xTinx

What's special about my language is that it has a neutral accent. Most languages come with an accent but my native tongue surprisingly does not. There are more accentuated versions of it but you only encounter them in rural areas, where people talk as if they're singing or reciting a poem. Here in the city, people just speak it plainly, in a no-nonsense way. I am from Central Philippines and though the national language is Filipino (in other words Tagalog), my native tongue is Cebuano. Unbeknown to many, it is a language on its own.

My method isn't really absurd but the repetition can be absurd. For instance, whenever I encounter a new foreign phrase or expression and am able to grasp what it means, I play it over and over in my head - even mimicking the manner in which it was said. After constant mental repetition, every time I'm in a situation where there's a need to speak that particular foreign phrase or expression, it just comes out of my mouth loud and clear. 

A little of both would be good. However, I do think online resources would be effective only if the person already has a good grasp of the basics. Before trying to learn online, start by learning offline first. And by offline I mean a classroom setting with fellow students and a well-versed teacher. Once you get the hang of the basics, you can go for offline learning. It facilitates the learning process.

Well my cousin first learned English through DVDs - not really through the Internet since she didn't even know how to navigate browsers when she was a toddler. Children are very receptive to animated shows so I think it's a good start.

... great memories of youthful frivolities which I presume will continue to stay with me until whenever.

Repetitive listening helps but you have to be sincerely interested in what you're listening to. Otherwise, your attention span would crash long before you get to the salient parts. It's advisable to have an appetite for sincere learning. You'll easily pick up ideas and insights. If there are words you have difficulty understanding, look them up online or have a dictionary on hand.

It's really hard to say. Personally, I find the language much easier to learn because I've been learning it since kindergarten. I basically grew up speaking the language (but mostly in school). However, there are those who start learning English in their teens or 20s. If you factor in their native tongue and level of linguistic comprehension, then obviously their learning pace would differ greatly from those who've learned the language since childhood.

Since there are too many of them, let me just share a few that have made a great impression on me:

1. Road to Perdition - One underrated Tom Hanks movie. It has the same feel as the Green Mile (another one of my all-time favorites) but didn't gain as much fanfare. What I love about this movie is that it gave me the realization that just because you're a criminal, that doesn't mean you don't know how to love. The human heart is so double-edged and ambivalent.
2. Green Mile - I'm not a huge fan of Tom Hanks but I respect and admire him so much as an actor. He was sensational in Green Mile. The story itself is capable of shredding your heart into pieces. If you read the book, you'd know why.
3. Grand Budapest Hotel - This arthouse film basically has everything I'm looking for: witty dialogues, intelligent multilayered plot, interesting characters, creative backdrop and great pacing. The directors, producers and actors have all outdone themselves.
4. Ever After - Who doesn't want a good fairytale romance every now and then? I was in high school when I first saw this movie. Fast forward to more than a decade later, I'm still in love with it. Yeah, the love story may seem old school but my ideals have remained intact despite the changing times. 21st century thinking could do nothing to stop me from being a fatuous fool for old school romance.

My favorite idiomatic expressions would have to be the following:

• "Come hell or high water" - I like this expression because it sounds so avant-garde. 
• "Through thick and thin" - This is the same as saying "for better or for worse," which means you'd be there for someone no matter what happens.
• "Every cloud has a silver lining" - A very hopeful, profound and poetic expression you'd want to use on a whim.

I doubt that's the case. There are rare instances where people in a coma suddenly woke up able to speak a particular foreign language fluently. No one exactly knows how such a phenomenon happens but that's one of the mysteries of the brain. This story may interest you: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/croatia/7583971/Croatian-teenager-wakes-from-coma-speaking-fluent-German.html.

I am not talking about the writing aspect. Speaking Japanese is easier than writing it. In fact, if you constantly watch Japanese dramas, movies and animation, you'll get the hang of the language structure, intonation, culture and the like. It takes more than those I've mentioned to truly master the language, though.

That is true to some extent. This industrial age has digitalized pretty much everything. They say it's for convenience' sake, but there's something about reading paperback novels (and I can't explain it) that most digital copies lack. It's not just the feel. It's the spirit of reading.

To each his/her own. I wouldn't begrudge anyone who pursues such a degree. If it floats their boat, then why not? In fact, back in high school, AB English was my first choice. However, my mom told me I could still read and write literature for as long as I like even if I take on another course. I heeded her advice and went for my second preferred degree: Political Science. No regrets thus far. It only reinforced my love for books and writing stories.

There were cases when people suddenly started speaking in a different tongue after dreaming they spoke it. That's how some polygots realized they've got a linguistic gift. Perhaps a part of the brain is suddenly keen on learning a language. You should take advantage of this opportunity and try to learn the language you dreamed about.

