Is it for fun or is there a reason behind it?

[Trellum]

Hi there!  I think I have mentioned a couple times that when I was 16 years old or so my interest to learn a new language started.  Back then I had all the time of the world, so I did that for fun!  I actually wanted to learn as many languages as possible!  The my top 10 back then were these:

1 - Norwegian

2 - Swedish

3 - Finnish

4 - Danish

5 - Old Norse

6 - Icelandic

7 - Estonian

8 - German

9 - Old English

10 - French

 

Now over a decade later I am learning Dutch, a language I never liked   Not even back when I was younger I had interest in it...  So here I am!  I'm learning it because I am going to have to take an exam in a few weeks. So basically I am doing this because I have to, not because I want to. Despite all that I must say this experience hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be   I haven't disliked it that much!  And i seem to have made some progress already   What about you? Are you learning a new language for fun or is there any other reason? 

[lingualbabe]

I also have some languages that I would love to learn in the future:  

1. French

2. Spanish

3. German

For me, I'm more of learning a language since it is fun. I have no tests or requirements to take that requires a knowledge of a certain language. Although, I would love to be an English teacher to foreign students here like Koreans and Japanese. And to teach them effectively, I think I need to master their language. So that could be another reason as to why I'm learning certain languages. Good luck to us and all the other learning a new language!

[missbookworm]

I have already tried learning the Japanese language. I am still not fluent in Nihonggo though, but I now know some of their basic greetings. Anyway, as for me, I want to study another foreign language both for fun and for serious reasons. I do want to explore various cultures and languages for research purposes, and at the same time, I want to be able to enjoy the experience of doing it. I believe they go hand in hand.

[lushlala]

At the moment i'm not learning any new languages. All I've ever wanted to learn is French, and then later on I also fell in love with  Italian. It wasn't  so much for fun, but really to learn the languages with a view to actually becoming near fluent.

[Trellum]

I also have some languages that I would love to learn in the future:  

1. French

2. Spanish

3. German

For me, I'm more of learning a language since it is fun. I have no tests or requirements to take that requires a knowledge of a certain language. Although, I would love to be an English teacher to foreign students here like Koreans and Japanese. And to teach them effectively, I think I need to master their language. So that could be another reason as to why I'm learning certain languages. Good luck to us and all the other learning a new language!

That is great, you know?  I have noticed in Europe talking those 3 languages is very important (plus English, of course).  A lot good jobs seems to ask for someone who is multilingual.  So I'd also like to learn french and German, since I already speak french and English.  I think that if you know all those languages you can easily be understood almost everywhere in Europe   For me the monetary motivation is very important,  but I still dream of having time to learn languages for fun... I'd still like to learn Norwegian, because I totally love Norway. Best of luck to you, I have heard Korean is not easy to learn at all!  A girl I know married a Korean, she's been there a couple of years and she hasn't made such a great progress. 

[Trellum]

I have already tried learning the Japanese language. I am still not fluent in Nihonggo though, but I now know some of their basic greetings. Anyway, as for me, I want to study another foreign language both for fun and for serious reasons. I do want to explore various cultures and languages for research purposes, and at the same time, I want to be able to enjoy the experience of doing it. I believe they go hand in hand.

That sounds great   So I guess you really like the Japanese culture!  I had a friend who wanted to learn Japanese for the same reason. I think I feel the exact same way towards Norwegian, for the simple fact I love that country and I used to live and work there when I was younger. I love that country and its culture, I am so interested in its history, mythology and culture. Everything about that country fascinates me, I even love their home decor! <3  I think I have different reasons to learn different languages as well   Learning Dutch is just a chore, English was a natural process, but learning Norwegian will be a true pleasure! 

[Spyllus]

I want to know more languages not only for the sake of it, but also so I can go overseas and speak another country's native tongue.

[kurdapia]

I want to learn French because I wanted to visit France in the future. Now, I am trying to learn Spanish because I want to become a bilingual customer service representative.

[Tyrell]

When I was younger, I wanted to learn Japanese and Korean. Japanese because I liked anime (cliché, I know) and wanted to study abroad there.. but after a few attempts on learning I just gave up. I realized that I don't have the drive or passion for the language. I just have absolutely no interest in learning it. So I gave up and moved on to the next one, which was Korean. The reason why I wanted to learn it is pretty much the same as the reason why I wanted to learn Japanese, except replace the 'anime' part with K-Pop, so that's cliché number two. I gave up and stopped learning the language for the same exact reason.

