What is Hardest- Reading, Writing, or Speaking?

[mitchellgrzechnik]

Writing for sure. Alternatively spoken I find easier at least in terms of communicating in a second language.

[dickybird]

Everything is difficult when trying to learn a new language. Personally, I think writing is very difficult. I know alot of people can speak a language very easily and read if they needed to, but find it very difficult to write. Especially with the order in which the words in a sentence should be, I am learning Turkish and the sentences seem backwards to me. Also getting the right tense and grammar correct when writing because if one word is wrong then the whole sentence doesn't make sense.

[broknkyboard]

I personally find writing to be the easiest one of the three, you have a lot of time to think about how you're going to shape the sentence. Afterwards comes reading, and speaking is by far the hardest one, as you have to translate to and fro as you go along with the conversation.

[1inamillion]

For me it's speaking, and also listening. I've always preferred reading and writing to listening and speaking... I'm just that kind of person. That's why it's more difficult for me to speak than to write. I'm rather shy and extremely afraid of messing up.

For me I think speaking and writing is the hardest thing for me to do. I will listening and grasp the concept of what is been said, I personally get timid and fear that someone would critique in a bad way. I know it is difficult for me to speak out clearly and i rather write. 

[PSLoveCharli]

For me, speaking is the hardest because my biggest flaw is pronunciation. I can read and write Spanish all day -- and understand few phrases when it's being spoken. But I'm having a hard time pronouncing and letting the words flow.

[Antiquarian]

Writing and Reading are the Hardest. Speaking is the easiest for me.

Writing and Reading will become a great challenge if you're learning an entirely new alphabet with a completely different writing system and character series.

Speaking is easier for if you are skilled at talking or with vocals, it is easy to mimic sounds and practice them. Speaking is also a natural response as a human being. We begin to speak when we begin to play with sounds.

The other aspect which makes Writing difficult is that sometimes you have to know strokes or orders when writing characters - especially when it comes to Chinese script.

Reading will become difficult if the alien or foreign words become too complicated that you won't be able recognize them since the characters have become fused to create complex sentences - as in the case of Ancient Greek or Sanskrit texts.

So in order of Easy to Hard for me, it would be ----> Speaking, Writing, Reading.

Regards,

Antiquarian.

[True2marie]

By far, writing a foreign language is hardest. Why? This process involves grammar, punctuation and other aspects people (in general) find challenging. So, if you can't even do these things well in your native language, don't expect to excel in a language that's foreign.

[astuka]

Speaking and listening are definitely the hardest. In reading and writing, you have plenty of time to figure out what to say. However, when having a conversation, you need to be quick on your feet and that can really throw people off.

[Firelily99]

By far it is the speaking that is the hardest for me.  I'm more visual that verbal so when I am able to read or write a new language I do much better than speaking it.  Plus the verbal nuances and accents on words can be problematic when speaking but not reading or writing.

[devilishomar]

For me, it would have to be writing. I have found that I can understand the syntax of a language fairly quickly which signifies that I find reading quite easy. Speaking is a little harder than reading, but you manage to get by once you're around a certain environment.

Writing, however, is a puzzle to me when it comes to a new language. I guess it's because I focus on my grammar a lot so it tends to be harder to write as you try to perfect every sentence.

[dorannmwin]

For me, I would have to say that speaking and listening comprehension are the most difficult for me. The reason for that is that my natural accent shows when I am speaking in another language and that does make it difficult for a native speaker to understand what I am saying at times. With the listening, it is difficult for me because a native speaker will talk so fast that there are things that I know that I miss.

When it comes to reading and writing, my accent and speed really don't make a difference so I'm able to read and write effectively.

[lupitabaires]

Personally the hardest part is listening comprehension and speaking. Reading and writing kind of come naturally for me because in order to learn words, it is best for me to see it written down. When I'm talking to native speakers though, I wish they were close-captioned so I can see what they're saying. The trickiest part is understanding native speakers who speak with a lot of slang or speak very quickly. Getting to a level where I'm confident with comprehension and speaking is the most difficult for me. Also because I'm very shy about speaking. I get nervous and I think my accent is horrible, so nobody understands me anyway. It's really frustrating, but we all just have to keep practicing.

