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do you have a friend that speaks the language you're learning?


babyleans

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hello guys, i was wondering if you guys have a friend that speaks the language you're learning. i have a friend who speaks spanish but it's long since we spoke. He has been so helpful. what do you guys do, do you go seeking out people who speak that language and make friends with themfor the sole reason of learning the language? that kind os seems unfair.

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Yes I do.

I had a buddy in high school who was bilingual and he was a huge help and great guy. I was in some advanced Spanish classes and whenever I had to write a huge paper (up to 18 pages) he would proofread it for me. He basically ended up saving my A in that class by doing that. I've never actually sought out a friendship just for the language help though, I agree, it seems pretty unfair and wrong. I just coincidentally have a lot of friends who speak Spanish very well and help me out sometimes.

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Yes, I have several friends who speak the language that I am currently learning, and their help can't be underestimated. And not to mention the fun of understanding all their national jokes, or jokes particular to their language. I don't know about going out and befriending people only to be able to converse with them only to improve my own skills. I would want to know about the person and what kind of life they have, and whether we have some common interests.

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Yes, I have one friend in particular that speaks the language that I am learning. However, it's been a while since we have spoken. Anyway I have my daughter who is around most of the time. She is not perfect but she is very much farther along than I am. I have never thought of making friends just for the sole purpose of getting aide to master the language, I also feel that it is a bit unfair.

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Yes, I have been learning Russian for several years, and I have friends who are Russian. They speak English okay, but I try to speak Russian with them. This is essential in order to become conversational in a language. You can study grammar and vocabulary all day, but if you don't converse with people in your target language it will be very difficult to ever speak it fluently.

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Yes. My friend from high school is fluent in German. I remember in high school I chose French as my language to learn. Now I am completely obsess with German culture. I ordered the Pimsleur Quick and Simple German language learning course online a month ago. Since I watch a lot of German films and watch interviews of some of my favorite actors and singers in that country, I want to be able to understand what they are saying without relying on English subtitles all the time.

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It's funny you ask, I'm learning a new language because my boyfriend speaks it, so I guess that sounds ;) If it wasn't for him I'd not be learning this awful language, I completely dislike it.  It was the last in my book, even when I used to be really interested in learning languages as hobby when I was a carefree teen.  Funny how ironic life can be, of yeah, it hit me on the face.

So yeah, the fact he his a native speaker of that language is helpful, but not too much, since he lacks order and initiative to help, but oh well.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Yes, I have friends in my country that are fluent in German, French, Russian, Spanish and probably more languages that I'm not aware of. Apart from the close friends in Slovenia, I have a lot of backpacking buddies on Facebook from all around the world, so if I ever want to learn Luxembourgish, Danish, Swedish, Romanian or Indian, I can practice the language with them :)

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Yes, I have a lot of Japanese friends and I talk to them a lot but unfortunately we mostly use English because it would take too long for me to learn enough to communicate with them in Japanese Althea they are very enthusiastic with teaching me certain phrases and words.

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Not currently but I used to have a couple of friends that spoke the Malay language even before I started learning it. Very handy because they helped me in a lot of aspects like grammar, sentence building, and pronunciations. I'm starting to do the same thing myself for a friend that is learning Chinese now.

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Guest TDolce

My in-laws have been in the US for several decades, but the family has continued to speak Italian. My problem is with the regional dialect differences from the Italian which is spoken in the educational materials. Although the differences are not great, they do make it a bit more difficult when learning another language. It is still nice to have the constant exposure to the language, though. Best of luck to you in finding a friend to help out.

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I have several Spanish friends. And because there are so many Hispanics in Florida, I don't have to befriend any just to hear some Spanish.

I don't speak much Spanish with them. When we meet, we usually are talking about important stuff. And all the "uh"s I would be making would ruin our meetings. But when I go to a Latin party, I do make sure to listen to them speak. All the different Latin accents here are confusing. If they spend a moment trying to help me with my Spanish, I will make the effort to speak in Spanish, since they've obviously agreed to it.

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Not exactly a native speaker but he learned enough of the language that he's able to teach me the basics. My friend worked in France for 3 years so it's obvious that he picked up the language, I mean, if 3 years of stay in France doesn't guarantee that you've learned at least a few French words then you're not supposed to travel in the first place. But the great thing is he's girlfriend was French so when I went to France for a visit she's the one that taught me the language which I think she counts as a friend that speaks the language I'm learning.

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My cousins and i do study japanese together! It makes learning so much easier and fun! Plus when we are are home we even have time to practice together. It really helps your memorization ability when you converse with someone. It gets retained in your mind more easily

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yes. I am studying Korean, and my friend started studying for a long time before I did. She speaks the language fluently (both formal and informal). I'm amazed because I'm having a hard time learning, while she didn't. I guess it's because some people learn new languages easier than other people. I ask my friend all the time for help when I encounter problems.

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