Astdua

It depends from person to person. I believe it is related to neurological comprehension of language, plus the ability to synchronize visual and audio information with the text(the visual details are very important actually). So for me, it actually works quite well, especially if I watch movies with subtitles, and then maybe re-watch them 2-3 times, and you are bound to understand them by now, but by then, you can turn off the subtitles and see yourself trying to comprehend the situations and dialogue without translation.

Yes, funny how many things I've started(not only languages) with plenty of enthusiasm, just to abandon it altogether a few weeks down the road. I guess it's just a part of my character, but I sometimes simply don't finish things. I remember trying out Russian, and slowly backing away from it until I lost my skills and couldn't get myself to practice anymore, either due to lack of time, or willpower problems, procrastination is a real pain. But lately I've been pretty motivated, and not allowing myself to give up on Spanish, or other endeavors that I've began.

Hey Mari, welcome to the forum and enjoy your stay, glad to have you! Portuguese is a beautiful language, and correct me if I am wrong, but it has plenty of similarities with Spanish(which I am also learning), so I am guessing you are having a pretty good time trying to get it down. Whatever the case, good luck and I am sure you will find what you need here. See you around.

Ah, that's a very subjective topic. It all entirely depends on where you come from and what your first language is. For different groups of people, languages that are in the same linguistic group/category as their spoken language will be easier, for example the Scandinavian countries have little trouble transcending between the Danish, Norwegian and so on, but will have obvious trouble with Russian, Polish and slavic languages, while a Slavic person will have a pretty tough time with Norwegian

I am seconding the Charles Dickens recommendation. He is a master author who is suitable for many ages, and I've had a lot of fun in my earlier years with his literature. His use of language and grammar is unparalleled, and I believe it's a perfect point to get a little deeper in the English language for an already advanced reader. Not hard to understand, but also advanced enough to be considered a challenge.

If you are a fantasy or science fiction fan, you will probably know that invented/constructed languages exist, and they are sometimes very deep and complex, with a proper grammar structure, applied linguistic theory, and whole beautiful alphabets. Speaking of which, I should probably brush up my rusty basic Klingon

Hey Lincoln, I definitely like your name. Welcome to the forum! I am very interested in human communication, it's a very fascinating topic to me, and I am learning Spanish, although I am almost sure my level is below yours. See you around the forum!

Hey Aliene, welcome to the forum and enjoy your stay. Glad to have you. There's plenty of people learning japanese here, and it can be very helpful, regardless of whether you are a beginner or intermediate with your language learning progress. See you around.

Strangely, I had the same problem in school, but I thought that's just me. I've found it that even when I am not reading out loud, if I try to read too fast or my mind wanders, I will be going through the text, but I will not be understanding any of it, it's a weird concept, of going through the motions like that but not really understanding the meaning of it. I guess to do it properly your brain functions more, leading to comprehensions.

Not really, but I plan on maybe relocating to a foreign country in the medium future, preferably one where the native population speaks a language I have at least a little bit of expertise in. A foreigner who knows the language can be even more appealing than a local, and could be seriously considered for a pretty decent position . Know English and you will be fine anywhere, even work-wise, but know a couple of more languages, and a lot of doors are opened.

I actually read way more non-fiction than fiction. The main reason is because I am not a very motivated reader, and it takes me a while, so when I do use my time and energy to read, I would ideally want to get something out of it, such as advancing a skill, or learning something new and interesting. Truly some of the best books I've read have been non-fiction, and it's kind of overlooked a lot.

Not really, it may shock me a bit at first, because it's something out of the ordinary, but I never have any negative feelings towards people with accents. If anything, accents are very interesting, there's a sweet story behind each one, an explanation and a sort of enigmatic mystery, so I would like to learn more about accented people.

Hey Eboran, welcome to the forum and enjoy your stay. You are still a language or two more advanced than me, even though I've studied German, I can't even claim that I am very strong theoretically at it. Your languages of choice to learn are a bit odd, but that's not to say it's a bad thing, simply not that mainstream. In any case, the forum has excellent information and resources, and I wish you luck in whatever language you chose to begin. See you around!

