meli

Puns are a play on words that are often funny. Words are used figuratively, are often homonyms (sound the same), but they may have different meanings. I think they are good indicators of what is considered humorous in a language, a trait which makes all languages different from one another. Here's a pun: Question: Why was six scared? Answer: Because seven eight nine. In this case, the word 'eight' (8) sounds the same as the word 'ate' (past tense of eat) which is why the number six was supposedly scared! :grin:

English appears to be easier on the surface because it doesn't have as many grammatical structures as other languages, such as French or Greek. However to the non-native English speaker, it is exactly this absence of grammatical structures that makes learning English so difficult. Grammar imparts familiarity to speakers by allowing them to comprehend the reason behind the structure of a sentence, or why a certain word is used over another, such as in the case of adjective use when describing a noun in Greek, in which the adjective must comply with the sex and number of that noun. Once this rule is learnt, it can be applied more widely to other aspects of that language. In contrast, English learners don't always have at their disposal similar points of reference and must simply know that some words are used in some instances and other words in other instances. Rules are sometimes difficult to remember but once they are learnt they impart familiarity and understanding.

Hola, bonjour, ke kalimera to everyone! How nice to have this opportunity to strike up a 'conversation' with other like-minded people, all the way from ...Australasia! All those years ago when I learnt to speak a little Spanish, French, and lots of Greek, I neither considered nor fully appreciated how lucky I would one day feel to be part of an international community that values language as much as I do. I learnt most of what I know through school, at a time when learning a new language was not only encouraged but imperative, since I attended an international school in Europe. The opportunity resulted in helping me to discover that I was a natural, so I thrived and did quite well. It would be wonderful to now use this platform to unearth some language treasures. I generally believe that all knowledge accumulated through the heart never really gets lost; it merely gets covered by temporary layers of dust that solidify as time passes. I'm sure the dust will begin to disperse once I start to use the occasional word! I am here if anyone else is interested in squeezing in some practice.

Some of the strategies mentioned here are very good. For example a few people mentioned the TV which is brilliant not only for how to use words, but also for hearing things like intonation, pronunciation, phonology, syntax etc. I find that having the TV on in the background in the language I am trying to learn is very helpful since much of our learning happens on a subconscious level anyway. Merely having the language spoken in the background while you're doing other activities can also help to boost memory retention of particular words, for example. But in terms of actual practice, I agree that repetitively singing along to songs is a very practical way to gain true understanding of how to use a particular expression which eventually just sinks in. I would suggest however that you choose songs that you like and that evoke the right feelings in your heart since the feeling itself becomes a good driver for wanting to hear the song in the first place! Yeiks, I hope others out there can relate to that and that I am not weird??

Being able to speak another language is fantastic and how lucky are we to live in such an international world where we can be open to so many languages and cultures! Judging from this forum, most people are happy to use online resources to learn a new language on their own. Apart from face-to-face and in-class courses there are plenty of reasonably-priced teaching materials both in the marketplace and online that can make such learning both cost-efficient and uncomplicated. But regardless of how easy and relatively cheap these self-teaching methods are, nothing can replace the human contact and experience that comes from actually making eye contact with a teacher or a native speaker. I think that learning a language is about so much more than just the grammar and morphology. It's also about the nuances communicated by gestures and expressions, by smiles and frowns that sometimes just creep into the speech of human language. I think we should aim to minimise being part of a cold and sterile environment such as the one offered by today's technology, which insists on keeping us separated and filtered through a screen, by choosing the more personable approach of human contact. What does everyone else think?