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@shadejb....Gosh, that's like my worst nightmare; "Can you repeat that?" I could die right there LOL -and the worst thing is when you repeat yourself, only to get the same reaction, and the once again LOL It's like, can you give me a break here and just pretend you understand hehe. No but seriously, I know it makes even me a little uncomfortable, but it's always nice to get some constructive criticism because then you know where you are going wrong, and maybe how to go about correcting that. -yes even if it does make you break out in a sweat!

Yes, you're right; Setswana is a much lesser spoken and known language compared to most. I'm glad you you like it when you learn of ways to say different things in my language Sadly, I don't think it's the most romantic languages out there, certainly not as romantic and sexy as Italian. We say 'ke go rata' to everyone, regardless of the typesof relationship, as long as we care for and love that person. There's no special way of putting it in a romantic setting I also agree with you on this discussion being fitting for this time of year, as it's about spreading a little bit of love during time of the year, a time for giving and receiving, but mainly giving I don't see it as being more suited to February, as it's about all types of love, not just of the romantic variety. At least that's how I personally understood it, and I really rather like it!

In Setswana, it's pretty basic in that we have the equivalents and no variations: No = Nnyaa Yes = Ee The only variations that come to mind are intonations, depending on how strongly we agree or disagree with what's being said. For instance, the pitch rises considerably when we agree or disagree strongly. So distinct is this that my husband picked on it although he doesn't speak fluent Setswana. He actually thought that that signifies the conversation becoming heated, like in a war of words, which isn't always the case LOL

I still maintain this does not apply to me at all LOL I don't want to take anything away from the findings of this extensive research, because clearly there must be something there. Could it perhaps be more in line with the personality traits of the test subjects? IDK it just strikes me as bizarre. I personally don't see any logic behind these claims at all, and I say this based on myself as a Setswana speaker (native language) and my English (second language). Granted I speak a lot more English than Setswana, and think more in English than Setswana. I've spoken English virtually all my life so I guess you could say I'm near native", as I've been told in the UK LOL But for the sake of argument, I can say hand on heart that I don't think any differently when I think in Setswana. The basis of my thought process and decision making is is borne more out of who I am, my principles and my personality traits as opposed to what language I think in. It just doesn't make sense to me at all that depending on which language you're thinking in, you would suddenly arrive at varying types of decisions and thought processes. If indeed it's does happen, as we've seen with these test subjects, I would also suggest to the researchers that they may also want to consider personality traits in the whole thing hehe.

@Mameha......I think this is a very good sentiment, let's spread a little Christmas cheer and love! In Botswana there's a universal phrase to express love, which cuts across the board, and does not distinguish between lovers, partners, family or friends. Basically we have just one way of saying I love you/I like you as below: "Ke a go rata" I think that's why some local guys will come right out and say I love you in English when they're trying to chat you up, freaking some girls out in the process. Some of these poor guys don't know what they've done to put the girls off.

Overall, I much, much prefer to hand write all my notes. I find it easier to compute the stuff I've written and re-written, even if there's not much added there. A quirk of mine is to also phonetically write out some of the words I struggle with in the way that makes sense to me, probably only me too. Even when I'm doing longer exercises, I still like to sketch it out before I do my final draft, which I then type out.. I suppose I'm old school in that sense. Everything seems to make better sense when I look at it written out in my hand writing. @Chris_A......you're not too far off when you say "I think in a few decades, kids won`t even know what handwriting was" because I recently saw a poll about hand writing and one of the questions was 'what's hand writing?" I was shocked to find that at that point 20 % of the people who'd answered the poll, chose that option! Crazy, but true.

Thanks for sharing @takibari....I found this article interesting reading! -and while I appreciate that there was extensive research concluding in this 'weird' theory', I'm still not convinced, to be honest. I still maintain that at the very core of my thought processes, is the essence of ME and all my quirks. I don't see how thinking in a foreign language would suddenly result in a 'personality transplant' of sorts, leading to altogether different and more rational decisions that I would otherwise not make, were I thinking in my native language. It just doesn't make any sense to me at all.

