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anna3101

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Everything posted by anna3101

  1. I was in customer service for business clients and the company was a paper manufacturer. Not just paper actually but anyhow a lot of materials were fibre-based. I still keep in touch with some of my colleagues from those times. I quit 2 years ago but it does feel as if so much happened since then. Anyway, Finnish colleagues were awesome
  2. Ciao! Propongo di praticare italiano qui, in questa traccia. Possiamo discutere sulle nostre lingue straniere. Spero che alcuni madrelingue vorrano corrigerci Io ho ricominciato' di studiare l'italiano quest'anno. Sto studiando col libro di testo che si chiama "Pronti, via". Provo di parlare un po' con la mia compagna dello scambio linguistico ogni settimana. Mi piace molto studiare l'italiano ma e' abbastanza difficile, particolarmente quando uno apprende lo spagnolo. E voi, che fate per imparare l'italiano? Scrivete qui!
  3. Actually, what I've heard about it is that slavery was not the main reason at all. That's what we were taught in school and that's what is shown in all the films but the real reason, as always, was money - the North was industrialized and the South was rural, and the taxes that the North imposed on imported goods were the actual bone of contention between the two parts of the U.S. I was actually quite surprised when I found out about it because for my whole life I naively thought they were fighting for ideals...
  4. Oooh, a Finnish native spaker! Hello and welcome! I have a soft spot for Finnish people as I have some friends there and I've worked in a Finnish company for a very long time. My colleagues were so awesome. I'd love to visit the country one day, I'm sure it's a lovely place.
  5. A comfort zone for me would probably be speaking fluently. I can relax a bit at the point where I no longer struggle to convey my thoughts and don't need a dictionary with me at all times, and all those "Erhm... hmm... what was that word..." practically don't appear anymore. That said, I don't feel like I can stop learning at this point because I still make mistakes anyway, and there are simply too many exciting new things to be learnt. However fluent one may be, it's never perfect because perfect doesn't exist, and that's great because we can go on studying all our lives.
  6. @Paula Thank you so much for your explanation!! It has helped me a lot, now I finally see all the differences. Again, thanks!
  7. It would be a hard decision which languages to keep.. I'm just glad I don't have to restrict myself to any number in real life But if I had, it would be: 1. Russian (because it's my native and I love it unconditionally, the way you love your family). 2. Polish (it has become a sort of second native and some of the most amazing people I've met speak it, including my partner). 3. French (can't live without it and think it's beautiful and, well, simply amazing). 4. Spanish (because trying to speak it always cheers me up for some reason). 5. Dutch (I just think it's cute).
  8. It seems that a lot of people here like learning new words with the help of songs, so I have a question for you. How useful do you think it is to write down the words of the song? When I was a teenager and actively trying to learn French and English, I'd swear by this method as one of the most efficient to improve one's listening skills. Those were the times when the Internet in Russia was practically non-existent, and lyrics were not widely available online. If you really liked a song in a foreign language and wanted to understand what it was all about, the only way to do it was sit down and listen to it for hours on end, trying to pin down all the words correctly, and then look up those you didn't know in a paper dictionary. It was hard work, and I was rarely lucky enough to understand every single word, but it was a thrill each time you managed to identify some expression, especially if it was one you never heard before. I had a feeling my listening skills were getting better, and I also learnt a lot of vocabulary this way. Now that I'm a pampered Internet user, I get the lyrics to all of the songs online, sometimes even without having to look for them - I got myself a program that does most of the work for me. However, a couple of days I ago I was extremely surprised (and annoyed, I have to admit) to realize that there's nowhere I can find the lyrics to some Austrian Christmas songs that I have on my playlist now. What? Google doesn't have the answer? Yandex is powerless? Seriously? I had no choice but to come back to the good old "Listen, pause, write down what you hear, listen, pause, try again". Actually, it felt good. I learnt a lot - much more then when I just throw a look at the ready-downloaded lyrics. I felt happy. I now know some grammar structures and some words I hadn't known before. And I thought - maybe my 14-year-old self was not wrong after all? Maybe it is really useful to write the words down? What do you think? And what do you do when you love a song in a language you're not fluent in but can't find the lyrics online?
  9. With shame I must admit that I haven't heard of it until this day. But now if someone asks me "Have you heard of Swadesh list?", I can proudly say "Why yes, I read about it on linguaholic.com" I wonder though how I managed to miss it during my university years...
  10. Totally agree with you. What may be great for children is not necessarily the same for adults. I have no idea how a beginner can learn the language like this. I'd lose my confidence and motivation after a couple of classes and never be back.
