shadejb

It's an interesting idea. The only thing I would suggest is to somehow pick a wide range of topics and maybe include advanced speakers into the process. If I just start learning a new language, speaking with a native might be too stressful for me to handle. Maybe a ladder type of progression ? Either way, I will be super interested to test this one out.

In the UK we still use "cheque" for money-related items (cheque book for example). However, the gesture you do at the restaurant IMO is similar to the "tick" action of checking items off the list; which is why I think we associate that with getting restaurant bill rather than "cheque". Cheque is the British spelling, so unless you set your grammar check as English (UK) then it will show as an error, same way as organise (organize in US), colour (color in the US) and other words.

One of my favorite ones is from Naked Gun (same actor as Airplane!): Jane Spencer: I've heard police work is dangerous. Frank: It is. That's why I carry a big gun. Jane Spencer: Aren't you afraid it might go off accidentally? Frank: I used to have that problem. Jane Spencer: What did you do about it? Frank: I just think about baseball. Those spoof films were so good.

One of the words that always gets me is "opportunity". I never know where to put the r, and even if I do it correctly, somehow it still seems wrong to me.

Yes. There are some pretty awesome apps out there, and working two jobs kind of limit my time to the point that I don't know if I want to sign up for a language class for now. A language learning app is a good alternative for me, and if I push myself through procrastination, I find that I can learn a lot for a few minutes everyday.

I would love to start learning Japanese if possible. Currently I haven't been able to find time to register to a class, so pretty much all I do is self-study. Hopefully that will change in the next year, with me moving out and having more free time in general.

I think the role of the teacher is to guide the student, much more than just to teach. We can learn in a lot of ways, especially with all the technology these days without any teacher at all. So it is more important now that a teacher knows how to inspire his student, and to actually guide the student on how to study in their own time. You can't do that if you are not passionate about what you do.

Yes, and usually when they do that my voice just get quieter and quieter, so it didn't help at all lol. I know it's good to have feedback, but I still prefer a written feedback though. It seems more objective than spoken one, even though I am aware that both forms are very helpful for learning a new language.

Yes, definitely. I'd say start with a simple show first, like a sitcom. Lots of common words and they don't often use complicated terms. Then you can move to faster shows to improve your reading, and maybe after that you can try a more complicated show like "House", for example. I recommend TV series because it's much easier to follow the conversations when you are familiar with the voices of the characters.

I always thought it was because of the feedback that you receive. When you write, if it's incorrect, the other person can always make a guess of what you intended to write; and often the guess is accurate. However, when you speak, you have to think about what to say (similar to what to write) then add on to that, think about how to say/pronounce the words. That's more work for your brain, and the feedback you receive is instant. If the other person didn't catch what you said, there would be no guesses. What you often hear is "Can you repeat that?". For me, it's a little nerve wrecking hearing that.

I do sometimes think in a foreign language, not to base my entire decision on it but to see if that decision "make sense". The rationale is that why you would know how to express pros and cons, weighing opinions in your native language, you are also more like to inject your own bias into it. If you have a bad opinion on something, it's more likely that you will use a negative expression for it. In your native tongue, it is much easier to do that, you can simply think about it and done. But if I have to choose an expression in a language I'm not entirely familiar with, I would probably stick with a neutral tone for most of the time. I think that's where the objectivity comes from, you don't need to judge the whole idea in a another language, just double check it.

Ah, my choice would probably be: 1. English: 6 years in the UK has to have some effects 2. Vietnamese: native 3. Cantonese: for some reason a lot of my friends are from Hong Kong, and I would love to surprise them 4. Japanese: for all the games ! And workers with Japanese skill are actually highly sought after in my area 5. France: a very melodic language IMO

It's a bit complicated in Vietnamese. "Love" is translated to "yêu", but "I" and "you" will vary depends on who you're talking to, or what the relationship is. For lovers, you would probably use "Anh yêu em" (male) and reverse for female. For parents, friends, you can just say their name or their salutation (of which there are 20+ in our language). But generally, the saying for lovers are most common. We are a shy country haha.

For work in general, I definitely prefer typing. You can get things done much quicker, and definitely easier to read. However, since I was a kid, I have been taught that writing things down make you remember them. In fact, this was my method to learn from primary school to university; I just write them down over and over again. It sticks with me to this day, and I will say that is one thing typing can't replace (for me at least).

Google is actually improving itself gradually. It is crowd-sourced, and everyone contribute either by translating new phrases or correcting old ones. I am a contributor, and I must say for a lesser known language like mine (Vietnamese), it got a lot of complex phrases right. Some are ridiculous of course, but that's what I am there for. Bing on the other hand seems to translate word by word, and that does not end well for my language.

I have actually used this method to learn English before. Of course, it's hard not because of the language, but because you have to write AND listen at the same time (which, by the way, helps a lot in university). However, I would suggest anyone starting out to actually use the lyrics first, get used to how certain words are pronounced. If you want a challenge, then maybe blackout some of the words from the lyrics and make it like a homework (actual teaching method here). It will be a while before you can write down Eminem's lyrics for sure though.

I lived in the UK for 6 years (university and work) and it helps a lot when it comes to learning English. I mean, I was good at English before, but being in an environment where you have to speak English definitely helps with my speaking. And of course the idioms and the slangs are completely different from what I've learnt; getting used to "You alright ?" as a greeting comes to mind.

I've always suggested people trying to learn English to start with listening. You don't need to understand what's being said, you just need to familiarize with the words being said. You can try musics, movies or tv but the point is constant exposure. He can listen to music when he's working out, he can plug his earpiece and listen to some audio when he is sleeping (I've actually done this during my university years). It will help a lot if you know which activities he enjoys, e.g. if he likes playing game then introduce him to some with lengthy conversations; if he likes movies then get him to watch some classics...The point is to help him feel like he's progressing, which is why finding words more familiar than before is important.

Honestly swearing in a second language always seem "less" offensive to me. I think part of it is because I'm not wired to hear those as swearing per se, but more like a foreign expression. You hear swearing in your own language (which is often much, much more "creative") and you take that personally. With second language, there's a barrier of translation (no matter how fluent you are at the language, you will still automatically translate it in your head) and sometimes that's enough to distant yourself from the words.