[audsauce]

For me, its the listening aspect of speaking. With reading or writing, you can re-read and consult a dictionary, but with speaking, you're on the spot. Also, you risk potentially looking like an idiot.  :shy:

It's frustrating, because I've studied French for 9 years, but I cannot understand the language at speed. And unlike Spanish, you don't get many opportunities to practice wtih native speakers is the US. Watching French movies does help some though. 

[LivetoErr]

I have trouble with hearing the language.  I can read Spanish fairly well, write it no problem, speak it when needed but absolutely cannot hear it. When I listen to a Spanish person speak (I don't mean learning audio that's been slowed down) I am lost. By the time I figure out what the first few words being said are the speaker is done talking. I don't hear the word separation like I do when listening to English.

[lizbeth19hph]

I believe it all depends on the person who is learning the language since all areas must be developed once you decide to study a foreign language. While some nationalities have difficulty in listening skills but quite adept in grammar and some others are quite well in speaking but have trouble expressing themselves through the written word.

[Lacey]

For me it is writing.  I have always found it difficult to write a foreign language and get everything correct on it.  I can speak to and understand native foreign speakers a lot easier than people who are learning the language too, but I think that writing is the most difficult part of learning a foreign language.

[sos]

For me it has to be the  speaking..Speaking to someone is technically hard,especially when it is not your first language.Sometimes its even embarrassing to speak to someone because you fear making a mistake.

[mareebaybay]

I think the hardest thing to do is actually speak the language. Speaking a language is so hard because you have to actually learn to think that language as well. Then you have to learn how to pronounce words, which is sort of like reading them. Speaking them is a whole other things though.

[BlackCaXIII]

I personally find it hardest to write, even in English where I know the language.

Sometimes I find it impossibly hard to just find the right words, to find the right flow so it's not just a bumbling mess of words, to write properly I think it's really difficult. Grammar and proper sentence structure are also both important with writing, which are things I always found incredibly difficult to learn.

I find reading to be pretty simple for me, and speaking/listening are in the middle.

[fredkawig]

Writing definitely is the hardest part of language. Most people commit mistakes and errors in ; grammar, spelling, subject - verb agreement, tenses and use of words. Sentence construction can be very difficult especially if you are not formally educated with the language.

[owesem75]

I think it depends on the language that you are trying to learn.

In chinese for example, it is easy to learn SPEAKING rather than writing, whereas in french, the speaking is difficult for example: "a plus tard" is pronounced as "a plu ta".. really confusing to me.

I do not have issuess in writing provided I have already learned the structure. Writing gives me more time to think rather than in speaking.

Listening on the other hand is a must to improve if you really wanted to be proficient in a certain language of your choice.

happy learning!

[Aishe]

It depends on the language for me. For Chinese it's definitely writing because I never remember how to write a character despite knowing what it sounds like. It's also more difficult than reading - I can read something perfectly fine but if you ask me to write it 5 seconds later I'm going to really struggle.

As for speaking, I usually don't find it as hard. I know how it should sound in my head and I try to mimic that out loud but sometimes that doesn't really work out well either as I physically can't make the sound (rolling an r for example).

[shamzblueworld]

I think writing is the most difficult part, as you have to be very good at grammer if not perfect to write any good. When speaking, you can get away with that and reading is easy too.

[jdent5936]

I am in Taiwan right now. Writing can be an extraordinary challenge for foreigners to overcome. It is much debated whether it is even worth it for foreigners to put in the long hours it takes to actually memorize how to write out each Chinese character. Each character also has a specific stroke order that needs to be memorized. I don't have a problem speaking the words I do know.

[Lodismel]

I actually think that speaking is the hardest. With writing you can take your time and look stuff up if you need to. Same goes for reading. If you are trying to hold a conversation with somebody you can't look things up. You have to make up sentences as you are talking. For me the process of holding a conversation and trying not to sound like you can't speak is the most difficult.