g2narat

I went to a school that also had a small selection of students that were HoH/deaf.  First year there, we had to take a mandatory month of sign language!

I wouldn't say it's necessarily a hard language, but I'll echo the sentiments that practice makes perfect.  There is also a point about dialect - American Sign Language will be way different than, say, Japanese Sign Language.  They may share signs, but the structures of sentences can be entirely different.  So, you know, think about what sorts of folks you'll be communicating with when you learn and choose the appropriate sign language.

Oh, I envy you! I would have loved to learn sign language. But I still have time though. I really will make extra effort to learn it. Oh and thanks for clarifying the confusion about sign language in different countries. It seems like even though they might not be completely the same, you'd still be able to understand each other, am I right?

Yes! I find it interesting that some literature snobs don't appreciate a different artistic medium. That seems a bit narrow-minded for someone who is supposed to have an active imagination.

Neil Gaiman's Sandman is definitely good, as are Alan Moore's V For Vendetta and Watchmen. If you were a fan of The Dark Knight, also check out The Killing Joke by Alan Moore. That's the story that inspired the movie.

Just like literature, graphic novels can add to one's own cultural awareness. To me, that alone makes them important.

Exactly! You'd think that literature enthusiasts would applaud the creativity of graphic novels. Unfortunately, a lot of them think these types of reads are not worth their time. Too bad as it makes them no different from hipsters who dislike things just because they are popular.

Hahaha! What a fun topic! I have actually, and it's so weird that I cannot think of any at the moment! Oh wait, here's one that was made up by a friend of mine that I thought was hilarious: karmageddon. It means the coming of karma. Isn't it just hilarious?

Oh that sounds like a lovely way of learning a language. It wouldn't even feel like learning since it's fun and for me that's the best kind of learning.  I learned new languages by exposure but it wasn't really on a holiday. More of I had to stay there so I had no choice but to learn the language.

I spent primary school in France and we weren't taught English. They might have taught it in higher grades though. I am not really sure as my old friends there are now fluent in English, so it might have been taught in higher grades. In my country (Philippines) English is taught early on.

I think it only seems easier because of exposure. I mean we are so exposed to the English language that one eventually picks things up without even trying. But with regards to spelling, there are languages that are much easier to learn. Languages like Indonesian and Filipino since the words are spelt the way they sound. No silent letters and unnecessary double letters.

I don't. Mainly because we have our own jargons and inside jokes. Plus we are also so comfortable with each other that we don't really worry about being proper. Of course, this only applies to my close friends and not to acquaintances.

Ah well, it's not really about the number for me... more of what interests me. I currently speak English and Filipino and a bit of French and Visayan. I still plan on learning Japanese and sign language. So that makes a total of 6 but I probably would like to add to that list eventually so I don't know how many I actually want to learn. 

For the current language I am learning (Visayan) I want to learn it for practical reasons. That's because I am currently in a region that speaks the dialect. I could speak Tagalog and English and I know I'll still be understood but it's nice to blend in you know? So that's my motivation.

Does anyone here know sign language? For those that do, was it hard to learn? Learning language is one of the things I have on my bucket list and I still haven't started until now. For those that don't know, are you also as interested as me?

Yes. I have been wanting to learn Japanese for a long long time. I guess one of the reasons I've put it off for so long is that I don't really have a practical use for it at this time. I mean, I still have Visayan to learn and I have to make that a priority since it is a language that I will be using. As for Japanese, I'm just really fascinated with the language.

Most of the time I do. Sometimes I am like you though. I've sometimes read a whole paragraph only to realize that I didn't retain a single thing. I guess the brain also goes on auto pilot while reading from time to time.  :confused:

Done! I see more than 600 likes already! Well done!  It's the only social media I've got so I can't follow you on twitter or google + ... Oh I forgot, I do have Pinterest but I don't really do anything with it...

This is what I think of it:  :sick:

Hahaha. But seriously, I understand that this is teenagers' ways of trying to be cutesy and flirty. I guess for them it doesn't sound annoying. I've done lots of cringe-worthy things as a teenager so I don't mind much and I think it's probably just a phase. What bothers me though is when adults use it. Definitely not age appropriate! Haha

Like the title of this thread says, do feel-good books make you feel good? I'm talking about the kind of books by Mitch Albom and John Green. The kind that's supposed to be heart wrenching and heart warming at the same time. Do you like those kind of books? Or do you think they are too cheesy? i personally think they are fine in moderation. I couldn't read two of those consecutively though.

Wow! Thanks for these suggestions, I'll have to look these up. A friend of mine also suggested Resilience but I forgot the author. When I tried searching for it, the results weren't what she had mentioned. Oh well, I'll just have to ask her again. Thanks again! 

I love books. I don't always have time to concentrate on reading things for leisure though. That's how I decided to try audio books so I could multitask. I didn't like it though and I haven't finished a single audio book yet. So for me, audio books is not an option anymore. What do you think about them?

Oh it is definitely possible! You can even learn without being actually in a country with that accent. I have a friend who is quite talented at copying accents just from shows he's seen. It is much easier though if you are constantly exposed to the accent.

Oh definitely! There are so many interesting languages out there. I've been trying to concentrate on Visayan and trying to relearn French but I often catch myself getting side tracked. There are times when I want to learn Japanese because of my love for anime and other times when my Chinese friends motivate me to try Chinese.

Ah, I used to be so shy to ask when I didn't completely understand something. I'd just assume things. That caused a lot of problems. I agree that it's better to really make sure that something has been understood whether you are the one talking or the listener.

I only hat words that are over used. And it's not even all over used words, just the ones that I feel are senseless. I feel the same way about some phrases. And acronyms. Like YOLO. I hate YOLO so much.

I've recently learned about Esperanto from this site? I found it fascinating. Especially considering it's a mix of several languages. I think that would be my pick if a universal language were possible. 

That is a great way of getting kids to learn language. Comic books also have pictures so even if they do not understand a whole sentence, they can at least get some context clues from the picture. And it doesn't have to be just something for children. For someone with a more advanced comprehension of English but still wants to learn more, I would recommend The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman.

I wonder what's there to like in 50 Shades of Grey. I tried reading the first book and couldn't even go beyond the second chapter. While I must admit the twilight saga isn't the best trilogy I've read, it's not so bad . . . for teenagers [whom it's written for].

Oh you make a good point. My first reply was that both are really bad but if you think about it the Twilight series wasn't really meant for adults. I could see myself as a teenager and liking that cheesiness. On the other hand, Harry Potter was meant for Kids and Hunger Games was also meant for teenagers and both those books were fine! So while it doesn't really follow that children's/young adult's books are automatically bad, I can still understand how a teenager could like something as boring and tedious to read as Twilight. As for Fifty Shades, I still don't get the hype.

In college, when I took up French, the teaching methods seemed very "dry" and boring to me. There was nothing creative or challenging about it. I was urged to just learn everything by heart and pass the exam, that's it. As a result of this soulless type of teaching, many students didn't pass their tests. I myself, had to look for other ways and means to keep myself interested and motivated in learning French by reading children's books and short stories for teenagers.

I agree that motivation to learn a language is affected greatly in part by how you are taught. Different methods work for different people and if a certain class only teaches one way then there are some students who are bound to not enjoy the class. You have a good method there by reading books. Even if it's children's books. They're much easier to follow and the pictures do help. I actually learned English by beginning with Dr.Seuss books!  :grin: