Muthoni

I have not heard about this before, I came from a tribe that struggles pronouncing letters with L or R. We all have a similar way of pronouncing most words. Now I know that the shape of my mouth may be making it difficult for me to pronounce some words in the foreign language I desire to master.

I checked your thread because I wanted to know what was on offer with the Swahili language. I come from a country where Swahili is our national language. It is a beautiful language to know and I am happy that you are willing to teach it. it’s an interesting language isn’t it?

I do not remember where I read the quote but it says, “Do not be afraid to fall as many times as possible as long as you get up every time” This quote opened my eyes to know that we must keep moving forward even when we fail. There is no shame in failing as long as we keep trying.

I read a book by a local author titled “Excuse me, Your Dream is Calling You”. I will never forget this book because it gave me the courage to follow my dream of writing. He gave examples of people who went through great pain for their dream to come true. This book changed my life.

When I was so much younger, I was afraid to ask about so many things. Today I ask anything from anyone if it captures my attention. Sometime back I asked two girls what language they were speaking. They were from Sweden.

I agree that learning a new language takes a lot of commitment. One must keep at it until they are able to master it. There is no greater achievement that being able to talk to a native in their own language.

I would like to know at least three foreign languages. Children are at an advantage because they are able to learn new languages more easily than adults. I think we all have different abilities to master languages and one should do their best to learn as many as possible.

I prefer a real life teacher as well because I have to be very attentive during a lesson. I can also ask the teacher questions that will help me learn the language much faster. Besides, there is a personal touch that only a real teacher can provide.

This is very impressive, actually the one language that I hope to master is French. I find it very romantic. I should set a time frame when I should get it done. I wish you all the very best getting through every listing on your bucket list.

No you are not weird, I get the same feeling. When writing, I use Microsoft word which corrects my grammar and spelling. When I misspell a word, I have a gut feeling that it is wrong even before it is highlighted. It is a wonderful feeling to write a page and not make a spelling mistake. Furthermore what surprise me is that there are some common words that I keep misspelling.

There are so many words in the English language that a debate will always come up on the most appropriate word to use in a certain situation. I work as a freelance writer; therefore I get various instructions on the kind of English required. Before I got into this business, I thought that there was only one English language. That said the beauty of the English language is that it keeps evolving. Perhaps or maybe mean the same thing to me; I stand open to be corrected if necessary.

That is amazing, basically I dream in English or my native language. Many years back, my English teacher taught us to think in English. He must be a very good teacher because today I think in English and translate it into my mother tongue when needed. It must be so amazing to dream in an exotic language. I hope that I get there someday, congrats on being able to do that!

I have tried to learn French on three separate occasions. We had a new teacher and I started understanding the language. Unfortunately he left and I am just left with a few phrases. My seven year old niece on the other hand can speak fluently in French after only a few lessons. I think that one has to have a great passion to be able to learn a language easily. The more we keep at it, the better we get with time. How long it takes to learn a new language depends on someone.

I do not know how to tell where accent is from unless I ask. Some time back some two young ladies came to visit in a children home where I volunteer on the weekends. One was from the US and the other one from the UK. They both had very interesting accents, I liked how they talked. There is another wonderful Swedish lady married to a local, she volunteers at the home Monday to Friday. She talks so softly that I was amazed when she told me that English was her second language.

I learn English when I was a child; therefore it was not difficult for me. I still have slight problems once in a while with grammar and spelling. Thanks for Microsoft word that brings that to my attention! I had a great English teacher who taught me how to think in English first before translating into any other language. My parents are both retired teachers who insisted that we spoke in English when we were home. There is still a lot of room for improvement every day.

Sometimes I imagine how great it would be if one got stranded in a foreign region and they find out that they can talk in the native language. My theory is that it does not hurt to know as many languages as humanly possible. I even find it romantic because one can be able to fall in love and communicate in the native language of their heart throb. There are so many advantages that can be gained by learning a new language.

Right now, I am listening to Indian music. I stumbled upon the radio station and the music is so relaxing even though I do not understand a single word. Yes I have been able to learn a few words from music some time back. I have discovered that I need to be taught a language by a tutor for me to understand it. That said listening to the music helps a lot to appreciate a certain language.

I have a problem with R and L due to my origin. If two of the letters are found in the same sentence, then I make a wrong pronunciation. I am so conscious of it that if I make that mistake, I laugh at myself. I guess it breaks the ice. I lived in a hostel for a few months where a certain girl would correct any word that I said in English. I must admit that I stopped speaking English in her presence.

I have always thought that the French language was very romantic. I enjoy watching soap operas that have been translated into the English language on TV. Once in a while, they play the music in the native language and I find it very romantic. Language is so beautiful that you do not need to know the words so that you can enjoy it. I am listening to Indian music as I write this; I do not understand a single word yet it is heavenly.

Romeo and Juliet was included in my English literature class. We studied the book and I must admit that I feel in love with it. We also watched a play on the same and I remember crying silently when Romeo and Juliet actually died. I felt so cheated that these two beautiful people were not given a chance to live their love. My favorite quote in the book is “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”.

I left my full time job to write for a living because it has always been my passion. I must agree that one gets better with experience. I read some of the articles that I wrote may years back and I cringe at all the errors. Writing is not for the fainthearted who are not able to withstand criticisms. It is hard work that pays handsomely over time. Being taught to perfect the art of writing gets my vote.

I would recommend starting with a small book that you can finish easily. Make sure that the book selected is something that is of interest to you. I personally enjoy reading fiction or short stories. These can whet your appetite to keep reading. Make time to read when there are no distractions and soon enough it will become a routine.

I will never forget reading the story of Oliver Twist when I was a child. I would cry when he got hurt. I did not put the book down until I finished reading the book. I was so happy when Oliver Twist was given a good home by a good person. Books have a lot of power to influence anyone who reads them. It happens more so when we are kids; these stories help shape us to be better persons I believe.

Honestly speaking, I enjoy leafing through a real book. I have tried listening to an audio book and like you I must admit that I did not finish listening to it. Once every Saturday, I visit our local library when I select a book and sit back and enjoy reading it immensely. Two weeks ago, I stumbled upon a book at the library written by an author from Uganda. The title of the book was the Official Wife. It was painful for me to put it down when I had to leave. I will choose a real book over an audio any day of the week.

I agree with you because I am a woman and I had an issue with the English language a few years back. I stayed in a hostel where I was sharing a big room with nine girls. One girl would correct me every time I said something in English. I stayed in the hostel for six months and I stopped speaking in English while I was in the room. Now that I am away from her, I speak in impeccable English as noted by a few people.