Aishe

I catch it a lot, living in a country where English is not the predominant language. At a certain point you begin to become accustomed to it and it doesn't bug you as much; though if you look for it it's everywhere and it will drive you crazy.

As long as it's not strictly enforced and the toddler has a choice as they get older whether or not to continue with it, I'd say go for it. I also think it'd be more effective if the parent also spoke the language as well, because yes children learn very quickly but they also forget things fast if they don't get the practise.

For me it depends if I know I'm staying or not. In Korea I was only there for 2 weeks but made sure to know basic conversation, just enough to get around in. If I was going to be there for a longer period of time say more than 2 months I think I'd have made a bigger effort to learn.

I have a teacher that I see with a friend a couple of times a week. It's super helpful when learning Mandarin since they can correct pronunciation errors before they become a habit and I don't think I'd be learning this fast without one.

It's almost the opposite for me In my head thinking up a response I will know just the word I'm looking for, but when it comes for me to actually say it I forget and can't seem to bring it up again. In the end I always end up having to settle for another word and it never fits what I'm trying to say as well as the word I'd forgotten.

Thank you for sharing. I took a look in and it seems very basic, but I think it would be really useful just starting out a new language. Gone into my bookmarks list!

I think body language plays a huge role in communication. Your posture, face, hands, etc can say a lot in a conversation, even when the person you're speaking to doesn't speak the same language as you. And of course, when gesturing it's nice to be able to signal to help convey your message. Though you have to be careful sometimes with body language, a hand signal in one culture can mean a totally different thing in a different culture.

As a beginner, Romaji is really helpful to just know the different sounds and what they match up with to the alphabet of choice (if given both of course, I think Romaji on it's own is a bit pointless). It's like pinyin with Chinese, the romanisation allows for easier recognition of the sound/word. However, I think its use should be limited after one has a grasp on the alphabet as it can turn into a crutch and hinder learning.

English! If I've been in a Thai environment all day or the people I've been with are Thai then there'll be phrases and words slipped in that are Thai, but most of the time it's English. I've also noticed the same happening with Mandarin if I've been around Chinese people, certain phrases like 没有, 好吗？, and 是什么 stick in my brain.

Yes of course, I don't think whether someone is more extroverted or introverted affects their ability to learn a language at all. Sure, extroverts may be more likely to get out there and mingle more often but the idea that all extroverts are party animals and all introverts are hermits is totally incorrect. An introvert is just as capable of interacting and socialising as much as extroverts do, they just need the downtime away from people as well. Also while introverts may talk to fewer people, the ones they do talk to tend to get into deep meaningful conversations and they can talk on for hours.

Hey Josh! Welcome to Linguaholic, hope you enjoy your stay! This community is great for having discussions and talking with people who are also in the same situation as yourself. Good luck.

I don't think there is a "too much" as long as one still uses the languages they know and keeps themselves practised. It opens up all sorts of doors and possibilities and just seems to expand the number of things life has to offer. Though I think it would be better to be completely fluent in two or three languages rather than having a shallow basic knowledge in five or six.

It's pretty debatable in my opinion. We could say it's a form of the English language so yes, it must follow the rules but on the other hand we could also say it's a form of art and art is allowed to change and shape into anything.

It varies a lot. I definitely am good at hearing, I can repeat things back to a person verbatim but whether or not I process it in my head or not depends on what I'm doing at the time and the topic of conversation. Most of the time though, yes, I would say I am a good listener. I tend to pick out the small details and remember them, sometimes surprising people when I bring them up again later.

Yes definitely, it's almost natural for me to just start speaking Tinglish now to the locals when I'm out and about. I try to communicate in Thai so they understand but some things I just don't know the word for so I substitute it for an English word and hope for the best.

I think it's the way alcohol reduces your inhibitions and makes you feel more confident about what you are doing. There's none of those nagging thoughts at the back of your head worrying about what if you get something wrong and the such.

Yes, this is true! I remember really liking foreign bands when I was younger and I picked up a lot of basic language from just listening to their songs and reading lyrics. I used to play a lot of JRPGs and when I ran out of ones that were translated, moved onto the ones that were in the original Japanese. So for that period of my life I picked up a little bit of Japanese as well. The thing with this is if you don't constantly keep it up it's easy to lose the little things you learnt, which happened with me.

I practise a lot! And still haven't gotten it perfectly down. I used to be able to do it as a kid because it's used sometimes in the Thai language but lost it as I grew up from lack of usage. These days each word I see with an r in it I will try rolling - if I haven't practised for a few days I will struggle the first 10 or 20 times I try.

Yesterday! I have Mandarin classes 4 times a week and friends that I can practise with.

I love this explanation, thank you! Even as someone who's spoken English all their life I'm still struggling with who/whom.

Holy wow, that video. I know that I do usually speak pretty fast and can usually understand the people who do as well. I frequently have people ask me to repeat what I was saying as I'm in an international community where everyone has vastly different accents. If I'm caught up in an idea and want to get my thoughts out, that is when I'm more likely to speak fast. However, with and around people whom I know might struggle with understanding me, I will consciously slow myself down.

Most of the time I use full spelling and grammar, and my phone corrects shortcuts such as "ur" to "your" for me to increase speed - as well as adding in apostrophes automatically which is also faster. Sometimes I don't use periods because in a textual setting it may come across as terse. If I'm typing with friends I will tend to forget to capitalise and punctuation goes straight out the window. I never shorten words other than "u" "ur" "ure" and "tho" because I just forget it doesn't correct for me on a computer..

I was just thinking I'd like to reread one of the childhood series I grew up with. Might spur me onto more reading. Thanks for your advice! I'm really fond of plot driven books, except for the fact that usually they aren't very thought provoking. When I read The Hunger Games myself, I took a day to read each of the books as I was so intwined with the plot. However satisfying, they're not quite fulfilling for me? If I read a Murakami book for example, it might take me over the course of a month but at the end of it I'm left with new things to roll around in my head and maybe a new perspective on things. Maybe just to get back into the swing of things I will pick up a few new books. Thank you !

Hey Nick, welcome! Enjoy your time here and good luck with your languages.

I think knowing and being able to utilise grammar rules and the like is very important, especially whilst learning as to not fall into any bad habits, however around friends and family in a casual setting I would say it'd be okay to let the grammar slip a little, as long as everyone can understand the message.