reverserewind

That's been overexaggerated to some extent. I guess, people who tend to use the same words will more likely to understand one another. And everything stems from and comes with understanding. So, to me that's partially true. However, you don't need to be the exact copy of your partner. That's so boring and chances are it won't get you anywhere. 

I could speak some basic phrases and count to 12 when I was 7. However, I started learning the language formally at the age of 11. Looking back, I'd say I was working semi-hard at that time. However, since the age of 14 I've been working really hard on it. It's my passion and the second nature.

The American one. All the way for it. Just sounds a lot better to my ears. Moreover, the whole major movie industry is based on that accent, as it comes from Hollywood, LA. The same thing with popular music artists. 

A lot of people mix up "envy" and "jealousy", even though these words do not look similar whatsoever. I find it kinda funny yet sad. 

The most recent one I did really enjoy was "The incredible story of Walter Mitty". It was a lot of fun to watch. So, If you haven't seen it yet, all you have to do is give it a try. As soon as possible.

I don't carry anything but my copybook/notebook with me. There is simply no point in that, as we have a lot of really useful electronic stuff that can give you everything about the word you're looking for in like a blink of an eye. The latter actually depends on your Internet connection. So, I hope you got me right.

I call my friends a name A LOT. They are my friends. Even those who are foreign. We have a great rapport between us, so we both kind of understand that it's a joke. However, I never do that to people I barely know. Obviously, that would be disrespectful to them. I never call my co-workers a name. I never do this to my students. Common sense, guys. It's the key.

Well, I have no idea if it exactly applies to this topic. Anyway, I'm gonna tell you this. I have a couple of friends in Italy. They usually visit me once a year. Even though I've been learning their language, let's say, semi-hard for 3 years, I still prefer talking to them in English. I know a lot about Italian. I can say something very complex. However, I'm still not fluent. The only way to solve this is to practice more. The only method is talking to natives. And, of corse, a lot of listening, too.

This idea seems to be cool. However, it's kind real already. Basically, it's English. It's considered to be a universal language nowadays. It's the first means of communication people who don't have any mutual languages pick up. Thankfully, English is taught at schools in many countries. I'm not sure the way it is being taught is correct, though. Anyway, it's a good thing that people realize the importance of having a universal language. And, I'm sure, English fits well.

6 hours ago, Lingua Franca said:

This is true, unless you really want to learn it and not forced to learn it, all languages have their difficulty. Not only that even if you plan to learn a different language that is similar to your mother tongue, doesn't mean that it will simply come to you, you still have to study it. 

Kind of true. Basically, it can be applied to... pretty much everything. If your will is not free, I doubt that your results are gonna be high. The whole "forcing" thing never worked in my case. It's like working jobs that you hate/hating jobs that you work.

Which grammatical tenses do you guys (native speakers) use most of all in daily conversations?

6 hours ago, Mameha said:

If you have doubts, question etc you can pm me anytime

Oh, thank you very much. I definitely will. You can ask me anything about English, btw.

Yep, I have to admit it. It's getting better. However, to achieve a higher result you should translate word-by-word. It will help you get a deeper meaning.

I guess you gotta give yourself a genuine answer. Why do you need these languages in the first place? Sure, it's cool to speak both of them almost perfectly. However, it takes time. Lots of time to master them. Yep, it would be kind of confusing. I tried that with Italian and Spanish. Eventually, I picked the first one. So, you should decide which one is right and more important for you at the moment. The results will be way better. Just believe me. Don't involve yourself in that multitasking kind of thing.

It's a great way to train your listening skills. The language in movies is a little bit of fake. However, if you watch TV live, it feels totally different. 

To me, it's just a generalization. Speaking of languages, there is no point in learning them the same way as we do with science or humanities. Because they stand out. Languages are not academic disciplines by their nature. They are means of communication in the first place.

Practice, practice and only practice will save you. You gotta repeat a lot of tough words, word combinations and sentences tons of times. This will definitely work. However, you must check out the correct pronunciation first. In order to sound right like a native.

Well, as a teacher of English as a foreign language, I understand that confidence is the key. A person might know tons of things about English (grammar, vocabulary, idioms, general rules, ect.), however he/she might be suffering from the fear of failure. Some students want to speak the language that perfectly, so people could never guess that they actually are not native speakers. That's totally fine. However, this idea of such perfection, the obsession with that idea is rather a negative thing than something good that fuels them to do things better. As a result, people have a weak confidence when it comes to talking in [language] with a native speaker/non-native speaker who speaks the language they are learning but doesn't speak their native one. That's no good!

To raise/solidify confidence in people, I usually compliment their achievements. Even if they fail so badly, I explain that it is okay. It's completely normal. And go back to complimenting their stronger links.

I gave up on learning languages, locked myself in a dark basement, and went on a heavy alcohol binge in attempt to battle my depression and growing social anxiety. 

This is in a parallel universe.

Actually, I've never been mocked or made fun of in an evil way. However, sometimes my words choice (very uncommon ones) make people think that I'm a nerd or an old-fashioned guy. When this takes place, they usually giggle.

If someone does it just to hurt you then you should probably never talk to this person again. Haters gonna hate, you know.

I am learning Italian. It's been 3 years since I started. So, we can practice I guess.

The Italian culture, I guess. I've been a huge fan of Italy for a long period of time. I've travelled there 4 times and each one was amazing and not similar to the previous. Coffee, pizza, fashion, films, music, literature, architecture, art... this country has a long list or areas where they had a huge success. I liked the local people, too. However, most of them do not speak English fluently. Sure, you can have a simple conversation with them in English. However, in order to connect with them on a deeper level you have to know their language. Which is fun, btw. I love how it sounds.

There is no such thing as an easy language. The level of difficulty totally depends on how much difference there is between your mother tongue and the one you would like to master.