anna3101

Holidays are coming, let's hope people will be kinder at least for a while... and in the meantime, I'm looking forward to more romantic stories about people falling in love despite language and cultural barriers

I agree with Blaveloper. Other languages may feel jealous

What do you think of Benny Lewis and his learning method? I came across his website a couple of times before, and I keep hearing about it from other people. I looked a bit here and a bit there but couldn't really find what his great method is really all about. The site does say "speak from day 1" but I don't think it's possible to do so literally, and if this is a metaphor for "speak a lot, and you'll get better" then it doesn't sound like anything groundbreaking Then again, maybe I'm a bit prejudiced because I'm not used to people openly say they don't like languages and have no respect for them. Anyway, I'm curious what you think and if his site was helpful for you.

I've changed my job to something rather language-unrelated but previously I worked in customer service for many years, and I can say that companies employed me exactly because I spoke a certain language or languages. In the Russian/Polish job market having a university diploma is obligatory, however, luckily for people like me, mostly employers don't care about your specialization. You can graduate in archeology and then work as a marketing specialist, or specialize in architecture and then become a programmer. It doesn't matter that much. What matters is your experience and your practical skills. When it comes to languages, I've never had to show any formal documents, certificates etc. I don't have any because my preferred learning method is learning by myself, at home Recruiters check your language level during the job interview anyway. Sometimes they even do it several times to make sure you can not only speak but also write coherent paragraphs / create reports with specialized vocabulary etc.

I wonder if there's any way to fight this. It's probably true that women are more likely to suffer "perfectionism" when it comes to speaking in a foreign language. I know several people who have this problem and I'd like to help them somehow but I have no idea what can be done It's heartbreaking to see people shy away from talking in a foreign language just because they can't get it right in 100% of cases. It's vicious circle because nobody will ever be perfect, even native speakers, to say nothing of the learners. This thinking prevents my friends from enjoying the language and practising it. However much encouragement other people give them, it's never enough to change their attitude...

Music is extremely useful for me. I love discovering new songs and artists, that's a huge bonus for each language I'm learning. I learn some vocabulary, expressions and grammar structures. With time, I remember most of the songs by heart and it also helps. However, I've heard there was new research pointing towards singing as the best way to learn. Supposedly, people who sang songs in a foreign languages remembered the words better than those who only listened. I wonder how much of it is true and if the benefits still exist for those whose singing abilities are very modest, as is the case with me.

I wonder if anyone actually tried this game? It is now available in many language packs and looks interesting but I'd love to know what other people think about it.

I also love British English and French. They sound beautiful and chic. Although I don't think there's any language that sounds ugly

I definitely think each new language is easier than the previous one, especially if they belong to the same family. I only have experience with Romance and Germanic languages, they have a lot in common in terms of both grammar and vocabulary, so the more languages you discover, the more similarities you see. But I also think - as someone has already pointed out here - that learning is a skill by itself, so the more you do it, the easier it gets.

Happens to me sometimes, especially when the languages are similar. Spanish-Italian and German-Dutch are really difficult in this respect. I sometimes mix words, and I'm never able to switch on from speaking one to immediately speaking another. Even the most simple phrases disappear from my head. My mind goes totally blank. I need to listen to someone speaking in that language or read a piece of text to be able to switch.

Hello Effie, I'm not a native speaker but I'll try to help. I believe the first phrase's expression probably refers to the bed on which the person was sleeping until he woke up and saw the spiders. At least, I do not know any other meaning of the word "lit". I would translate the second sentence like this: "And one could say that the same idea is touching them, brushing one, going to another: just one tremble and here they go, so quickly, their six legs devouring the whiteness of the wall, they go careless, towards the plinth and the floor, writing their horrible, unpredictable whims on the wall, all in their hairy disorder." Or maybe better in Russian as it appears you are the native speaker: Кажется, что к ним прикасается одна и та же мысль, нежно ласкает одного, переходит к другому: легкая дрожь - и вот они уже бегут изо всех сил, бросая тень на безукоризненную белизну стены. Они бегут вниз, беспорядочно - к плинтусу, к полу, и их мохнатые лапки пишут на стене свои причудливые, ужасающие секреты. Something like that Ania

General: Elementary materials: https://www.scribd.com/collections/3774861/elementary-tibetan French-Tibetan course online: http://www.montibet.com/index.php?p=learn Virtual Tibetan keyboard: http://www.sse-ag.ch/tibvirtkb.html Site about Tibetan scripts: https://sites.google.com/site/chrisfynn2/ Philologia Tibetica blog: http://philologia-tibetica.blogspot.com/ Reading: Library of Tibetan works and archives: http://www.ltwa.net/library/ Tibetan ebooks: http://www.tibetanebook.com/ Oline Tibetan library: http://tbrc.org/#!home Tibetan Express (news in English, Chinese, Tibetan): http://tibetexpress.net/ Site with texts for children (in Tibetan): http://www.wildyaks.com/ Dictionaries: English-Tibetan dictionary online: http://www.eng-tib.com/ Another dictionary: http://www.nitartha.org/dictionary_search04.html Listening: Radio online (songs): http://www.phayul.com/onlineradio/ Tibet TV online: http://www.tibetonline.tv/ Apps: Tibetan Tutor android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=match.eng.tib#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDUwMSwibWF0Y2guZW5nLnRpYiJd Tibetan dictionary iOS app: https://itunes.apple.com/de/app/tibetan-dictionary/id418873951?mt=8

http://womenlearnthai.com/ http://slice-of-thai.com/language/ http://thaifilmjournal.blogspot.com/ http://www.thai2english.com/ http://lexitron.nectec.or.th/2009_1/ http://www.iwanttolearnthai.com/index.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/other/thai/guide/ http://learnthaiwithmod.com/ http://www.thaipod101.com/ http://www.thai-language.com/

