of most Filipinos that local brands doesn't compare with the big name brands that hail from foreign countries. In addition, Filipinos who weren't well-educated think that speaking in English correlates with being rich and influential while speaking Filipino means that you're poor. I also just want to say that I'm not against speaking in English since I am also a fan of the language, but being a total douche-bag and being embarrassed at your own native tongue? A big No-No.

Nope. Not possible. It is highly impossible for someone who's been speaking their native tongue since they were little to suddenly forget their native language. I know Filipinos who lived abroad for 20-30 years but are still very fluent in Tagalog or their respective dialects. There might be cases though that a family moves to the US or some other country, and their child was still very little when they moved, the child might not remember how to speak his or her native language. However, this doesn't count when we're talking about this topic because the child never learned his native tongue in the first place. For someone who was able to learn and speak his native language, it is impossible that he will suddenly forget his language. Forget a few words? Yes. But the entire language? I don't think so.

Thanks for the tips! I guess the reason why I always end up not finishing my Spanish course on Duolingo is because I'm pressuring myself to learn the language. By doing that, I lose the fun factor that's supposed to be a part of the learning process. The thing that started out as a hobby then became a chore, which eventually led into me stopping my progress, and then dropping the course entirely after a few days. I'm going to relearn my Spanish and this time, no more pressure. I'm going to have fun, and I'll see if everything will turn out differently this time around.

Adding Japanese on their platform will further increase the user base of Duolingo. In my opinion, the only negative thing about Duolingo is that it's lacking the top Asian languages such as Japanese, and Korean. If they were to add even one of those two, then they would certainly be the top language learning app by a long shot considering that there are lots of people who are huge fans of Japanese entertainment like animes, mangas, and dramas. I for one would try out the app again.

I was very excited when I first saw this topic because I've always been dreaming of learning Japanese, and being able to speak and understand the language fluently so that I don't need anymore subtitles when I watch my favorite Japanese shows. It's too bad that this site's not free unlike Duolingo. I might still give it a try though, and I'm really hoping that this one's different from all the other subscription Japanese learning sites that are available online.

Hi everyone! I'm a Filipino who's fluent in English, and also wants to learn how to speak/understand other languages. I'm interested in learning Japanese, and Korean, as well as some other European languages such as Spanish and Portuguese. I'm a self-proclaimed student of history which may be the reason why I'm engrossed in learning other languages. Being a fan of our national hero, Jose Rizal, who is a linguist, is also a huge part in my love for different languages. I hope that I can further develop my knowledge in other languages, and meet new friends in this site as well. Cheers!