jubvman

I pretty much only write information articles right now, so I don't have to bother with past/present tense. But as far as I'm aware, use past tense when you're writing about something that happened earlier (they went to the house, they did this..) and present tense when writing about something as it is happening (they are going to the house to do this..)

You can decide what tense your story is in, just try not to change it around mid-story.

You're right. Learned is used in American English and learnt is used in British English. For regular social interactions though it probably won't make much difference.

Writing has also been tough for me but this is something I just picked up easy. There are harder ones though such as affect/effect, still can't get my head around that!

In basic terms:

Their - That is their bike (their is used when something is owned; a bike, house, book, whatever)

There - I'm going over there later (there is used when referring to a location)

They're - They're travelling the world (they're is used in substitute of 'they are')

At the moment I only speak English and a little German. But there are many other languages I want to learn (French, Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic e.g.). There are a multitude of factors which impact someone's decision to learn a new language, some people just don't really need to learn.

I live in England and English is pretty much the only language spoke here. A lot of people don't even bother learning a second language.

I guess it's very possible. However I don't think this will happen any time soon. I think if we do see a new language it will be within a small community, a village or something.

Have never had anyone say this to me. Had no idea someone could even think that! English is one of the most important languages in the world!

I agree with you, most people only have a vague idea of accents but I think a lot of it comes down to them just not knowing and not being an experienced traveller.

For example, I'm British so I can tell these accents apart easy! If I went America I could tell apart certain accents such as New York, California, Texas etc. but nothing to specific.

Constant practice. Even just thinking in another language will help. But I think it's best if you have someone who knows that language to talk to.

Great idea getting your child involved in learning, especially languages! As others have said, the earlier the better, children pick up languages much easier than adults.

Aside from the subtitles suggestion, you can also listen to German songs and then google the translation. I noticed that the meaning sticks more to your memory because your keep playing the song and it remains in your head.

That's a great idea! Never even though about this. It's so easy to remember lyrics to a song so I think I'll try this out  :grin:

I think you should take a look at German! A lot of the words are similar and it's a pretty easy language to pick up for native English speakers. Duolingo is probably my favourite resource for learning it.

Yeah, I've done this. It's not that I get unmotivated, it's just that it's sometimes hard to find free time for something like learning languages. What makes it even more difficult is that it's something you need to practise everyday to get really good at, so having just one day off could make it difficult the next.

I think the best way is to diverse your learning. For example, I think you get the most benefit if you used different methods and utilized each one to the best of its ability. Say if you wanted to learn German, you could pick up the basics online then take a trip to Germany, use flash cards etc.

Hey natbynik, welcome the the forum!

I think it's great that you're teaching your son how to speak Latin at such a young age. I'm curious though, what made you choose Latin over other languages such as Spanish, French, German etc.?

As others have said, depends on what keyboard you're using. Although, I know on iPhone I can add a German keyboard. You can probably do something like that on windows with the on-screen keyboard.

I am learning German because I think it has good business opportunity. I also think it's a good first language to learn for native English because of the similarity.

Yeah I agree they seem similar. But I wouldn't learn them both at the same time. Could easily get confused!

Rosetta Stone is probably a great software, it's really popular and expensive so I don't see how it couldn't be great. But I think there are alternatives that are just as good, try Duolingo!

Yeah I know what you mean Denis, although everyone learns differently so what might work for some won't work for others. Seems like a good idea though.

I'd say it depends on the languages. For example, I think Spanish and French are pretty similar (haven't learnt them so I'm not sure, just a guess) so I wouldn't learn those two at the same time since you could easily mix up the words.

However, I don't see a problem with learning two different languages such as German & Arabic because they're completely different. No way you could get mixed up  :grin:

It's actually the opposite with me! I'm naturally introverted so I usually just keep to myself, enjoy my own company etc. but I definitely speak more in other languages. Don't quite know why.

Haven't been learning as much as I should recently but maybe I should.

I agree that you need to be a little more specific. However, if you mean resources I would definitely recommend Duolingo. One of my favourite platforms for learning German

Personally I don't see the point unless you're really involved in the community (Star Trek e.g.). For me, I learn languages mostly for business, I don't see any potential in that respect.

I think it's a great idea to have a forum specifically dedicated to Chinese, such a hard language that it deserves one. I'll make sure to sign up some time soon. See you guys around  :grin: