Hardest thing for you learning a new language?

[bobjenkins]

Hey guys / Qué tal

What was the hardest thing you went through while learning a new language?
Was it actually learning to speak the language? Grammar? Listening? Culture? Writing?

So far I am finding it hardest to listen and understand spanish, writing/reading is easier for me because I just have more time to think Anyone finding it harder to write then speak?

thanks / gracías

[CrOtALiTo]

I think that the harder to learn is the listen the news at English and sometimes I spend some time while try to learn the language listening to the people speaks English although, I can understand much more to way write than spook.

[ElDanés]

Personalmente, creo que escribir y construir frases en una nueva idioma es el más difícil.

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by ElDanés

Personalmente, creo que escribir y construir frases en un nuevo idioma es lo más difícil.

I find listening the most difficult thing when learning English. When I study Italian, the worse thing is writing, because they use a lot of doubled consonants, and Spanish don't. Maybe it depends on the language you're learning.

[María José]

For my students the biggest problem when learning English is Listening. Even the advanced ones find it hard to understand films without subtitles.

[bobjenkins]

Originally Posted by irmamar

I find listening the most difficult thing when learning English. When I study Italian, the worse thing is writing, because they use a lot of doubled consonants, and Spanish doesn't. Maybe it depends on the language you're learning.

Irmamar, when you are listening to english is it hard to understand because we talk fast or does it seem that english speakers talk slower than spanish speakers?

I think the hardest thing about listening to spanish speakers is that they seem to talk so much faster than english speakers. I guess it's hard to understand a new language at any speed when you first start

But writing in spanish seems more simple than english for some reason, maybe its because there are so many weird rules to remember with english, and in spanish the bulk of it is conjugating verbs

[Jessica]

hearing and speaking in a foreign language is hard for me.
writing, it's not as bad but I can only write in 3 languages.
For other languages, I only know 1 or 2 words that I can recognize or speak :P

For me English seems easier to write than Spanish....

[irmamar]

Sometimes I don't understand English speakers because I think that they don't vocalize, as if they hat something in their mouth (sorry). There are Spanish people who don't vocalize either. I don't know who speaks fast, if Spanish or English speakers, above all because English speakers use a lot of contractions of words and we don't. Anyway, when I have to talk in Spanish to a foreigner in my language, I try to do it slowly and making a good vocalization (and my gestures, of course , everything is helpful)

[ElDanés]

Muchas gracias por la corrección, irmamar. Creí la palabra idioma fue femenino por su terminación, pero ahora entendo que es irregular como las palabras mano que es femenina y problema que es masculino.

[chileno]

When learning English, the hardest thing for me was to beat myself down so that I could continue.

Usually it is one's own mind our worst enemy...

[irmamar]

I find listening the most difficult thing when learning English. When I study Italian, the worse thing is writing, because they use a lot of doubled consonants, and Spanish doesn't. Maybe it depends on the language you're learning

I think I had to say "the Spanish" instead "Spanish", I wanted to say "los españoles". . Anyway the sentence is not very clear, I think, since I say "they" but I didn't say "the Italian". Sorry.

[Jessica]

Most Americans have trouble speaking Chinese correctly and getting the right tones.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by jchen

Most Americans have trouble speaking Chinese correctly and getting the right tones.

Intonation is most everything in a language. It tells where the person comes from.

[Tomisimo]

The hardest thing about learning language is reaching functional fluency-- meaning the ability to express most things you want or need to say.

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by irmamar

I find listening the most difficult thing when learning English. When I study Italian, the worse thing is writing, because they use a lot of doubled consonants, and Spanish doesn't. Maybe it depends on the language you're learning

I think I had to say "the Spanish" instead "Spanish", I wanted to say "los españoles". . Anyway the sentence is not very clear, I think, since I say "they" but I didn't say "the Italian". Sorry.

Yes, you are right in the leaning of the languages most Chinese or Russian they are most hard to learn sometimes for the people, in my case is most prone when I'm speaking English with someone, still I can't to talk with someone or more well, I'm not able to have a conversation with somebody at English first one because I haven't with who to practice the English to oral way, and second one because sometimes the words leave my head in both cases my hand forget some words and when I'm speaking with someone the word that learnt before in that moment I don't remember.

jijij.

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by Tomisimo

The hardest thing about learning language is reaching functional fluency-- meaning the ability to express most things you want or need to say.

It's true when you try to have a language fluency.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Tomisimo

The hardest thing about learning language is reaching functional fluency-- meaning the ability to express most things you want or need to say.

Yes, but realize that if you have fluence in one language, there is no reason why you shouldn't have it in another. So it comes back to your mind being your worst enemy.

Until then, you're slave of your own mind.

Oh, I can't such and such.
It's hard for me, because...
I don't have time...

etc.

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by chileno

Yes, but realize that if you have fluence in one language, there is no reason why you shouldn't have it in another. So it comes back to your mind being your worst enemy.

Until then, you're slave of your own mind.

Oh, I can't such and such.
It's hard for me, because...
I don't have time...

etc.

The times is one of the worse element in the learning of some language.

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by jchen

Most Americans have trouble speaking Chinese correctly and getting the right tones.

I think that everything is difficult when learning Chinese: listening, speaking, writing, reading... and the tones. One friend of mine lived with a Chinese who changed her name to a Spanish name because nobody here could say correctly her name and she didn't understand when someone pronounced it.

[Ambarina]

Originally Posted by chileno

Yes, but realize that if you have fluence in one language, there is no reason why you shouldn't have it in another. So it comes back to your mind being your worst enemy.

The mind certainly is your best friend or worst enemy. Like a psychologist friend of mine said "El coco dá pá mucho".
Anyone out there bilingual, having learnt two languages (if not more) from childhood or are there any of you who have bilingual children? It is really interesting to watch them develop. I've always talked to my son in English. From about the age of 1.5, although he couldn't speak very well, he was able to discern what language was the most appropriate. He spoke Spanish to the neighbours and English to his mum and dad. From lack of vocabulary, he mixed both languages for a while until the day when, when stuck for a word, he said "Mummy, how do you say ......?
Children don't have our hang ups. They just get on with it.
Watching my cousins when they were small - two bilingual Spanish/English, two bilingual Spanish/French and two Spanish speakers. They soon realised that the language they had in common was Spanish but it was amusing to see them playing the first day, mixing languages. It was a real tower of Babel.