  11. I'd love to visit France again. Despite some people being rude and the service really dreadful at times, I absolutely love this country, and if only I were rich, I'd go there all the time. It has everything I love about travelling - special atmosphere, rich history, amazing architecture, lovely cafes all around, and picturesque landscapes. Plus, people talking French, one of my favourite languages in the world. I was really terrified with the latest events in Paris, and I hope with all my heart that such horror will never happen again
  12. @lushlala Thank you so much for your kind words. It's people like you who keep my motivation high And although I'm a huge fan of French, I have to say - if you prefer Italian, just go for it. It seems that you have a lot going on and not much free time (a problem that most of us can relate to ) so if you have to choose between two languages... well, I'm pretty old-fashioned when it comes to choices, I always think "follow your heart" is the best kind of advice. What's your level in Italian? If you are not too advanced, maybe we can try to talk together in some thread My Italian is mostly passive - I understand much more than I can write or say But I'd like to change that, and now that we have some great Italian people here, like Mameha, we should totally do some kind of practice thread. What do you think?
  13. I'd say there's a difference between speaking and just repeating words or saying phrases out loud. Speaking requires some vocabulary and grammar. I really don't believe in "speaking from day 1", if by speaking we mean an actual normal conversation.
  14. Hello Butterfly2015! It must be very exciting to live in Taiwan, I've always wondered about that country - about its similarities and difference when it comes to Taiwan vs China. I hope you can share your experiences with us here. Welcome to the forum! Br, Ania
  15. No place like home for learning Comfortably sitting or even relaxing in bed, with a cup of tea or coffee, a cat on the lap and cosy lights... mmm. My favourite learning place!
  16. I don't agree as well. Just as takibari, I normally make a list of pros and cons, and it surely is much easier to do in a native language.
  17. I prefer to wait until I have enough vocabulary. Enough is about as much as it takes to complete simple daily tasks - like ordering coffee or doing groceries. If I'm at about A2 level, I will try to speak. But not until then. For me, it just doesn't make sense to start earlier because I simply don't know enough grammar and words to construct anything coherent
  18. Really like Bontle. There's something about it...
  19. I listen to audios accompanying my coursebooks and repeat everything the native speakers say there, trying to copy them the best way I can. I also use Tell Me More software from time to time - it's not very good in all aspects, but I actually find the pronunciation par rather well done. You repeat words or phrases after the speaker, and the computer measures how close you were to the original. It's not 100% accurate but quite useful.
  20. I'm no fan of Tolstoy but I did like Anna Karenina a lot. However, that's not something I'd recommend to someone who's not fully fluent in Russian yet. Actually, a lot of classics are not so easy for native speakers as well - there are words and expressions that no longer exist. I remember when we were studying Tolstoy at school at lot of people from my class were really struggling with reading those long, overly complicated sentences.
  21. Hello, I wonder what you think about writing with your hand and a real pen versus typing on the computer. Does that make a difference for you in terms for learning? Which one do you prefer when you make notes, try to memorise new words or maybe repeat some grammar points? For me, handwriting is more efficient for new words, or at least that's my impression. It takes more effort and time which is probably why the words that I write with a pen are remembered better than those I type on a keyboard. However, when it comes to creative writing or long exercises ("Write a letter to your friend using the words you've learnt in this lesson...") I definitely prefer typing. It's much faster, easier to correct and edit later on, and also my hands are more used to it and they don't hurt afterwards. What about you? Ania
  22. The only thing that costs a lot in my case are coursebooks. I love actual paper books and absolutely must have at least one for each language. Then there are grammar exercises, those I prefer to buy in a paper version too. But that would be it. I don't like language courses and if I ever use apps, those are free. So are conversation with language partners
  23. I like reading, and fiction in foreign languages is really enjoyable for me, even if at times it's quite difficult. The trick is to make myself start, then I get engrossed in the book and read it with pleasure. But beginnings are difficult. It's quite tempting to read something in Russian/Polish/English instead, where you don't have to strain your brain that much and try to guess the meanings of certain words. However, I'm convinced reading is beneficial for me, even if my knowledge of language X is still very basic. There's a lot to learn, and for as long as the vocabulary is not too difficult, it's also fun. I've just started reading my favourite chick lit series translated to Italian. I've read those books in English many times, so I know what it's all about, and I'm learning a lot of new Italian words and phrases. Plus, it's so interesting to read the same book but in a different language.
  24. My memories of school language learning are unpleasant, to say the least. We had the most horrible teacher, she actually couldn't speak English herself and made mistakes all the time. Plus, she preferred spreading gossip about other teachers or discussing her private life with us, instead of doing any teaching I'm really glad those times are long gone and now I can learn on my own, without any teachers / professors / specialists getting in the way.
  25. And now it's almost 2016. My plans for the next year are the same as for this one, unless something unexpected happens along the way. I had no intention of restarting German in 2015 but I got a job which involves interaction with a lot of German sites, and somehow the coursebooks were bought and first steps taken For 2016, I plan to go on with my weekly lessons of English, French, Spanish and Italian. Plus, I hope to finally start learning Dutch and German regularly - and not just whenever I have enough time which does not happen often.
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