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On 15 May 2014 11:42:54, Lasonax said:

I couldn't find a thread like this, even though there was one somewhat simlar ("When is the first sign of you nailing the language you are studying?" or something like that) so... Yeah.

 

 

At what point in your studying do you think that you're good enough to stop studying it? I mean, we can always get better, even if it's our native language we can never know everything, so theoretically we could keep studying in languages forever.

 

How about you? Will you continue book-studying "forever" to learn about new and extremely uncommon grammatical rules and words, or will you just drop all learning books after you've reached a certain point of fluency?

 

Personally I feel that after over 7 years of studying english, I don't really need to study it much more than this. I have one more english class to go, and potentially one on top of that if I decide to pick an extra, advanced english class. I'm very fluent in english however, and I got straight A's in English, so I do feel like it's somewhat unneccesary for me to even study vocabulary, even if it could be useful. I don't really know where my limit goes, but I have been fluent in a way for a few years now, and I definately think that it's not enough to just be fluent. Where the line goes is hard to say, especially if it's something you're studying on your own, but yeah... Thoughts accepted!

 

 

I never consider myself to be done. The moment I stop striving to get better is the moment I get worse. Even my own native language takes a lot of effort and energy in order to keep up to date with. We are ever evolving and ever learning. So in learning a foreign language I can never really say I've completed that task. It is possible however to reach a master level.

On 14 November 2015 01:23:24, anna3101 said:

I wish there were more people who think like you, lushlala. It's sad that there's so much hate and so little tolerance in this world. And you are right - we are all people, we all have a lot in common, wherever we come from. It's such a pity we often choose to blame each other for our differences and condemn anyone who's not like us I think that for as long as people don't hurt other people or animals, there's no reason whatsoever to meddle with how they live, what they do, how they dress etc. I wish so much that we could all just live and let live..

I believe it is the cultural difference that will make the difference in my marriage. We would always be learning something new from each other and the spark would not go out. Our children will be born until a melting pot of cultures therefore.

On 17 November 2015 12:51:44, sillylucy said:

I would get into a shop and buy a language book right away! I think that love has no boundaries and I know tons of couples who have fallen in love this way. They just felt instantly connected and they got married too!

That's very funny. Buying a language in order to meet love.... If that were possible... Only if...

On 26 August 2014 11:04:46, raytalks said:

 

You find a person, a he or a she, and you are really attracted him/her. The only problem is that he/she speaks a foreign language. I won't specify a language, because it has to be a language that you don't speak. If there is a chance for a relationship, will you pursue it? Will you gladly learn a foreign language for your partner? Do you think you can communicate well, and have a good relationship?

I've always dreamed of falling in love with a Spanish speaker. This was partly due to the lovely lady that taught me Spanish in high school. But all is not lost. It just hasn't happened as yet.

On 06 February 2015 06:45:50, lushlala said:

Being able to speak is linked back with your ability to hear. When you are a quick learner in terms of hearing then you would also be able to speak properly. At least that's just my theory. So those who are able to write are actually good at reading. I always find that when I'm learning a foreign language, I pretty much get the basics quickly. However, I tend to lack in confidence in terms of actually speaking it. Yet I know exactly what I want to say, and can write it without any problem whatsoever. I know practice makes perfect, but I'm still a bit shy and wary of making mistakes! Does any of you feel the same?

Being able to speak is linked back with your ability to hear. When you are a quick learner in terms of hearing then you would also be able to speak properly. At least that's just my theory. So those who are able to write are actually good at reading.

On 23 November 2015 04:23:08, hungary93 said:

Yes! After high school graduation I learned Russian for a few months, but sadly the technique of the teacher and books from the 70's did not help at all. I am sad that I stopped, but maybe some other time in my life I will continue.

Russia is a big Country and to have the Russian language etched in your brain is an asset. But like you said, you can always learn it sometime in the future. As long as there is life there is hope.

On 23 March 2015 03:33:42, Rosyrain said:

Are there any languages that you set out to learn, but just ended up giving up on in the end? I did this with American Sign Language years ago because there were just not enough practical applications for me to keep going with it.

My native language is English and even that language has quite a lot about it that you have to learn. I'm very passionate about English language and I want to be able to express myself in any situation to any specific group of people. You have to appeal both to the intellectual as well as to the naive. In Spanish I was doing the best in my classes from seventh grade to when I left high school. I remember getting a lot of 100%s my exams. I never gave up ever.

4 hours ago, Mameha said:

This may be a stupid question, can you always recognize all the words in your language? I mean, for example there are some old words/expressions, or ones that are not so used, and most of all the dialectal words, that in Italian i have no idea they exists. Obviously i think that everyone can recognize the meaning anyway by the context or maybe from the sound or the similarity with another word with the same meaning. What about your language? Give me some exemples!

 

As a Caribbean native I speak Creole. English language is also a major language in my country. I remember in my mid teenage years I would force myself to learn a lot of words in my language. I read extensively and I realized the impact it had on my brain. I  was sharper and more alert than the other persons within my class when it came on to the English language. So yes I am able to understand  most words in the language of English and whatever words I'm not familiar with I can always use contextual clues to understand them.

On 16 December 2014 08:51:01, c9h2ua said:

It is a funny topic because I have never dreamed in other language.

I should say, I don't even speak in my dream, so how can I speak in other language!!

Anyway, have a nice dream tonight!!

I do think that whatever language you dream in  doesn't really matter. The fact is that we all will understand what we are dreaming about no matter what language we're dreaming in. It's amazing how creative our mind spaces are though... I've learned so much from my dreams and I've even gotten information about people in my dreams.

