True2marie

Tongue exercises (movements to make your tongue more flexible) are said to help people communicate better. If effective, the doer can speak his native tongue with more ease as well as a foreign one. I have never prescribed to tongue exercises, I feel they aren't necessary. Am I wrong?

The silliest way I tried to learn another language is by watching soap operas. Novelas taught me a lot about the pace and speed of Spanish. Plus, they are just fun to watch. (Soap: Sortilegio)

I am unfamiliar with Bablefish Machine Translation. However, I did visit the site and pop in a few simple phrases in Spanish to see how they'd translate into English. They were all correct. What I do like about this online translator is the ease of use.

:angel: If you have been wondering what foreign language you should learn next, take a quiz. At the Website Quiz Farm, you can answer a series of questions and get an answer to this question. It's simple to do and takes under five minutes. Link to quiz: http://quizfarm.com/quizzes/new/callalily19/what-language-should-you-learn/ Based on my responses, I should learn ENGLISH. (so funny)

As a child, I was told that the biblical tale of The Tower of Babel was the reason why the world was full of so many different languages. As an adult, I do question this analysis. What if the 'one language' referred to these peoples ability to agree on their project (building the tower)?

The universal consensus seems to be that reading a foreign language is much harder than speaking it. Why is that? It would seem that if the speaker is of reading age, he or she could match word sounds with the actual printed word.

Love was the inspiration for some people to learn a second language. They either married into another culture or date someone outside of their race which convinces them to learn another tongue. With this said, is your partner the reason you speak a second language?

I am happy to hear about this addition. There are words in Spanish the average English speaker uses without thinking. So, more Spanglish/Spanish words should be part of non-Latino dictionaries.

I am a fan of Spanglish. As a teen, I used Spanglish to communicate with friends at school. To me, it offers the best of both worlds. The speaker can pull from two languages to get a point across in a unique way.

Maybe it's the way I look, but people often are shocked that I speak a second language. They get taken aback and as a result as a lot of questions. Does this happen to you?

For a few years, I worked in the customer service department of a major insurance company. What bothered me about some of my co-workers is their judgement of callers with accents. They assumed many negative things about them. I tried hard NOT to follow in their footsteps. To me, it's unfair.

What languages do you think are used most throughout the world. I believe they are Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish and English. Each language has a large continent linked to it and these tongues are necessary for the purposes of doing business globally.

Good listening skills are key to communication. For many years, I thought I possessed them. Then, one day, after replaying a CD of a sermon I'd heard the day before, I realized this wasn't true. I'd missed hearing several points. This situation inspired me to figure out how to be a more active listener. Are you a good listener?

I don't know of any other cultures that made an orthographic agreement. Maybe only in Brazil and Portugal has this type of pact become necessary. Most other places have a formal means of speaking and writing the native language. The only variation is with slang or through dialect.

I am a firm believer that learning the street slang is important to being fluent in a new language. In my opinion, classroom studies only aren't enough. With this in mind, do you believe language teachers should take their students on mandatory field trips? (They'd be field trips into a community in which the subject begin taught is the native language of the residents.)

My neighbor moved to America from Iran less than a year ago. Upon arrival, she knew no English. Although she has learned a lot over the past few months, she still struggles to speak English fluently. She recently told me that she 'tenses up' when approached by her boss at work and can barely remember any English at all. Is this scenario common?

:nerd: While residing in Puerto Rico, I began to speak Spanglish - a mix of Spanish and English. Most of my peers did two. Although not unique, it was a fun way to converse with each other and also use words or phrases with more impact in one language than another. Do you speak a mix of your native language and foreign language?

Do you have a language coach? Online sites such as Rosetta Stone offer these types of services. A language coach encourages helps you master a foreign language through one-on-one or classroom environments. I had one in the past who helped me tremendously in learning Spanish.

By far, writing a foreign language is hardest. Why? This process involves grammar, punctuation and other aspects people (in general) find challenging. So, if you can't even do these things well in your native language, don't expect to excel in a language that's foreign.

:amazed: I would think one's native language should be easier to speak than a foreign one. My only assumption is that the foreign language would be spoken more properly. Why? Usually, the proper manner in which a language should be spoken is taught in foreign language classes. It usually differs on the street.

I get frustrated with accents and speed. As with my native language of English, understanding what someone's saying to you if they speak extraordinarily face or have a strange accent is hard. You have to develop an ear for it and/or ask the person to slow down or speak more clearly.

Which is harder to learn, Chinese or Japanese? I ask because I know people from each of these cultures. If they aren't born and raised in their native country, they often struggle to speak the language of their heritage. And, they rarely know how to write in their native tongue.

What languages are most popular globally and have the most speakers? My guess - English, Spanish and Chinese. Since the world's citizens are compromised of people who many have these backgrounds, I would think their language is spoken the most.

In Spanish, Merry Christmas is ¡Feliz Navidad. How do you say these words in your second language?

The interpreter at Nelson Mandela's service provided comics around the world with great material! I could not believe him. Who in their right mind would accept a job to interpret to deaf people and not have this skill down pat. Then, he sorta apologized, but defended himself. He really has a lot of gall.