What is the hardest part for you?

[Lingua Franca]

14 hours ago, VinayaSpeaks said:

If the language does not use the script that you are familiar with, then it could be hard for you to learn the language. Remembering how a certain alphabet is written or spoke could be quite challenging. However, if you are learning the language that uses the same script, most difficult thing is to remember the sound, how it is spoken. If you are English,you can easily learn French, but will be difficult to learn Russian because script is different.

That is probably one of the things that can make learning a language take longer. The more familiar the language the easier it's to learn but there are people that learn another language that is very distant from there own quickly and very often they can't even explain why this is. I guess some people just have a knack for certain languages.

[VinayaSpeaks]

3 hours ago, Lingua Franca said:

That is probably one of the things that can make learning a language take longer. The more familiar the language the easier it's to learn but there are people that learn another language that is very distant from there own quickly and very often they can't even explain why this is. I guess some people just have a knack for certain languages.

Yes, I have also observed that for some people learning language easy and for some it is really hard. However, it is also true that most of the people are bilingual if not multi lingual. That's because people learn language looking for earning opportunities. In Asian countries such as China, Japan Korea etc., people learn English as a second language because English creates opportunities for them in the job market.

[SusanC]

For me, the hardest part is trying to concentrate on the language I am speaking when there are several other languages going on the room. My family recently opened a business in Cyprus and somehow it seems to me here are always at least 5 different languages going on in the room I am in  It is fun, but at the same time I find it very confusing. I do love living over here for now though, it's a very beautiful place and I am pretty proud of my parents for taking this huge step and opening their very own business. Is anyone else here from Cyprus? We would love to get to know some people and maybe some tips for great places and tips and tricks and recommendations. A friend just recommended cyprus company service to my parents so they would be ok with doing their taxes, etc. and it worked out very well. I believe that mouth to mouth often is way better than what you can find online, so I just wanted to let you know, in case you are in need of  some help, contact these people, they are very professional and nice.

[Ling Lang]

Yes, learning a language which uses different script is challenging. Before you start learning you have to get to know the script and sounds represented by the signs and letters. 

For me grammar is the most difficult part. Learning how to use various constructions and tenses is indispensable in order to use a language freely having no misgivings about correctness. When some sentence is grammatically correct in one language it doesn't mean that it's correct in other. Initially it was a challenge for me to distinguish the tenses in English and learn when and how to use them. I dealt with it but I keep on practising.

[lecanard7]

Because I learned French as a child and then lost it through disuse I don't have some of the normal problems that people have when learning a language. I guess the hardest things for me is trying to keep up with my studying and writing. Grammar is hard for me and I often find myself struggling to put sentences together. 

[panipX]

I find it very difficult keeping myself motivated when I am making very slow progress. When I am doing everything right I seem to cruise but when I get stuck somewhere I get frustrated and demotivated soon. I guess I am not very good in recognizing subtle differences in accents and this sometimes make it all very confusing.

[Mereloshn]

The hardest part for me is not having anyone who speaks the languages I'm studying to practice with.  It's hard to become fluent if I don't have much opportunity to use it. 

[Baburra]

It's all difficult for me, really, especially when the language is so far off from my native one both in writing and speaking, but I'd say the one that gives me most frustration is pronunciation. I always wish I could pronounce it as well as the locals do but my training is already way too different that I feel as though it might be almost impossible for me to copy the exact accent for it to sound authentic. I think it's alright even if you don't get it completely down though. 

[babelle]

On 7/29/2016 at 4:16 AM, Norjak71 said:

Learning the language is hard, but its the accent that always gets me. Its the little things that can separate you from being bilingual and a complete amateur. I've been really trying to learn french, and that is by far the hardest accent to master in my opinion, but the language is beautiful. 

Same thing here. Just when you think you have learned what there is to learn about a language, then you hear a native speaker talk in a manner that's completely foreign to you. I was lucky to have a college teacher who was a native Spanish speaker so I was able to imbibe the Spanish 'air' but I don't have that privilege with the French language. I've studied liaisons intensively but I am lost, yes, completely lost when listening to a native French speaker. Yes, French is beautiful. 

[KimmyMarkks]

One of the hardest parts of learning another language is understanding the different tenses.  Past, present and future.  Different languages have different rules.  The Italian language is easy in that you just change the end of the word.  However, I know for many other languages it is just more complicated. 

Does any one have any ticks for understanding different tenses in certain languages? 

[sidney]

Pronunciation has always been my weakest point in learning a new language. You really have no idea how a foreign word is pronounced, so you also have to observe and research how it is pronounced by going to Youtube and listening to pronunciation videos.