I have a cousin who's unable to speak in her native tongue because the parents allowed her to just speak English while growing up. No one really taught her the basics of English but constant exposure to shows like Barney and Friends, Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues encouraged her to speak nothing but English. She understands a bit of the local language but she cannot speak it straight. I think you need to communicate with your child in the two languages she's supposed to learn: a foreign one she's comfortable speaking and the native language of course.

Spanish and Japanese are highly recommended languages for easy learning. French is a good language and you can learn it if you want but I don't think it's the easiest by far. Speaking it is even worse. The thing with Spanish and Japanese is that what you read is what you pronounce. Structurally, they're also easy to learn.

It's a good approach but it will only work if you have prior knowledge of the language. Meaning, you already know how sentences are supposed to be structured, subject-verb agreement and other such principles. In addition to reading book-by-book, I think writing down thoughts and ideas in the language you're trying to learn helps a lot.

I think one way to stay motivated is to continue to immerse yourself into the culture through which the language you're trying to learn from originated. I mean, someone mentioned about learning Nihongo. I am likewise inclined to learn that language. Although I don't have much time at my disposal, the willingness and drive to learn are still there. By constantly watching Japanese animations, live action dramas and movies, I continue to be interested in the language. What I need now is to really allot enough time for formal learning.

There are too many to mention, actually. But I'll share to you two of my all-time favorites:

There will come a time when all of us are dead. All of us. There will come a time when there are no human beings remaining to remember that anyone ever existed or that our species ever did anything. There will be no one left to remember Aristotle or Cleopatra, let alone you. Everything that we did and built and wrote and thought and discovered will be forgotten and all of this will have been for naught. Maybe that time is coming soon and maybe it is millions of years away, but even if we survive the collapse of our sun, we will not survive forever. There was time before organisms experienced consciousness, and there will be time after. And if the inevitability of human oblivion worries you, I encourage you to ignore it. God knows that’s what everyone else does.
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”
― Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Read the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the entire Harry Potter series for a start. Yeah, the latter recommendation might sound childish but it's actually worth your while. J.K. Rowling has got to be one of the greatest wits of this century. So many lessons you can glean from those books since they promote hope. At your age, I wouldn't recommend Haruki Murakami, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende and other magical realists. You might find them psychologically disturbing. If you like a good adventure, then maybe Dan Brown's Angels and Demons or The Da Vinci Code.

Do, does and did are verbs which can also be used as auxiliary verbs: do is for present plural (e.g. we, they) and present singular first person (e.g. I), does is for present singular second person (e.g. he, she, it) and did covers all past tenses.

History hasn't provided much details but I guess that's just how the rules go. When used as auxiliary verbs, they all have to be paired with a present verb.

Graphic novels are definitely worth reading provided they have the following qualities:

• A good plot
• Interesting characters
• Contain lessons and good values
• Great pacing
• Not geared towards fan service (I've seen lots of graphic novels drop in quality because of this.)

The more bizarre, the better for me. I like out-of-this-world settings because they ignite my senses. So yeah, dystopian plots and alternative universes are greatly appealing. You enjoy them better when there are graphics to back up the storyline. 

I was able to read Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre back in my teens. I felt a sense of accomplishment having read those classical works at an early age. Not everyone has the patience or interest to read them through to the end. I was also able to read Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth and Herman Hesse' Siddhartha since they were required readings and my teacher wanted us to submit a book critique for each. There were a few Shakespearean plays thrown into the mix (Hamlet, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra and the heavier selections not included) but my favorite, I have to say, was and will always be Twelfth Night. It's the first Shakespearean play that featured gender-bending and a funny love square.

Electronic books and graphic novels make the cut for me. Although if paperback versions are available, I'd prefer them over electronic copies. I do read a lot of graphic novels since I'm into Japanese and Korean mangas with bizarre plots. It wouldn't make sense to read graphic novels with crappy storylines no matter how artistic or colorful the drawing are. It's the story that matters, anyway. What I like about paperback novels is that you get a better feel of the story with each turning of the page. You don't have to mind your utility bills too because they don't run out of battery. Audio books, on one hand, will only make me fall asleep. I'd rather avoid them if I could help it.

I have a number of favorite book characters from the classics - Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice), Jane Eyre (Jane Eyre), Pip (Great Expectations), Sebastian (Twelfth Night) and Aragorn (LOTR trilogy) to name a few - to historical romance (mostly Victoria Holt's heroines) to contemporary fantasy novels (maybe Ron from Harry Potter and Hazel from TFIOS). I don't really choose characters but in the course of reading books, I encounter characters that share my views or convictions. Without actually meaning to, I end up liking them.