After that I really just stuck with English - practicing it and improving it. Recently though, I'm starting to be interested in learning Spanish.. and by recent I mean recent. I literally just started learning it a few days ago, and I'm actually enjoying it! I don't know why I want to though. I don't listen to Spanish songs and I have no interest in studying abroad in Spain whatsoever. It's quite sudden. A week ago I had absolutely no interest in learning Spain. Never had the desire to learn it either.

I'm the kind of person who can't learn a language unless I'm genuinely interested in it. No matter how much I try, if I don't like the language I just won't get it. Studied Chinese for two years and literally the only thing I can do right now is count to ten.

[Alphonse]

Japanese I'm learning entirely for entertainment purposes. I love anime and would also like to import certain games that only come out in Japan.

French, on the other hand, I'm learning just in case I end up moving to Canada in the future. It's not a sure thing, but if I end up moving I'd like to be prepared.

[Trellum]

When I was younger, I wanted to learn Japanese and Korean. Japanese because I liked anime (cliché, I know) and wanted to study abroad there.. but after a few attempts on learning I just gave up. I realized that I don't have the drive or passion for the language. I just have absolutely no interest in learning it. So I gave up and moved on to the next one, which was Korean. The reason why I wanted to learn it is pretty much the same as the reason why I wanted to learn Japanese, except replace the 'anime' part with K-Pop, so that's cliché number two. I gave up and stopped learning the language for the same exact reason.

After that I really just stuck with English - practicing it and improving it. Recently though, I'm starting to be interested in learning Spanish.. and by recent I mean recent. I literally just started learning it a few days ago, and I'm actually enjoying it! I don't know why I want to though. I don't listen to Spanish songs and I have no interest in studying abroad in Spain whatsoever. It's quite sudden. A week ago I had absolutely no interest in learning Spain. Never had the desire to learn it either.

I'm the kind of person who can't learn a language unless I'm genuinely interested in it. No matter how much I try, if I don't like the language I just won't get it. Studied Chinese for two years and literally the only thing I can do right now is count to ten.

Best of luck to you then   I hope you manage to learn Spanish, knowing more than 2 languages is very nice and is bound to impress  a lot people (a great conversation starter as well as a great ice breaker if used right).  Learning a new language is the best long term investment ever, I know it because I am sure if it wasn't because I learnt English when I was 16... I'd not be where I am right now.  So best of luck to you    I hope you stay motivated! 

[lingualbabe]

 

That is great, you know?  I have noticed in Europe talking those 3 languages is very important (plus English, of course).  A lot good jobs seems to ask for someone who is multilingual.  So I'd also like to learn french and German, since I already speak french and English.  I think that if you know all those languages you can easily be understood almost everywhere in Europe   For me the monetary motivation is very important,  but I still dream of having time to learn languages for fun... I'd still like to learn Norwegian, because I totally love Norway. Best of luck to you, I have heard Korean is not easy to learn at all!  A girl I know married a Korean, she's been there a couple of years and she hasn't made such a great progress. 

Europe is one of my dream destinations. I sure hope to learn these languages before I go there lol! Norway seems like a great country. My former classmate resides in Norway now and she seems completely happy. Yeah, Korean is extremely hard to learn especially if you're not into it so much. Good thing I love K-pop and Korean dramas so I am really motivated to learn the language.

[humanoid]

I'm currently learning Polish, Not really for fun but because there's been a large influx of Poles coming to my city and the surrounding area. I work in the office of a recruitment agency and we work with a lot of them. I'd like to be able to communicate more effectively with them. It would do my promotion prospects a big favour too! 

[Trellum]

Europe is one of my dream destinations. I sure hope to learn these languages before I go there lol! Norway seems like a great country. My former classmate resides in Norway now and she seems completely happy. Yeah, Korean is extremely hard to learn especially if you're not into it so much. Good thing I love K-pop and Korean dramas so I am really motivated to learn the language.