[Baburra]

1 hour ago, sidney said:

Pronunciation has always been my weakest point in learning a new language. You really have no idea how a foreign word is pronounced, so you also have to observe and research how it is pronounced by going to Youtube and listening to pronunciation videos.

Me too. Even when you have a lot of resources nowadays to hear it straight from native speakers it doesn't mean you could duplicate it easily. I think it really is one of the hardest parts to nail down as I have heard many foreigners who eventually learn to speak fluently but never quite pick up how to exactly pronounce or accurately speak in the native accent since most likely their tongue has gotten way used to speaking their own local way and it's not easy to adapt that into another way of speaking. 

[clair02]

I also struggle a lot with pronounciation. I try to get a lot of help from apps and online resources, but I know that it will never be quite the same as learning from native speakers. In time though, I hope I'll be good enough to possibly pass for a native speaker. 

[lushlala]

I'm probably in the minority here, but another frustrating problem I struggle with is the confidence to speak the language, especially with the native speakers. IDK, I just come over all shy and timid and feel too intimidated to speak in their presence. I mean, this is how silly it is, even back at university when it was just me, our lecturer and my peers, I remember dreading the speaking lessons. I was one of the top performers, but then I'd clam up when it got to my turn to stand up and speak or present something in French. It's a problem I certainly wish I didn't have because it will only hamper my progression in the future. I often nail the grammar and te written aspect, long before I can speak a single sentence. It's just so weird. Does anyone else struggle with this?!

[sidney]

On 9/12/2016 at 8:19 PM, Baburra said:

Me too. Even when you have a lot of resources nowadays to hear it straight from native speakers it doesn't mean you could duplicate it easily. I think it really is one of the hardest parts to nail down as I have heard many foreigners who eventually learn to speak fluently but never quite pick up how to exactly pronounce or accurately speak in the native accent since most likely their tongue has gotten way used to speaking their own local way and it's not easy to adapt that into another way of speaking. 

I agree. Just look at the Indians, even if they speak fluent English, their accent is still very thick and noticeable. Also the Chinese. They have a thick accent. Luckily, us Filipinos have a neutral accent and it's very trainable to adapt to the US accent.

[poftim]

lushlala,

I have pretty much the same problem with lack of confidence as you do. I prefer it actually when there are no other native English speakers around. If there are other people with English as their first language, I'll sometimes be embarrassed to speak the foreign language in front of them, or else they'll just take over and I'll end up not saying anything.

Don't know whether I should be advocating this on a forum like this, but in my experience alcohol does help!

[Baburra]

On September 14, 2016 at 1:13 AM, sidney said:

I agree. Just look at the Indians, even if they speak fluent English, their accent is still very thick and noticeable. Also the Chinese. They have a thick accent. Luckily, us Filipinos have a neutral accent and it's very trainable to adapt to the US accent.

I like that there are different accents for English, because it's the international language and I think it adds to the charm. I am a lot more worried about pronunciation most of the time though rather than accent because some languages are far off from the native pronunciations so it's difficult sometimes to speak words with a bit more accuracy. French, for example, I find very difficult to pronounce a lot of the words and I think it's a difficulty for a lot of other people too because the way they speak is so unique to them. 

[Lingua Franca]

On 26/08/2016 at 5:53 AM, lecanard7 said:

Because I learned French as a child and then lost it through disuse I don't have some of the normal problems that people have when learning a language. I guess the hardest things for me is trying to keep up with my studying and writing. Grammar is hard for me and I often find myself struggling to put sentences together. 

I can imagine it would be in French. It's considered by many as two different languages. The spoken and the written language, since they still haven't modernized the written language it can be quit complex.

[Tripeo]

The hardest part for me used to be the fact of speaking in public back in the days when my accent was horrible and nobody could understand a single word I said, for real. It really feel awkward when you're speaking and nobody could understand you in any way. That's what motivated me the msot to develop an accent and try to sound as good as possible and well, I'd have to say that it really helped me out. indeed.

[sidney]

23 hours ago, Baburra said:

I like that there are different accents for English, because it's the international language and I think it adds to the charm. I am a lot more worried about pronunciation most of the time though rather than accent because some languages are far off from the native pronunciations so it's difficult sometimes to speak words with a bit more accuracy. French, for example, I find very difficult to pronounce a lot of the words and I think it's a difficulty for a lot of other people too because the way they speak is so unique to them. 

True, that's why I was never drawn to study the French language. It seems really complicated for me and you will have a small target people for that, since only France and Canada are the only countries that speak French.