CountRockHyde

I get very shy when I am speaking a foreign language even if I know I am speaking correctly. I am not sure why. Granted, I get shy pretty easily speaking to strangers in English too, so it may be more due to talking to strangers, than the foreign language itself for me.

I do know of one English word with which I have trouble pronouncing, but there may be more. I have found that as I age my grammar and pronunciation has gotten noticeably worse. The word I have trouble pronouncing is "rural". I always have to slow down to say it and usually end up saying it more than once to make it sound right to my ears.

I am a pretty shy person anyway, but it seems like my shyness quadruples when I am attempting to speak in a foreign language. My experience has been with Spanish. I studied Spanish for 7 years and I am pretty good at grammar and reading, but if I have to speak my brain shuts down. I have traveled to Costa Rica and was unable to use it at all because I felt so uncomfortable. Does anyone else have this problem?

I think it depends a lot on the individual. I have a friend who was part of the Spanish Emersion program in which half of classes were taught in Spanish starting in Kindergarten or first grade. Starting early had no effect on her ability to be fluent in the language, but I don't believe it would be so for every individual. I think it would depend on a number of factors like learning style and whether the language is spoken at home.

Even with English vocabulary words, I hand write the words and definitions. It really helps it stick in my head. Sometimes I will even write them more than once. You might try a few things to see what works best for you.

I am simultaneously learning Korean and Japanese, but in a very relaxed manner. I do hear both languages in music and dramas almost every day and can distinguish the two by sound. Learning them together works pretty well for me, though I have more exposure to Korean than Japanese in music and dramas. It's nice when I have a song that has a Korean and Japanese version.

I can recall being about 10 years old and discussing with my best friend at the time about learning Spanish and how we would start taking classes as soon as they were offered. I did start Spanish when I was about 11 or 12 or so and kept it up until I was a freshman in college. I can still read it pretty well, but I have never been good at speaking it.

I would say Chinese because there are like thousands of variations and I find it a little hard to get my mouth to make some of those sounds. I like the sound of it though. I listen to music and watch dramas in Chinese, so I know a few words.

I am interested in Japanese and Korean too. Do you have a special reason to learn these two in particular? I am passionate about Asian dramas and music, so I thought it would be helpful to at least know some of these two languages to enhance my experience. Good Luck!

Does anyone know of any Korean language learning apps? I have had a few on my phone in the past, but I never really used them for various reasons. It seems Duolingo is good, but they don't have Korean. Boo.

I am studying Korean and Japanese because I watch a lot of dramas and listen to a lot of music in those two languages. I think it will enhance my experience to at least know some Korean and Japanese since I am fairly deeply involved with those languages. I also find them to be very musical and pleasant to the ear, unlike English for me.

I could use Japanese and Korean, maybe even Taiwanese. I have had apps for Korean before, but I never really used them. I want to learn and have fun too.