Awesome!   Are you coming to study to Europe or something like that?  If you want to live in a good country... pick one that  is not part of the European union, Norway is one of those countries and people live so well there. I really wish I was moving there and not the Netherlands (nothing good about the Netherlands really) the language is much easier to learn, life quality is great, new mothers get one year off from work to spend it with their baby, healthcare is excellent and very cheap, etc. Iceland is also a great place   Most countries that don't belong to the European union are.  

[Trellum]

I'm currently learning Polish, Not really for fun but because there's been a large influx of Poles coming to my city and the surrounding area. I work in the office of a recruitment agency and we work with a lot of them. I'd like to be able to communicate more effectively with them. It would do my promotion prospects a big favour too! 

So I am guessing you are British?  I must admit I have felt tempted to learn polish, because over  the place where I will be living  there are a lot polish people working there.  So I guess learning some polish could be really useful, since in my future job I might come in contact with a lot of them   But I am not so sure, polish is one of the many languages that has never attracted me.  By the way, how advanced is your polish now?  I ask because I am currently learning a language I don't even like nor I ever planned to learn, but I'm forced to learn it since I am moving to the country where said language is spoken.  

[lushlala]

I also have some languages that I would love to learn in the future:  

1. French

2. Spanish

3. German

For me, I'm more of learning a language since it is fun. I have no tests or requirements to take that requires a knowledge of a certain language. Although, I would love to be an English teacher to foreign students here like Koreans and Japanese. And to teach them effectively, I think I need to master their language. So that could be another reason as to why I'm learning certain languages. Good luck to us and all the other learning a new language!

I'd say that would be a great set of languages to learn! I often see many job adverts wanting those languages, and these are usually very well paid jobs, too. So I'd say keep at it and good luck in learning all three  

[hungary93]

Well, learning a language for fun can be really well, a good choice. But you just get tired after a while, and If you do not use it in a day-to-day basis you can easily forget a lot. Learning a language because of work or life reasons in the other hand is really demanding, because you have to get understand yourself with the taxi driver, shop, pharmacy, etc. In my experience the latter is easier.

[misskrystal1982]

I have been working on French and Spanish slowly for a while now.  I started in high school, then took a break and now I am picking it up again.  My main reason for starting is that between knowing English, French and Spanish I should be able to communicate with most people I would encounter on a day to day basis.

[lingualbabe]

 

Awesome!   Are you coming to study to Europe or something like that?  If you want to live in a good country... pick one that  is not part of the European union, Norway is one of those countries and people live so well there. I really wish I was moving there and not the Netherlands (nothing good about the Netherlands really) the language is much easier to learn, life quality is great, new mothers get one year off from work to spend it with their baby, healthcare is excellent and very cheap, etc. Iceland is also a great place   Most countries that don't belong to the European union are.  

Oh, not really. Just traveling for the sake of traveling, lol! Yeah, the European Union has Greece in it right? I would never have imagined Greece to be in such a situation.:/ Yes, I think Norway is one of the best countries out there and the reasons you stated make it seem such a better place than anywhere else. If I may ask, why is the Netherlands not that good to live in? I always thought that it is such a quiet and nice country. Iceland seems nice too, I read that it has the highest reading rate!

[Trellum]

Oh, not really. Just traveling for the sake of traveling, lol! Yeah, the European Union has Greece in it right? I would never have imagined Greece to be in such a situation.:/ Yes, I think Norway is one of the best countries out there and the reasons you stated make it seem such a better place than anywhere else. If I may ask, why is the Netherlands not that good to live in? I always thought that it is such a quiet and nice country. Iceland seems nice too, I read that it has the highest reading rate!

Well financially speaking they are not doing so well, just like is the case for most EU countries.  Health care is horrible, and you have to pay around 100 euros a month for it.  Plus  big part of the country is below sea level, so there is always a risk of flooding.  It's scary, because I don't know how to swim and I've always been afraid of dark deep waters   Most of the people I've met are incredibly rude, unstable, and plain nasty.  People over there seem to be really bitter, unhappy and extremely antisocial towards foreigners. They also like to gossip a lot and talk behind your back. They like to meddle a lot. I had heard about Dutch people being plain nasty (generally speaking) but I thought it was an exaggeration. It isn't. Norwegians are much nicer. The only thing I like about that place is that a lot things (food)  are very cheap, even salmon. In my country salmon costs an arm and a leg D: 

[czarina84]

Both.  I wanted to learn a foreign language since I was six years old and stumbled upon my mother's Spanish-English dictionary.  I have a love of Spanish music, which would benefit greatly from knowing what they were saying.  .  Also, many jobs prefer people who are at least bilingual. 

