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I recently had this same discussion with someone on a different forum. I was very surprised to hear him say he speaks near fluent English but struggles with writing. He says he never had any problems picking up the language or even confidence issues speaking it, but for some reason, he found it very hard to get his head around writing! So he decided to join the forum in order to practice. Certainly a problem I wouldn't mind having

Thank you! your words are so encouraging and giving me the support I need to help me take that first step. Thank you for your kind words and I'll try to set aside at least 30 minutes a day for this.

Wow, that's fantastic stuff, Eugene111 I'm actually feeling inadequate right now LOL. I mean, I don't claim to be fluent in anything but having just read about your "journey", i realise I need to up my game in my chosen languages. You spur me on, thanks for that. -and wish you the best of luck in achieving all you set out to achieve

I'd say it's dependent on the individual. I personally wouldn't be able to cope, but you might. I'd just get confused, and maybe even mix the two together. But if it's something that you think you can tackle, go for it. Young children have the capacity to learn more than one language at the same time, but as I understand it; that ability to retain knowledge diminishes as we get older.

sillylucy, I can understand you forgetting at 5; you were just a baby. These people are just being ridiculous, pretentious and shallow. I'm sorry, but there; I've said it. It's just not possible, unless they were all involved in some nasty accidents where they lost their memories LOL A bad case of amnesia hehe

For me, as a young girl growing up, I always just wanted to learn French. I'm not even sure where that interest and curiosity came from. I just remember seeing some French books in a local library and really wanting to read them. I think that's where it started, and that dream never died but sadly it wasn't till I went to uni that I was finally able to study French. I love Italian and wanted to learn it as I absolutely love all things Italian. I feel this inexplicable affinity to the country and its people. If I could I'd live there. I learnt some basics, as I was going over to au pair. When I got there, I found Italian was even easier for me to learn than French

Fantastic stuff! Thanks so much for sending me that link, I'll go have a look and see how I get on. Wow, we really do learn something everyday, so Filipino is not even your first language!? I know you started learning it in school from a young age, do you remember how hard or easy you found it?

Saholy, you're in a very good position if speaking is easier for you! I wish I were more like you. Personally, I'd want to master the spoken language first and foremost, and then progress onto everything else. You must just be a naturally confident person then?

Thank you and to ProNine too for getting it. I wasn't in any way suggesting that people change their accents beyond recognition, but rather that they TRY to pronounce words as they're meant to be because mispronunciation can often distort the meaning and cause confusion.

$10-12 per hour for a private lesson with a native speaker sounds reasonable. I wouldn't mind giving this a go, once I've sorted out my finances, when I have a guaranteed monthly income. Do they have professional teachers on there too? I bet if they do, they'll cost more. My only worry about learning from native speakers who aren't teachers is that you can learn some bad habits, whereas i'm interested in learning the "proper" language, not regional dialects as such I always worry for the students in countries where they prioritise the teachers being native speakers as opposed to trained teachers. In some cases all they need is to be a native speaker without any other qualifications! I'm not sure that's a very good idea, to be honest.

I keep hearing good things about iTalki! It's definitely something to bear in mind for future reference. I like that it's also free and that you can have Skype sessions with fellow learners. The wonder of modern technology, ei? Thanks for the recommendation and posting the link

I've never known my reading speed in any given language, although I do notice on my Kindle that it actually tells me. I just don't pay any attention to it LOL You sound to me like you're near fluent anyway, if not fluent; if you can even consider reading a whole newspaper in German. I wouldn't have a clue how many words you'd need to read the paper. You must have made really strides here, especially for a language I consider very hard to learn LOL Kudos to you

Thanks for posting the link! I don't even know where my nearest library is LOL But it's definitely worth giving a shot! I have to say, $20 a month is a bit steep for me, I'd have to wait till I have a regular and reliable monthly income to invest that amount. But it still works out cheaper than actual lessons, I guess

I think that's what most people experience, including me. Sometimes I wish I had the innocence of a child, they just say whatever comes to mind and don't care if it's right of wrong. I reckon that's why they tend to learn quicker and more effectively. They're not all that shy and self conscious LOL

I wouldn't say that makes you a weird at all. We all have different ways of learning as well as priorities. So you have to do what you feel most comfortable with, and that's probably the most effective way of learning, for you

I'd say just have fun with it, relax and enjoy it. The similarities mentioned are not glaringly obvious, but the English language "borrows" a lot from Latin languages, especially French. In fact, English is said to have Latin origins. If you can just relax, you'll realise that French is not very hard to learn All the best!

I find this very strange! I have an English uncle who's lived in Botswana for over 40 years, and he doesn't speak a word of Setswana! Yet my English husband has been in Botswana for about 18 months and can understand bits here and there, and even tries to speak the language. There's a double standard going on because often you'll hear Americans and Brits going on about how important it is for people to learn English if they want to live in their countries, but they don't seem to apply the same logic to themselves LOL I'm not pointing any fingers at anyone as such, just making a glaring observation, that's all

Exactly, petesede, for me this is the only way of looking at it; it's just rude! I mean, you don't even know these people, they're random people you've just seen! They may not want to be interrupted, you just don't know what they're doing there and why they're there. The last thing I'd want to do is to impose myself on them, and invade their space. It would just be a very strange thing to do, in my opinion.

Wow, that sounds fab! I'd definitely like to give it a go. Do you have a link that we can follow? I wonder why they called it Mango, why the reference to mango?

Hehe I know it's easy to laugh at people getting things wrong, but you're right; it's better to speak a little than nothing at all. All the best learning Spanish. I've heard a new language is best learnt through a significant other

I actually think taking a little break can be beneficial, because when you pick it up again you don't feel like you're useless LOL It kind of gives you a little boost as you keep remembering things you learnt before. The brain is a very powerful instrument!

Exactly! i think some people may have an identity crisis, and see being unable to speak their language as something to be proud of. It just comes across as affected, misguided and pretentious, especially if the very language they claim to be the only one they can speak, is not so polished. Maybe they're just dumb LOL

I'm of the same opinion as you! I totally forgot to mention that I also have some cousins who are Botswana/British, who never forgot our native language. These are people who come from a predominantly English speaking family, and grew up all over the place (not in Botswana), and they all live in the UK. They haven't forgotten their native language. It may not be polished, but they never claim to have forgotten it. If anything, when they're here visiting, they're always eager to show off they still know how to speak it. It's very interesting LOL

I'm glad you let her make the decision. Like you say, if she isn't really that interested in learning a language, she's not going to be motivated. because you live in a multi-lingual area, you might find that over time she'll pick up some of the languages anyway. That could trigger more of an interest later on

It is exactly for that reason that people have to make an effort. I have my accent that's unique to my country, I'm never going to get rid of it, and I have no intention of doing so. But I've seen it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears where a fellow countryman is talking to a native English speaker and if words aren't pronounced how they should be, it can distort the meaning and cause confusion. Examples: some people don't distinguish between burger/beggar sleep/slip bird/bed