Oh yes same here @kurpadia....if my brain were accommodating, I wouldn't just stop at learning 1 or 2 languages, I'd take full advantage of this and learn as many languages as I possibly could, for sure. I have nothing but respect for those who have this ability. I'm also intrigued by the comparison you draw between simultaneously learning multiple languages and learning many subjects in school. IDK, but I don't think that's a fair analysis to make, especially if I apply it to myself. Obviously different languages have varying degrees of complexity, but they're still taught through the same medium of instruction, which goes some way to helping in the absorption and comprehension of each subject. Somehow, I don't think this compares to language learning, as it's not as simplistic as that. Some people, even some of the most intelligent of students don't have language learning skills at all. I'm not sure why that is, why some people can pick up foreign languages much more easily than others. I guess it just is LOL If it were that simplistic, I think we'd see a lot more students show an interest in languages.

Decisions, decisions and so many languages to choose from too LOL! Here's my list: Italian- Because I LOVE all things Italian. I actually believe I'm an 'honorary' Italian French- I have loved this language for what feels like FOREVER. Plus I have many French friends. Danish- I have Danish links and it'd be nice to impress my Danish relatives German- So I can brag that I speak German, because I have it in my head that it's extremely hard. Swahili- Because it sounds beautiful to me.

@AExAVF..... I like your attitude! -and well done on your progress in Japanese To me, you sound like a good learner and achiever in equal measure, yet your thirst for learning doesn't wane! I also believe that we can almost always find something to improve upon, rather rest on our laurels and think we know it all. I feel like people who go around believing they couldn't possibly learn any more than they already know can also come across as being cocky, whether by design or not, which is sad, really.

This sums up exactly the reason teaching is often described as being a calling. A teacher who's passionate about teaching and the outcomes they can potentially bring about through their teaching, will possess some if not all of the skills you've listed above and more. It's interesting how some people actually believe anybody can teach, but I don't think it's as simplistic as that. I mean, we've all had good and bad teachers, right LOL?

I lived briefly in Italy and I made the journey there because I'm in love with all things Italian. I'd gone many years before on a family holiday and never forgot our holiday in Rome. I wanted to go and experience the country as an adult, to pick up some of the language, enjoy the food and culture etc. In the few months I was there, I was able to learn quite a fair amount of Italian, enough that I could converse with non-english speaking Italians. Albeit in not so perfect Italian. ** Sigh** It's a long shot, but I do hope I get the chance to repeat the experience one day.

@anna3101....I agree with everything you've said. I can feel myself cringe inwardly if I have to keep doing the erhm, ahh, eh thing. That in itself gets me even more nervous. It just gets very awkward for all concerned. I also believe that we can never stop learning. The minute we decide we know it all and don't need to do any more learning, is the moment we all fall down. Even outside of language learning, I'm grateful to learn a few things every single day.

I like your modesty @agentzero....nothing is as off putting as OTT arrogance I guess the alphabet thing makes sense, because it's one of the building blocks of any language and in my opinion, it's one of those things that you just can't divorce from the language. I find laying the foundation by learning all the basics, including the alphabet, makes it easier to then build onto that when you go on to learn the 'more complex' aspects of the language.

Yes, you're right @Lingua Franca.....people in South Africa can understand us here in Botswana and vice versa, because they have their own of Tswana. Although I wouldn't go so far as to say I speak Sesotho, I can understand it and they too understand some Setswana. I guess this line of thought would also suggest that if I were able to learn say Dutch, I may find it easier to go on to learn German and Afrikaans. Hmmm I wonder which one out of those three would be considered the easiest?

Kudos to you, @agentzero It would indeed appear a lot of people seek comfort in writing as there's much less chance of a come back in terms of embarrassment, nerves, mispronunciation, fear of being laughed at, to name but a few. So in my book, you're part of the very lucky few who prefer speaking over writing, the exact opposite of what some of us go through. I so wish I was in your position LOL Maybe there's a correlation between preferring to speak the language and a high level of confidence/the lack of nerves?

I totally agree with you there, @czarina84! I don't think I could ever feel I know enough and stop learning because of that! I too find I'm still learning bits of my own language, and I've spoken it all my life too. I don't think there can ever be an end to the learning process, but maybe that's just me.