[humanoid]

So I am guessing you are British?  I must admit I have felt tempted to learn polish, because over  the place where I will be living  there are a lot polish people working there.  So I guess learning some polish could be really useful, since in my future job I might come in contact with a lot of them   But I am not so sure, polish is one of the many languages that has never attracted me.  By the way, how advanced is your polish now?  I ask because I am currently learning a language I don't even like nor I ever planned to learn, but I'm forced to learn it since I am moving to the country where said language is spoken.  

Yes, I'm British! I'm at a strange place with my Polish right now - I can understand someone telling me about their work experience and education but there's no way I could follow a conversation about, say, shopping or movies just yet. My classes are very business-language oriented and it's full of people like me who are learning for career advancement. I suppose you could say I'm doing it for the money and that's a great motivator!

[Trellum]

Yes, I'm British! I'm at a strange place with my Polish right now - I can understand someone telling me about their work experience and education but there's no way I could follow a conversation about, say, shopping or movies just yet. My classes are very business-language oriented and it's full of people like me who are learning for career advancement. I suppose you could say I'm doing it for the money and that's a great motivator!

Awesome, I think it's awesome you can understand when they are talking about job experience  and education, that is a big deal!  Not many people can do that, I've heard polish it's such a tough language to learn, so I really admire the fact you can already do that.   Because isn't easy to learn a language you don't quite like, just like me with Dutch, but I guess in a way money is also my motivator to learn it, because well in order to get an ok job there I need to speak dutch.  By the way, what's your polish level right now? A2? B2?

[lingualbabe]

 

Well financially speaking they are not doing so well, just like is the case for most EU countries.  Health care is horrible, and you have to pay around 100 euros a month for it.  Plus  big part of the country is below sea level, so there is always a risk of flooding.  It's scary, because I don't know how to swim and I've always been afraid of dark deep waters   Most of the people I've met are incredibly rude, unstable, and plain nasty.  People over there seem to be really bitter, unhappy and extremely antisocial towards foreigners. They also like to gossip a lot and talk behind your back. They like to meddle a lot. I had heard about Dutch people being plain nasty (generally speaking) but I thought it was an exaggeration. It isn't. Norwegians are much nicer. The only thing I like about that place is that a lot things (food)  are very cheap, even salmon. In my country salmon costs an arm and a leg D: 

That's a lot of money for health care! That's really scary but then again, I also live in a place where it's surrounded by water, so I'm also in the same boat as you. We even have a mall in here that is above sea water. Really! They just buried sands and rocks under it to be able to build the mall above water. 

 

That's sad. There's nothing more irritating than being with people who have nothing good to say. Gossiping is for people who have nothing better to do. I know as people here tend to gossip so much too, and they're mostly people who have no jobs.:/ 

 

Oh wow, salmon is very delicious. It is also kind of expensive here and we are in a country surrounded by waters, lol. But at least, there's a good side to living there. How about fruits and vegetables, are they cheap there?

[Trellum]

That's a lot of money for health care! That's really scary but then again, I also live in a place where it's surrounded by water, so I'm also in the same boat as you. We even have a mall in here that is above sea water. Really! They just buried sands and rocks under it to be able to build the mall above water. 

 

That's sad. There's nothing more irritating than being with people who have nothing good to say. Gossiping is for people who have nothing better to do. I know as people here tend to gossip so much too, and they're mostly people who have no jobs.:/ 

 

Oh wow, salmon is very delicious. It is also kind of expensive here and we are in a country surrounded by waters, lol. But at least, there's a good side to living there. How about fruits and vegetables, are they cheap there?

You can find some really good offers   But to be honest? I prefer the fruit from my country... mangoes looks so nice and yellow, but wait and see until you start eating it, so bad!   It looked so nice, but it tasted awful. I was later explained that the fruit there won't ever taste the way they do in Mexico, because well, their weather s bad most of the time (another thing I don't like from that place - it's windy like hell almost all year round! so no hair down no hair done at all, lol).  But  I do like the Hema (a store) they sell a lot nice things there for an ok price.  Hehehe, I'm trying to find as many positive things as possible before I move