On 25 November 2013 08:45:22, True2marie said:

When I began speaking in Spanish regularly, I also started dreaming in this language.  My dreams seem to be either/or.  They are either in Spanish or English.  They also occur about 1x a week depending on how active I am at using Spanish.

 

What about you?

I've dreamt of scenarios in which I spoke Spanish. Those dreams were the best and they especially kept flooding in  when I was studying for my major Spanish exams. The dreams were so vivid and real and I felt as though I understood everything that was being discussed in the Spanish dialect. When I woke up I was so disappointed because I felt as though I wanted to stay in the dream in order to continue to build my Spanish knowledge.

On 17 November 2015 11:03:15, czarina84 said:

From my understanding, there are both valid.  However, I have always grown up hearing ketchup.  Catsup is just an outdated variant.  Merrium-Webster's official site has catsup listed as a variant of ketchup.

Thank you for that information. You saved me the time and effort of getting the dictionary. So catsup is the same as  ketchup in English.

On 27 June 2014 03:17:44, Baburra said:

I looked up the origins of this word thinking that I'll probably find Catsup to be a German word or some similar story, and I was surprised when I found out that it was far from what I was expecting and that seems to be not even a common consensus on the origin of this word, nor the official one to use.

 

 

Anyone here with knowledge on some facts about these spellings? I'd love to hear if one is more favored in some countries over others, and other bits of similar information and trivia any of you might have would be great too.  :wacky:

I was wondering if you were talking about "catchup" as in when you try to get up to speed and in progress with what ever your focus is. Its my first time seeing the word catsup. Thanks for sharing.

On 07 October 2013 03:32:28, mccanono said:

Haha. Weird.

 

Because I always remember the "i before e except after letter c".

 

So the word weird wouldn't qualify as "before c" since the letter before "ie or ei" is W.

 

It really is weird to spell weird. Haha

I really don't know why the English language has to be so complicated. We don't even get to pronounce the words the way they are spelled. As an English learner you have to ensure that you listen a lot. Reading and doing your own interpretation can be very dangerous to learning.

On 07 October 2013 12:15:43, Guest akasha24 said:

Which English words do you misspell the most?

This is a very simple word but sometimes we put 1 h instead of two: Withhold.

On 10 April 2015 03:58:29, VNtomboy said:

For me, it's definitely British English. It just sounds classier and more sophisticated to me.

No doubt that the American accent and language is well sought after by many  third world countries. I was grown in the Queen's English environment however  So I most definitely am used to standard English and the British accent. The accent has a commanding presence about it.

Well it's quite commendable that you are at a stage in which you are able to understand what you are hearing. Expressing a response may be difficult for you at the moment but I am sure that you will improve. I realize that hearing and speaking go hand in hand just as how reading and writing go hand in hand. I'm able to read quite well in my foreign language and so writing the language isn't a problem for me. I am not quite advanced in listening the language which I am studying however and so speaking it is also a challenge. But you are on the better track seeing that you are able to hear and understand the language.

Watching movies with subtitles can be effective but you have to be fluent in your own native language in order to read the subtitles quickly enough and apply your understanding. The fact that you are watching and listening to the movie it's  helping to develop the listening aspect of your foreign language neurons. Watching the action as the excitement builds also gives you an idea of what is being said in the audio that you're listening to.

Learning language through music is a very very effective methodology. This practice is very ancient and old and never seems to lose its taste. I must say though that this music must be very much well Grammatically structured because there are a lot of rubbish being published out there on the radio today. Learning language through music is very helpful because It is even through music that we learn to love or even to say our alphabet.

Thanks for mentioning this game. Even though it does not teach you sentence structure, learning words is a basic start for any language learner. This game is therefore still invaluable.

With modern technological advances you can begin to learn a foreign language and master it within a few months. What you really need is a lot of interaction with native speakers of the language that you plan on learning and you can do a lot of this through social media and listening/watching audio visual media. I am very glad for the hours that I invested in learning Spanish while I was in high school. It was for this very reason that I was hired by Amazon to be a consultant. I got my certification in the language and so I would advise you that even if you do not see the immediate benefit of learning the language that you are interested in, it is still a good idea to put some time into studying it..

Very interesting and very helpful. It sounds like a very creative way to learn a language. I have never tried it before but I thought about it before. I think I should actually give it a try. I think the words stick because they have a certain melody to them. Our brains tend to not forget melodies that are good.

Hello my Egyptian friend. No need to be sorry about your pronunciation. In joining this forum we came on with an understanding that we would have these circumstances. But we are here to help one another nevertheless. Listening to an audio can be a challenge if one is not already familiar with the words and phrases of the language. The best way to become familiar with words and phrases is to read a lot and in reading wide. Actually for me, listening is secondary, reading is first.

For me I don't seem to care what people think once I know I'm not doing something that is illegal or wrong. I do have the heart to make adjustments yes, but at the same time I do believe that people themselves can also adjust. They can also get used to me and give me the time and the grace period to adopt their dialect. Yes and it is true that there are not only variations in writing but also in speaking.

For me I don't seem to care what people think once I know I'm not doing something that is illegal or wrong. I do have the heart to make adjustments yes, but at the same time I do believe that people themselves can also adjust. They can also get used to me and give me the time and the grace period to adopt their dialect. Yes and it is true that there are not only variations in writing but also in speaking.

I can absolutely relate to what you are saying. I used to have this issue in my writing while I was in high school. There was also the issue of typing articles using Microsoft Word. The computer always seemed to default the language to American English instead of the International English. Most times I would just stick with this default but I've come to understand that the British English is the one that is internationally recognized. As a consequence of this, I started to make sure that everything that I wrote or typed was done in British English and today I have no struggles in differentiating words of either dialect.