Shamde

From the research I've done, seems like it would be something that indeed slows you down. Best to learn it later on, or at least, don't rely on it.

I'm from the Midlands, and we don't really seem to have that much of an accent. We do have our fair share of unique words though. I definitely enjoy comparing words and accents with my friends at uni who have come from all over the country.

It would be French for me. Funnily, I think Japanese may actually be harder, the only difference is that I hated learning French (in school) compared to actually enjoying leaning Japanese.

There are many types, even in each country... However, most people understanding basic motions like pointing, thumbs up, etc. That's how I get by in countries where I don't speak the language

Are you absolutely sure? Perhaps you were too drunk to notice how bad you were doing... I can imagine thinking I was speaking fluent Japanese (but actually speaking English!) if I were drunk. Perhaps I should try it though.

Perhaps you've just not got anything to read that you really enjoy? I was feeling the same recently, until I got The Hunger Games books, which I read all three within 6 days!

Interesting thoughts on the exclamation mark here, haha. I'm probably guilty of over using it too. I often use it to show excitement...probably the same way sales people intend to use them :/

"Could care less" just sounds so wrong. The saying is that you couldn't care less. You do not care at all. Cares are at zero. I cringe when I hear "could care less" and if people do it intentionally, why? What's the point? If you care a bit, it's obvious you could care less! It just seems redundant, sorry.

Procrastination is my biggest enemy. It just seems to slip my mind that I should be studying. So I downloaded one of those apps that blocks certain websites. Now when I absent mindly try to go on facebook, it promptly shuts it down. That soon reminds me what I'm supposed to be doing.

It might be better to stick with longer sentences anyway. It may be more challenging, but if it feels more natural you should do better over all. Short sentences might feel more "stunted" than other wise.

Would watching anime actually help? It's something I've considered but I googled it and most people seemed to think it was a bad idea. One person specifically said if I learnt to speak Japanese with anime, that I'd end up communicating like a child.

I've thought about using anime to help me learn Japanese, but not video games. It's obvious really! Especially games where you can read at your own pace. I will have to consider looking into some once I have the basics of Japanese down.

I think it would be very good for helping with pronunciation, if you can sing along to your favourite foreign songs. The only issue I can think of, is if the singer is mispronouncing words for rhyming effect or what have you.

I definitely use correct grammar when possible. Spelling I am much more lax on, assuming they know what I mean, that's fine. I'm not going to go spell check a word every time I'm not sure! Not in a casual setting anyway. I get really mad when people needlessly correct me. If they knew what I meant, and they know it was a typo, it's really not necessary!

A lot, unfortunately! Especially if I'm nervous, like when I'm talking to someone online for the first time. I have to consciously stop myself from trying 'haha' or 'lol'. Once I'm comfortable with the person, I rarely censor how I type, so I guess my poor friends do end up spammed a fair bit. I also use the emote :L a lot. Similar meaning!