Jrh2

I agree with this. I find whilst trying to learn french that if I stop for a while or don't have time to practise I have begun to forget things already and then have to relearn somethings taking up more time learning old things rather than moving on to new things.

I like how Britain has so many different accents across the regions but I think so many people that aren't from England think we all sound posh or like the queen and we don't. I like the Manchester accent and Irish but I don't like Wales or Scotland's as I find them annoying and I can't understand them half the time. I think we have many great accents in the UK though.

I had always enjoyed learning French at school and so I wanted to continue learning the language but I never really did until I got a new job and one of the parents who came in who is french talked to her child in french each day and as I didn't understand it all I started learning the language with Duolingo in hopes of understanding what they are saying to each other. I suppose it was just out of nosiness really!

When I was in primary school the languages we learnt was french and instead of full sentences or phrases we just learnt words. Most schools here start with hello and goodbye, my names is ..., numbers up to ten and colours. It wasn't until I went to secondary school that we started to learn proper words or phrases.

I use Duolingo to learn French and I think it is fantastic. I like how it is like a game and if you lose lives you have to start again as it will then keep asking you the words or phrases that you are not so good on which Is great for learning. It is brilliant that it is free as well. I have tried to learn languages other ways but Duolingo has always been the best for me, I would definitely recommend it.

I don't think people could guess where I come from with my accent, most people that don't live on the island don't even know where I am from when I tell them. I live in Guernsey, I don't think we have much of an accent but we probably do.

I think it is best to learn only one language at a time, learning two sounds confusing. Especially if the languages are similar, maybe learn the second when you have learnt a decent amount of the other one, not necessarily fluent, but if you learn a second language too early would it not make it even harder.

I think it would be a lot easier to learn a language if you are surrounded by the language as it will be easier to pick up if everyone is using it. Trying to learn french whilst in the UK is a lot harder than if I was in France as wherever I go the people and writing are all in English so I have to find time to practise french rather than just hearing it whilst doing other things as it would be in France. 

I think it would be useful to learn different languages and is nice to try and use them whilst away rather than speaking to the people in English which probably isn't there first language. It's sad that most people speak English now even in foreign countries as it means people don't have to bother about learning new languages which is a shame as I think it is nice to try and speak to people in there own language rather than having them learn our language of English without us making any effort to learn the other language.

As I have always spoken English I think it is the easiest language but I do think it is easier for non English speakers as so many places have English speakers. I am always surprised when I go away to somewhere English isn't a first language and they all speak English so fluently. If you are not English though any language will be hard to learn as it is not your first language.

I think the website and app Duolingo is the best way to learn a language for me. I have tried reading books or using old video tapes I have found lying around the house but I think the thing that makes Duolingo better than most methods is how it is personalised and will recognise weaker words until you have learnt them better. It allows you to go at your own pace and only when you are ready can you move on to the next level.

I always thought that one was an English spelling and the other American with check being the American and cheque being the English. I always write it cheque and I am from the UK so I guess it is correct here as I see it spelt that way most often.

My favourite quote from a film is the quote "never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game" which was in a Cinderella story.

I think there are quite a few English words that are confusing, I know how to spell them but I have to think about it to work out the right way. I can never work out how to spell calendar as I get confused where the e and a goes, recommend I can never remember whether its two c or m's. Words like banana or Mississippi take a bit of thought as the repetitiveness of the ends means you have to think if you have put the right amount of the letters in to make sense when reading.

I always text with mostly full words as I often forget I can shorten them. Sometimes I use text speak as it is shorter and it sometimes means I can get a message in one text rather than two and save money of two texts. It doesn't bother me when people use text speak but sometimes it is annoying if you can't work out what they are trying to say and then end up texting them again just to ask them.

I never write things down on my hand. I would rather get a piece of paper or use my phone as it is so much easier and writing things on your hands doesn't look very nice nor is it clean. If people make the effort to find a pen for writing on their hands why can't they find a piece of paper at the same time, they are usually nearby each other as pens are meant for paper.

I think it is possible to learn an accent but it is not easy. I think the only way to learn an accent effectively is to live with the accent all around you and after a while you should start to pick it up without realising it. If you do not live surrounded by the accent I think it would take a lot of listening to the accent and determination to try and get it right. It is always harder with different accents and languages when there is no one to practice with around you.

I think speaking I the hardest thing about a new language. Reading is easy as I learn by reading the new words so I have known them by how they are spelt, writing is reasonably easy as like previously, I have learnt them by reading the new words so find it easy to imagine in my head and write down. Speaking is the hardest as it is hard to get the words to sound right when you don't have the accent which it is spoken in. I have tried to say something to a French child once in french, as did the other two people with me, and the child didn't understand anything the three of us said but when we asked her to translate it from English she said the same as us but with the accent. I think speaking it correctly will take plenty of practice.

I only know one person who speaks fluently in two languages. Thirteen languages is very impressive, I have always thought it is clever how if you speak more than one language that you don't get confused with the words and say the words in the wrong language. Most of the people I know can only speak in English other than a few random words of another language.

I can currently only speak English fluently and I am learning french. I would be happy if I could just speak fluently in those two languages but I think learning languages is a good skill to have so maybe in the future I will want to learn another language. For now I think I need to master the french language which is the only language I am currently planning on learning. If it goes well I am sure I will try another language in the future.

I think countries have become more English friendly. I remember when we went on holiday to Cyprus years ago, we tried to learn some phrases in their language to help us along and when we got there were surprised that the majority of people were fluent in English. I think it is due to the amount of English who go on holiday to non English countries but I also think we can be a little lazy in learning other languages for holidays. Whenever English people go away they just expect to be understood a lot of the time because we are so used to being spoken to in our own language. I think if we are in a non English speaking country they shouldn't have to speak to us in another language as it is there home but equally I think if you are in the UK you shouldn't speak to people in other languages in public either. This can feel rude and like they are talking about you as most people have no idea what they are saying (this is probably why they do it though!)

I like to use the Duolingo app for learning french. I think it is a great app as it is free to use and fun to take part in. It is set out like a game and there are levels to complete but you only have three lives unless you use the points you earn to buy more hearts. Each level teaches you new words in a topic which is always useful but unlike other apps or sites I have seen it teaches you grammar and making sentences as you go along. I find it harder to put sentences together so making sentences gradually throughout the app is a great help. You can set daily goals to keep up with learning your new language and it keeps reord in a graph of how many points you earned each day. I would give the app ten out of ten as it is fun to use, a helpful way of learning a language and best of all, free.

I rarely use a dictionary to define a word. I used to if I wasn't sure of a word but now I usually check online as it is quicker and easier than using a book form dictionary. I think dictionaries are important to know how to use but with all the technology these days I would be surprised if people continued to use them as often when the Internet is at your fingertips with enough information to answer almost anything.

I like the sound of the Irish accent best, I don't know what it is about the accent but it just sounds great to listen to. I think most of the British accents are not bad sounding but I am not keen on the welsh accent as I find it can be a little irritating.

I never use lol when writing to my friends. My friends will often use this when texting me and I find it can be quite irritating as she uses it when she doesn't want to give a proper reply. If it is used in addition to a proper answer I don't see a problem with it but I probably would never use it with my friends.