Aww I finally got to watch the video clip and I just felt sorry for the poor guy. Granted I didn't understand any of it LOL Part of me does wonder if maybe he was extremely nervous under all that pressure? But kudos to the man, to have put himself out there will have taken a lot of bottle! Chances are like you say, he is not technically fluent in all 58 languages, but more like he speaks them to varying degrees and is perhaps better even away from all the pressure

Hehe my eyes literally popped out of my head when I read that, I was beyond impressed! Some people really do embellish and over exaggerate how many languages they can 'speak' LOL It can be very embarrassing for both parties when the person who makes these wild claims is put to the test. A friend recently put on her LinkedIn profile that she speaks French, and when I commented that I wasn't aware of this, complimented her and spoke to her in my broken French, struggled to utter even a single word hehe! Another example that I recently witnessed that had me cringing was of Bradley Cooper claiming on the Graham Norton show that he spoke 'fluent' French, but then failing dismally to save face by at least muttering something, anything, when Graham asked him to say something in French. Oh man, I really felt for him. That's the very reason I'm always totally honest about my language skills, even sometimes opting to down play them.

Aww @Chris_A......thanks, mate that's ever kind of you to say that. I guess the names are unique and always make for a good topic of discussion in a social setting with people who aren't from Botswana. People always seem keen to know if there are meanings to them and when they find out that they do mean something, they're usually even more fascinated. Definitely a good ice-breaker LOL

Speaking of trends, I think with celebrities giving their children....shall we say, very interesting names, I also noticed this in different parts of the world too. Names like Channel/Chanel, Paris, Chantelle, Summer (although I always had a soft spot for this one!) started to grow in popularity a few years ago. But I'm glad to observe that those types of names seem to be on the wane now. There seems to be a general return to more traditional names like Joshua, Thomas, David etc

Although I've heard a lot of people say they've used this method with a great deal of success, I've never put it to the test myself. First off, i'm rubbish at learning lyrics, even English and Setswana ones. Somehow I find I always get carried away by the melody of the song and never get to listen to the actual words. However, I do recognise this could be a handy tool to employ! -especially because like you say @anna3101 , the internet now makes it a lot easier for us to Google the lyrics. I had this Italian friend who was big into British pop. She barely spoke English, but when a song she really liked would come on, you would never have guessed that she didn't understand a word of it LOL But she seemed to get the words right, for the most part! I do believe if she'd applied herself more, she could have learnt English in this fashion.

I totally agree, it's just horrible! My youngest sister writes like that ALL THE TIME and sometimes I wonder if she actually knows how to actual spell! I never moan too much about it, because I've always thought it's because I'm older and just being grumpy. But I honestly see this as a threat to good written skills, in the long term. When I go on Facebook, I notice that all the teens write this way and some of it looks like a totally foreign language! I worry that when these young people are put to the test in a formal setting, they'll fail outright.

I was reading an article on language learning earlier, when I stumbled across an interesting point! The article stated that many people initially succeed at quickly picking up foreign language skills, but then hit a plateau, settling into some sort of comfort zone that they then find very difficult to get out of. It suggested that some people seem happy to just be 'good enough' at their chosen foreign language, as opposed to striving to be the very best at it. This doesn't apply to me, but I'm curious to see if any of you have experienced this? -and if you did, how did you push yourself to continue past that stage, in order to get to a higher level in your language skills?

To what extent do you feel your teacher can influence how well you enjoy and succeed at learning a foreign language? What qualities do you look for that you'd say make someone a good teacher? Personally, I place a lot of importance on the quality of teaching I receive and the teacher as well. I like a teacher who's confident and knows what he's doing, an impartial and attentive teacher who divides his time across all students accordingly, someone who boosts your confidence and also not afraid to push you, among others. I once too some French lessons at this place where the teacher was native, but seemed rather distracted by one of the girls in my class. He obviously had a crush on her and would relentless flirt with her and concentrate most of his time and teaching on her, which left a very bitter taste in the mouths of the rest of the class. Needless to say, we never really learnt much, didn't enjoy the experience and I left after one term. I found his conduct very unprofessional to say the least.