Difference of learning a new language from your native language

[xxxxxx]

How do you find the difference of learning a new language from your native language? Do you find it more interesting and easy to learn?

[Baburra]

I don't recall having to learn my native language, I think it was too early in life and it's kind of like walking to me. I don't know if anybody would have a different experience, but I am doubtful. I'd say the main difference of learning a second language is that you're consciously learning it, which makes it a little bit more difficult.

[erronousRogue]

It was a pretty similar process for me, since I didn't learn either of them by "forcing" myself from a book or anything, I just learned it by talking to people. To be honest I'm still pretty shameful when it comes to technical grammar and rules, whether it's English or my native language.

[Lin]

How do you find the difference of learning a new language from your native language? Do you find it more interesting and easy to learn?

I find it more interesting because I love this new foreign language. There's an inborn passion to learn Spanish. So, I can't help it. No disrespect to my mother tongue of course. I love English. I read lots of novels to prep up on my English, but Spanish is the love of my life.  :grin:

[igorrsobral]

Learning a new language can't be comparative to learning our native language... one takes effort and the other, well, doesn't, really. Our native language is embedded in our daily life, we don't learn it, it eventually comes to us like breathing since it's everywhere and in everyone in our surroundings. Learning a new language isn't. Or it might be, but if we're older, it's harder.

[Trellum]

Ah not at all, the new language I need to learn is Dutch, and to be honest I don't even want to learn it   It's too hard! My native language is spanish, so learning dutch (a germanic language) is really hard!  I'm trying to learn it only because I plan to move there in the future, and it happens to be a requirement for me to live there. 

Why I want to live there?  Well, mostly because my boyfriend is dutch and he wants to move close to his family and start a family there with me!  I'm not happy with the idea of learning dutch, but oh well! It's something I need to do for him, plus it's a nice way to prove my love to him.

[Firelily99]

Its a big difference learning a native language as a child and learning something new as an adult.  To begin with we don't have to translate anything, we simply learn how to speak it and write it.  Its a natural process when we are children just as learning how to walk or dress ourselves is.

[Rosa]

There is no learning to my native language. It just comes natural because you grow up knowing how to speak it,  at least my native tongue. There is nothing new to learn about it, once you have learnt to speak you basically have finished learning the language. With other languages you have to know grammar and so on so learning my native language was much more easier.

[jfab]

It is fun! And it will broaden your mind and it will make you more intrigued on learning more. I love learning a new language, that's from the heart.

[Lodismel]

Absolutely not easier. The main reason for me is that I grew up learning English very early and had no opportunities to learn other languages until high-school. It may have been different if I had been bilingual to start with. I find it pretty hard to pick up new languages.