I've been doing some minor breath exercises for other purposes(health, relaxation etc.) and it does have an effect on the way you speak, because you are essentially training and preparing you respiratory system to better function, and that is obviously connected. As a general rule, take a bit deeper and slower breaths, be conscious of them, and try to limit it to nose-breathing as much as possible(mouth-breathing is a bad habit). If you feel a lot of tension and pressure, take a few really deep breaths, it really does wonders, and it's not a mental thing, because it actually has physiological ground to it.

There is definitely a well established sense of communication between them, which is often more advanced than most of us would give them credit for. Body language is a big one, as well as sounds. I've often thought about this, and obviously members of the same species, especially those who hunt and live in packs, have excellent communication, and it appears that they also have some form of limited communication with other species as well. Cats and dogs understand human body language, and perceive certain body movements as threats and others as being friendly, why is it that a species so different has an understanding of our intentions? It's nature, and it's all connected in a beautiful and complex way which we are just about now beginning to understand.

You would have to be a bit more specific on what genres you are into, fiction or nonfiction too etc. I've found myself tired and unmotivated to read as well, for long periods at that, and I would just deal with it and accept that reading at the moment is not a thing for me. But to kick-start it I would go for some light and easy book that I am sure I will find interesting. Keep it simple and short for a first read and then go onto the deeper stuff when you are hooked. Go for some acclaimed classic.

One of my biggest influenced from literature is The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexander Dumas. It's a revenge tale with lots of adventure, very beautifully written, and I love the setting too. It's French book originally, I know, but I just had to mention it as it is a classic of world literature, and deserves to be in this thread.

Hey Andrew, welcome to the forum! There are plenty of people learning Chinese here so you are at the right place, good luck with your progress on that. Mandarin is quite the challenge.

I practice by myself, using various methods ranging from specific programs to phone applications, but when it comes to communicating with others, finding a pen pal on the internet isn't too difficult. With a simple skype call you can talk to anyone from any corner of the world. That's if you happen to be unfortunate and live in an area where there's no native speakers of the language you are learning, if you do, it's a no-brainer, really.

I am a pretty skeptic person by nature myself, but with that in mind I've read some interesting material on the subject. It seems that if Telepathy excited, it wouldn't be bounded by the traditional concept of "language", rather it would be a direct connection of the feelings and emotions of the consciousness between two people, you would just sort of know what the other people means, without the use of any words and sounds, you know? It's a fascinating philosophical concept too, in relation to perception, communication and linguistics.

Having a pen pal is an excellent endeavor to compliment your language-learning. I like the idea of us in the forum starting our own similar thing. I used to hang on these sites too, but unfortunately a lot of them were used by too many people as a substitute for online dating, and other unnecessary stuff. Also it was my fault that every time I got a pen-pal we'd drift off and just speak in English instead of doing the whole language thing.

Language, like every single acquired skill and ability, rusts from disuse over time. If you don't practice it daily or at least weekly, you will start losing it bit by bit. But fortunately to know, if you then re-start at one point and learn it, it will be a little easier because you will regain some of your own memories and knowledge of it, as long as you stimulate your mind and think about what you used to know. The brain is a wonderful thing isn't it?

Greetings Joseph, welcome to linguaholic. Glad to have you here. You can already read Arabic, so I guess that's a very big part of it nailed, now you need to practice speaking it. Am I right in assuming that you are from Pakistan?

Body language is actually way bigger than most people care to give it credit for. I've found it that martial communication effects the moods and flows of a conversation between two people immensely, without them even realizing it. I would recommend to anyone to go right ahead and learn more about it, confident poses, gestures etc. If you manage to combine it well with your acquired linguistic expression skills, it will enhance your interaction with people a lot.

Hey there Mario, welcome to the forum. Glad to have you. Croatia, eh? I haven't been there myself but I have a couple of friends who are from there originally, and I've only heard great things about the country, both from people who have visited and Croats themselves. Good luck with your English and German and see you around!