fitfattony

I agree with pronunciation most of all, I did have trouble writing especially as I am used to writing in English, but now I find its just remembering the different stress points with sentence structures. I have found practice with friends or using Rosetta stone the most helpful

Great article, Ive had a tendency to be a visual learner when I was younger, but Ive noticed as I get older I have a mix of visual and Kinesthetic to help with the learning process. This has served me well not only with learning a language, but also on the job training that I am doing regularly at work. We sat a lecture similar to this info graphic a few years ago, and it was a good eye opener, to not only improve they way I learn things, but it is a good way to understand why it takes longer to learn certain skills

Years ago I carried a book for each non English speaking country through Europe, it was more a travel guide but had common phrases and a small dictionary that I could refer to if I was in a real pinch. Most of the time I found that I could find someone with a knowledge of English or German to get by. Luckily the group I met up with or traveled with had a better grasp of the other languages, so we could get by in each country. If I hadn't had that support I probably would have considered a dictionary or a more in depth book. Nowadays I download at least one app on my phone and tablet of the country I'm traveling to, and will refer to it when needed

It must be part of my British heritage, but hearing English slang words make me laugh. Lately its Bollocks and Plonker which I will lose it when I hear them. Other things that make me laugh as mentioned before are different words for the same thing, elevator and lift, canteen and tuck shop, swimmers and togs etc

I voted French. Although I am moved by other accents speaking English, some include Irish and Norther English

I'm taking this on with Japanese and Russian at the moment. I am not intending on rushing this process as I believe staying consistent with the time I spend on each language is committed to each week, and I have kept myself motivated with many small rewards along the way. The final reward will come when I travel in a couple of years to Japan, and make my way over the course of 3-4 months to Russia. I did want to try and tackle a little conversational mandarin, which I have tried to learn previously, but I have settled on these two, especially as i have work colleagues who are fluent in one or both of these languages I can practice with. If i didn't have that support, I probably wouldn't be able to persist with learning 2 languages at once.

I remember when working as a travel agent finding there are businesses who have set up classes that incorporate activities like cooking with language, more focused on the cooking but I found those that attended the classes were helped to pick up the native chefs language during the class which was very hands on. I think mostly focused on Italian and French classes, I believe there were other classes similar to this (other languages, that is)

For me I prefer to immerse myself with the language Im learning, through programs such as Rosetta Stone and Michel Thomas, but also music online material like news websites, and sometimes forums in the language I am trying to learn. I have even gone as far as labeling household items with sticky notes of the English and other language version. I find it is very helpful to spend as much time as possible listening and practicing the language regularly, with native speakers or to yourself whenever possible

A brief message to say hello to you all and introduce myself, I am a native English speaker who enjoys not only learning about languages, but also culture and history. I am currently studying Russian, Japanese and continuing my studies of the German language also. I look forward to interacting with everyone and progressing my skills as well as helping others with the knowledge I have