lushlala

When you're writing, you also have the luxury of going back and correcting mistakes. When we speak, once we've put it out there we can't take it back! Like Petrushka said, chances of making mistakes are higher when we're speaking as opposed to writing.

When I was at university, I temped at this vocational training centre as a part time lecturer. I worked for the Hotel Management department and dabbled in teaching Business English. It's different from plain old English obviously, a bit harder, but I just used some text books and did some research. It's definitely something I'd consider getting trained for as I have a solid foundation, with my degree in English.

There are probably people out there who believe paid for sites are the best through which to learn, but I personally don't think I'd pay as there are too many free learning resources online. I've made note of quite a few, which have been endorsed by a great many people. I'd certainly not get myself locked into an annual subscription, especially an expensive one.

I have no experience of learning a language through podcasts, but it certainly sounds like an interesting way to go. It's amazing what we can do with modern technology these days!

It'd be interesting to know how many people actually speak the language, if it's still very much alive and thriving or if it's at risk of dying out? I might ask my Filipino friends if they're familiar with it.

@kurdapia Indeed it's not a walk in the park, but we can certainly make it fun. I've always believed that as long as I'm not too hard on myself and I keep enjoying the learning process, I'll keep learning. I think sometimes we push ourselves too hard and end up losing interest because we feel we're not going at the rate we perceive to be right. **sigh** I too wish I could immerse myself in French and Italian language and culture, because I know for a fact I'd learn super fast.

I agree with kurdapia; in my humble opinion, being a native speaker stands you in good stead, but it doesn't necessarily make you a good teacher. It's not a dig, just making a point. But since your friend has taken you on fully knowing this, it's ok. I also think you're within your rights to charge a fee, as long as you're transparent about your skill level. You could go online and see what people charge and decide on your rate based on your situation. I'd urge you to find out what level your friend's at and maybe invest in a text book at that level. You could even find one free online. This should give you an indication as to what types of stuff to focus on. Your friend should also be able to contribute in determining what the focus of his lessons should be. I hope it works out for the both of you

I'm very big on immersion, because I feel that I learn better and much faster this way. I have never come across such towns designed for languages like French and Italian. I'd gladly welcome them, for sure

I totally agree, a teacher is a very important part of the learning process. If I could afford it, i'd pay for taught lessons because a teacher instils in you the proper way of speaking that language and keeps you in line in terms of the proper way to speak your chosen foreign language. I would not just go for any teacher, or simply go with a teacher just because they're a native speaker, because I'd be interested in learning the "proper" version of that language as opposed to a dialect. I've come across many situations where it's soon become very clear that dialects can seriously compromise your learning ability, and as such, I'd opt to introduce dialects right at the end when I'm more than capable of making informed decisions about what I take onboard or not.

I think this is a good idea, if only you can shrug off the fear and paranoia LOL I envy people who just seem fearless and will even laugh along other people when they make mistakes. It's true though, that native speakers are generally very impressed with however little effort a person puts into learning their language and often very helpful.

I'm far from being proficient in my two chosen languages. I did French for 5 years an was ok with it then, but as I've not practiced for ages, my French's very rusty. I went and lived in Italy and within 3 months of being there, I could speak passable Italian. I think it helped a great deal being among a lot Italians with very little to no knowledge of the English language. Again, I've now lost most of it I believe living among native speakers and immersing yourself in the culture and lifestyle can boost your learning process considerably and actually fast forward your learning process!

I also find that being an English speaker learning French and Italian, one of my weaknesses is in identifying and always remembering what gender nouns are. As we all know, this is common with Latin languages, and is not something that applies to the English language. I guess if i were taking regular lessons and spoke both languages frequently, it would become embedded in my brain, and probably become like second nature the longer I learnt them.

I've never really learnt a language this way, but from what I understand, it's a very effective way of learning a new language. I would say you're doing really well so far, so just continue with it because before long you'll probably understand 99% You could maybe progress to reading material like newspapers and magazines in the English language, and see how you get on.

That's horrible, and is likely to put some people off continuing with their learning! Luckily for me, I've never had it happen to me. I'm not even sure what I'd do if it did happen, I'd probably be so appalled I would just walk away. Not everyone will be like that, though.

Wow, that's a really interesting mix of languages, a bit like Pigeon Spanish. I'd never heard of it before.

I have to say that although I prefer to go the traditional route, I absolutely like being among the natives with who I'm able to socialise with on a regular basis. I don't think I could learn effectively if I did it solely via online resources.

The understanding of expressions are something that comes with acquiring better language skills. Basically, the better you become at your chosen language, the better accustomed to them you become. I would probably be more inclined to ask a native speaker for the meaning or clarification, because sometimes internet searches can be misleading. I would only start using the internet once I became confident in a language because then I'd know if something didn't make sense or sounded wrong.

This is so true! Even though nobody is likely to laugh, we feel self conscious about mispronouncing certain words, and getting the wrong meaning altogether. This can lead to very awkward situations LOL

I don't find that this applies to me at all. I lived in England for 13 years, and while over there I didn't have people from my country with whom to speak my language. But I spoke it when I called home and when I came home on holidays. I never felt like my own language was being compromised because of this at all. I guess it really depends on the individual, and actually if I dare say, I think some people have been known to conveniently 'forget' their language. Even those who were out of the country for just a few years. Maybe it's not happened to me because I grew up speaking both my language and English. IDK I just find the whole thing weird.

There's been research done to prove it's harder to learn a new language, the older you get. So If I were you, i wouldn't be so hard on myself. It'll be difficult, but certainly not impossible. Just persevere with it, I'm sure you'll slowly get there providing you're passionate and driven to learn it. I have a Polish friend and each time I hear her speaking her language on the phone, I can't help but think it sounds difficult. I wish you the best of luck

I take it you're taking a class with like minded people who are in also probably around the same level of proficiency as you? You'll find that they're in exactly the same boat as you. So all you can do is try to relax and have fun with it, practice all you can with them, compare notes and bounce ideas off each other. Learning a new language is never easy, but I reckon making it fun makes it easier.

My languages would be French and Italian. My main fear around learning those would be the fact that I won't be able to interact with any native speakers, because I doubt we have many Italian and French people here. When I'm learning a language, I like to have native speakers around me.

I'm not at all surprised by this because I have done it too. Many years ago, I went to Italy as an au pair. But part of the agreement with my host family was that I would also teach their young children English, while I learnt some Italian too. It worked out great

Honestly, I prefer the traditional offline style of learning. I like like human interaction and the face to face aspect. If money and time were not a problem, I'd definitely opt for this way of learning every time.