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English is not my first language, but I think I'm fluent in it :-). I studied French when I was a kid (at some point it was better than my English), and lived in the sphere of Austrian cultural influence where the everyday speech was pervaded by German-derived slang and most people spoke some German. From time to time, I go back to improving both languages, have odds and ends of various tapes and CDs for learning French and German to which I return every few years. I can make myself understood in simple situations in both languages, but being unable to understand pronounciation, when people talk at normal conversational speed, is very frustrating.
When I initially came to the US 40+ years ago, it took me 9 months to overcome the problem of not understanding pronounciation (though I spoke the language well; I learned it in school). Then after 9 months, some miracle happened, and my comprehension of English pronounciation suddenly became crystal clear - it was like living in a blur for 9 months, and then putting on glasses! I think for that kind of phenomenon one needs a total immersion in a foreign-language-speaking society, something that is impossible to get from any language-learning program.
I agree. I can speak and listen to the app pretty well, but when trying to converse in Spanish in Costa Rica, I could not simply understand without thinking about what was said to me or forming the sentence in my brain before I spoke.
Funny, someone else who moved to a Spanish speaking country also said it took nine months before it all clicked.
it be nice to learn spanish due to all the new worker class, but I cant even speak english
LOL I don't even speak Spanish as well as I should. Lets alone English. I laugh when I hear people saying they speak 5/6 + languages. Learn a new one properly takes years. Knowing some words and typical phrases is far to dominate a language.
I laugh when I hear people saying they speak 5/6 + languages. Learning a new one properly takes years.
Immersion is the key.
We were sitting at the bar in an Italian restaurant (owned by someone from Milano)) here in Denver and heard the bartender speaking Italiano to other servers. His English was flawless, by the way. We asked him where he was from in Italia and he said: Slovenija. He left Slovenija and moved to Roma to work for a friend. Then he moved to Miami to work for a friend.
Oh, and he speaks "kitchen Spanish", of course.
Immersion is the key.
We were sitting at the bar in an Italian restaurant (owned by someone from Milano)) here in Denver and heard the bartender speaking Italiano to other servers. His English was flawless, by the way. We asked him where he was from in Italia and he said: Slovenija. He left Slovenija and moved to Roma to work for a friend. Then he moved to Miami to work for a friend.
Oh, and he speaks "kitchen Spanish", of course.
I totally agree with this.
I lived in a household speaking German plus some French for several months. I could understand almost everything at the end of that time, especially French as I had 3 years of instruction at that time, but having a full conversation was something else. I could say sentences but if someone came back with a quick torrent of their language I got lost with a response.
Reading and writing is much easier. A friend who lived several years in a foreign country said he knew he was making progress when he stopped translating everything in his head and started to “think†in the foreign language. Maybe that is what people find around that nine month mark.
We were introduced to Spanish and French in High School but it was only about 5-6 weeks each. I decided that I would learn Spanish so I did two years of it in college. I could read it better than speak it but since I didn't use it much, it faded away.
Fast forward to retirement and I'm in Italy and realize that I know some of what is being said since Italian is somewhat close to Spanish with some common words. Later I'm in Peru and my Spanish came back a little. Later still I moved full-time to New Mexico where Spanish is commonly heard. I know people who speak only Spanish, and I can converse for just basic stuff. So now at 75 and with hearing aids I am taking on-line Spanish (Duolingo). I am about eight months into daily lessons and practice, and it is coming back. I suspect that my hearing will not let me be very good at conversation but reading comes easy and I can be understood well enough.
I was in Spain in October and was exposed to Catalan and Galician as well as Castilian and they differ from Mexican border Spanish which is a little different from deep interior Mexican Spanish.
I have heard five different languages spoken at once at my local McDonalds -- English, Spanish, two native Indian languages, and Italian. I play bocce with some Italian speakers.
I am thinking of learning German. Have new books and guides.....and all the Department of War books the family got in the immediate post WWII times.
Why? Two and then some main reasons. First, some of the videos available to me don't come in English, aren't subtitled, and I would really like to know what they say. I suppose I could buy one of those translators for ~$160, but why not try to learn it.
Secondly, in my role playing, I speak bit words of German, French, Russian, Spanish, Polynesian, and Arabic.......I can count in Japanese. I would like to learn more.....especially of a language like Tagalog where I am not likely to come across someone who knows it and then try to converse with me.
Finally, in the Emergency episode "Weird Wednesday" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0570724/?ref_=tt_ep_pr , there is a patient speaking a foreign language and no one knows which one. I would like to know enough of many languages to........"Do you speak (say) Greek? (understand yes/no) (if yes) "I do not but I understand. I will find a translator.".
I think that learning a new language as you get older is a great idea for keeping the mind healthy and active, as the original poster pointed out. I've learned 8 foreign languages in addition to my native English. On most days I watch YouTube videos in French, German, or Italian. Although I do love languages, my motive is also to avoid dementia. I do other activities deliberately for the same reason: play the piano and guitar, read, write, do artwork, and of course exercise.
. I would like to learn more.....especially of a language like Tagalog where I am not likely to come across someone who knows it and then try to converse with me.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Originally Posted by TamaraSavannah
.... I would like to learn more.....especially of a language like Tagalog where I am not likely to come across someone who knows it and then try to converse with me.
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Immersion is the key