Thanks! So, I'll sum up my answers: when I start, I don't concentrate on writing but it somehow just happens naturally that writing goes first as it's easier for me. I mostly use coursebooks and self-learning books. For additional flavours, I regularly "meet" exchange partners on Skype, listen to music, watch films, read fiction books, play computer games and use Tell Me More software on my PC. There's also the question of "how often". For me, not too often because I have two jobs and a lot of other hobbies. I study with a book one time per week, for each of my languages, same for Skype meetings. I don't have exchange partners for all of my languages though. As for fun activities, like games and music, those are for every day but I tend to stick with one language for a longer time, and then switch to another. Right now I'm listening to Dutch music and playing Spanish casual games. When I get bored, I'll do the same but in other languages. By the way, thanks for the poll. It's a good idea - I hope more people will answer, I'm really curious to see the results.

I'll try to translate it although I must admit the overall style is a bit bookish so it's not that easy. I hope this helps! My tired soul Knows no sleep and no rest. The night gives me no relief and no oblivion. I am reliving my past again - All by myself, in the silence of the night. I'm seeing it all again: the god's omens, And the joyful feast after the battles won, And my victory over my foe, And the woeful end of my war glory, And the defeat, the wounds and my captivity, And the death of all my warriors Who gave their lives for their country. All is gone: my honour, my glory. I became the symbol of shame for my country My fate is now captivity, shameful captivity, And knowing everyone blames me. Give me, give me freedom, I'll pay for my shame, I'll save my honour and my glory, I'll save Russia from the foe! My sweet, you are the only one Who will not blame me. Your delicate heart Will understand everything And you'll forgive me. In your high tower You do nothing but look out of the window, Waiting for your loved one, Crying bitter tears. Will I really spend my days Existing fruitlessly in captivity, Knowing that enemy is tearing Russia apart? The bitter enemy is as fierce as a leopard, Russia is moaning in his claws And blaming me for it! Give me, give me freedom, I'll pay for my shame, I'll save my honour and my glory, I'll save Russia from the foe! My tired soul Knows no sleep and no rest. The night gives me no hope for salvation. I am reliving my past again - All by myself, in the silence of the night. And there is no way out for me.

Tha Thanks a lot for the tip, I'm always looking for the next great book to read, and this is something that sounds very exciting. I'll definitely add this author to my reading list.

Hello Natalie, Welcome to the forum! If you ever make up your mind to study Russian, I could help Ania

For me, subtitles definitely help a lot. There are many French films where people speak so incredibly fast that I wouldn't be able to catch up if it were not for the subtitles. However, I don't see the point in having subtitles in my native language or English. I always go for the target language. If I feel brave enough to watch films, my vocabulary should be sufficient to cover up most of what is happening onscreen

Thanks for the replies! @Miya, is yours by an international publisher? If so, could you tell me the name? I've been thinking about Living Language calendars. They are quite expensive though, so I'm still hesitating but I think I'll go and buy at least one anyway. Save money on food

My number 1 option for learning languages is missing here... I mostly learn by myself, with a teach-yourself or even classroom coursebook. Exchange partners, apps, multimedia and everything else is icing on the cake. I still consider a good old paper book with grammar rules my best friend. That, and the mp3 files accompanying it.

Indeed. It's amazing how omnipresent English has become

I have to agree. I take breaks all the time, ever since I started to learn as a child. I used to feel bad about it but I don't do anymore. I come back again with fresh energy and I actually learn quicker afterwards. Breaks are not as scary as my teachers told me

For me also, writing is so much easier, especially when I'm just beginning to learn a language. I can have all the time in the world, find the words I need in the dictionary, browse the grammar book to refresh some rules in my memory, stop, drink tea, start again, recheck, polish. It may still have mistakes in the end but definitely a whole lot less than my speech. For me, the biggest issue with speaking is either not knowing/remembering an important piece of grammar or not having enough vocabulary (those dreadful pauses and "uhm"s). So nowadays, when I try to speak Italian or Dutch (the languages that I don't know well enough to be able to talk) I do it on Skype, with verbix and some dictionary open. Still takes time to find a particular word but with good Internet connection and typing speed it's not too bad, and I tend to remember such words much better later. Probably because of the stress of trying to find them quickly without boring your interlocutor to death

Thanks for sharing, pesic87! I'm really glad that these games are useful because I really love them myself but I was starting to wonder if there's any benefit in playing them in a foreign language. When you put it that way, I guess repeating the words you already know is actually useful.

pesic87, I love Jane Austen too, I've read almost all of her books, mostly translated to Russian and then later on I started to read her in English and it was a treat. I also enjoyed two of the Bronte sisters very much, especially those lovely editions where there are watercolour drawings of English countryside, and the paper is thick and pleasant to touch. Those were the days