What is Hardest- Reading, Writing, or Speaking?

[Pink Glitter]

The hardest thing for me is to do is learn to read and write a language. I can memorize vocabulary with the help of flash card and app's. The more I listen to a new language the easer it becomes to recognize and understand. Finding someone to help me practice  my pronunciation is to terribly difficult. However when it comes to learning how to become literate in a brand new language  , feel like I am in first grade all over again trying to make since out of letter and sounds  :frozen:

[basmae]

For me, speaking and learning how to understand others by utilizing my listening skills were by far the toughest aspect to learning a new language.  However, I did find that writing was an easier skill do develop over the others. 

[Kandikkal]

It has to be 'speaking' for me. My native tongue is Malayalam and when I started to learn Tamil it was easy for me to learn writing and reading. But to actually speak Tamil was so embarrassing for me.

Speaking in English is also a difficult thing to do. But I find reading and writing somewhat easier.

[Hispoiema]

I think it is speaking of the choices you gave, but listening is, I think the hardest.

With speaking you may have the correct pronunciation, but then there is the accent. My daughter makes fun of me if I use a Spanish word with an American accent. She says it is not supposed to be done that way.  But I feel funny using the accent if it is not intrinsic to me. That is probably something I need to get past, huh?

But I think listening is the hardest because native peoples talk faster than the programs we often use to learn their language.

[winsomenotions]

Th most difficult for me is speaking. When I am writing or reading I have time to think about the words and process them to make sure I definitely understand them. When I'm speaking I have to just know vocabulary and the grammar so I can talk in a conversation without awkward pauses and randomly interjected English.

[Banianna]

This all really depends on the language in question. Thai might be harder to speak than it is to write for example. Writing in Japanese would almost certainly be more difficult than speaking it for someone who is only fluent in English.

Typically I would think writing is the most difficult. If reading is difficult, actual application by writing would be more difficult--in most situations. Interestingly my mother (whose native tongue is Thai) can write quite capably in English but struggles to read in English, especially contemporary works full of slang terms and references.

[Hanaseru]

I think that all 3 are around the same difficulty, with maybe reading being a bit easier than the others.

Writing: You really have to recall vocabulary and you have to be able to put them into coherent sentences

Reading: You have to make sense of a group of words, although you can probably guess for part of it with context clues

Speaking: You have to think of words quickly enough.  Grammar is much more forgiving in the spoken language.

[David]

I've always found writing the hardest and I think this is mainly due to grammar rules, they never quite stick in my head. When speaking slight emissions of these rules is generally acceptable and when reading they never seem to bother me, just in writing I often make mistakes.

[punksluut]

The thing I find the hardest is thinking about something to write about.

[cmiller]

For me it would be speaking. I say this because with reading or writing you do not actually have to try to pronounce the words. Everybody is different but for me actually speaking it is harder.

[skywatcher]

For me, it would definitely be speaking. I'm able to express myself effectively through writing, but speaking is another matter entirely. I have to consider my intonation, the proper pronunciation, the diction and my hand gestures, especially my facial gestures. I have to consider everything - from the audience, to the setting, and to my piece as well.

I have to be able to effectively adjust myself depending on what happens while I'm speaking. This is harden than writing because, unlike writing that allows us to be in control of the situation, anything can happen while I'm speaking - which means I have to learn how to adapt quickly and respond effectively just the same.

[jgar06]

For me it's listening. I was at the mall back a few months ago and this woman was running a little booth and I over heard her talking Italian so I spoke Italian to her thinking that my Italian was superb. I kid you not, I understood maybe 20% of the things she said. She was just talking so fast, she of course slowed down when I explained to her that I am only a student in the language and not a fluent speaker.

[Preya_M]

Speaking is definitely the hardest for me to do. When you're reading and writing you can always look over what you did and change it if necessary, but when it comes to speaking, what ever you say cannot be taken back, you can correct yourself yes, but it's still pretty embarrassing. Pronouncing words can pose as a difficult task sometimes as well.

[Anju]

I find that it's... all three.

Well, speaking I guess. Reading and writing is easy with korean but when it comes to speaking, you have to tip toe your way around the language as you may offend someone.

The social system is strict and you need to know the proper honorifics and such.

[Blackbagel]

I think it's writing because for me, I can learn to speak it better but have a hard time writing because they always have these tricks o exceptions that you have you have to remember but they sound the same. It gets really annoying at times. Reading I think is easier because you just have to get the gist of what they wrote but writing it yourself is a whole new area of trouble.

[lizbeth19hph]

I am a writer by profession so most of the time, I am not engaged in public speaking and too much vocals. So, I would consider speaking as the most difficult skill to develop when learning English or any other language.Though when we decide to learn a foreign language, all of these areas should be worked on, all skills must be learned and improved.

[Gelsemium]

I think this might depend from person to person like lizbeth says, for some the writing might flow easily and have a hard time speaking, while others can speak in public easily and have a hard time writing. For me when learning a new language I think that speaking is the hardest.

[Rosyrain]

For me the hardest part is writing in the language I am trying to learn because you have to learn how to spell the word correctly and use it properly in the sentence.  For instance in Spanish, the description word comes after the noun in which it is describing, like the Rio Grande river in English means River Grand.  In English we would call it the Grand River.  This gets confusing.  At least when reading and speaking the words, they are spelled correctly and used properly so you just have to learn pronunciation of the word.

[Firelily99]

I'm very visual so speaking is the most difficult by far.  Reading and writing don't have the issues that speaking does with the accent and syntax.  If you can read it and spell it is far easier than speaking it.

[pipps]

I think all are quite difficult, but I think the hardest is writing. I don't know why but when I see a foreign word (in the language I am learning) I know exactly what it means and I can say it out loud. But then you could ask me to write down a sentence and I would be completely struggling. It's weird how it works

[angie51]

Personally I tend to find that speaking a foreign language the hardest. Whilst reading or writing, comes easier to myself. I believe the reason for this is confidence,as you may read or write something several times,until you are happy with the results.It it different when speaking as I feel that you only have one attempt to get it correct.

[GingerSpice]

For me it depends on the language. Writing in Spanish is definitely easier than writing in Japanese! I like writing better, because like some others said, it helps me express myself easier. It takes me longer to learn how to speak it, which is definitely the hardest part for me.

[babyleans]

for me its writing as well but only the creative sort of writing. i'm fairly good at conversational writing since i chat with a lot of spanish speaking people. the second hardest thing is speaking. i suppose the easiest for me is reading and then listening.

[lindsayraeann]

As for most, I think, speaking and listening are hardest for me. Since I'm not quite fluent in a second language yet, most native speakers speak more quickly than my ears can keep up with! I'm a visual learner, and speaking requires me to visualize in my head, which is not something I've perfected yet. Try speaking to me in Spanish and you'll see me with my eyes rolled up trying to see what's going on inside my brain!

I find writing to be the easiest, but probably because I make many many mistakes without realizing it. Reading is easier for me, but not quite as easy as writing, sometimes I take the words too literally and they don't make sense to me. I tend to translate directly.

[003]

I am having the hardest time in speaking. One who listens needs to have some familiarity of the word. He has to have encountered the word being said at least once, either he's read or wrote it. Otherwise, he would be left clueless at all with the word and unable to understand it just like what happens to me.

Next thing is speaking. It does not come spontaneously to me. I have to think every word that I will say. I have to construct and hear them in my head before I can finally speak them.