Hardest thing for you learning a new language?

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Ambarina

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.

First of all, I misspelled "fluency"

And yes, it has always been fascinating for me to watch children develop in two languages. They just go and get it.

My two girls are fully bilingual, with almost no accent in English and almost no accent in chileno.

I say almost because it is impossible not to soften your accent living outside your country. In the case of my girls, although there were born in the US, their first language was spanish a como diera lugar! :-)

[Jane]

Since different people learn in different ways, what one person finds difficult could be very easy for the next person. Also we should take into consideration different levels or stages of learning, what a beginner finds difficult will not be considered as such by an advanced learner...
For me, at the beginning, speaking was very difficult for me, for fear of making mistakes and making a fool of myself, but these days, I´ve learnt to learn from my mistakes and get better. Now, achieving functional fluency is my next goal and it isn´t easy one bit...

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Jane

Since different people learn in different ways, what one person finds difficult could be very easy for the next person. Also we should take into consideration different levels or stages of learning, what a beginner finds difficult will not be considered as such by an advanced learner...
For me, at the beginning, speaking was very difficult for me, for fear of making mistakes and making a fool of myself, but these days, I´ve learnt to learn from my mistakes and get better. Now, achieving functional fluency is my next goal and it isn´t easy one bit...

Almost everybody I know have had that fear, including myself.

I think it is a state of the mind...

[poli]

For me it's understanding different people and different accents. Depending on the person, I sometimes understand nearly 100%, but with
others much less.
Reading is less difficult. I can generally say what I need to say although sometimes awkwardly.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by poli

For me it's understanding different people and different accents. Depending on the person, I sometimes understand nearly 100%, but with
others much less.
Reading is less difficult. I can generally say what I need to say although sometimes awkwardly.

For your "reading" problem, which I translate as problems when you speak, just read aloud, so that you can hear yourself, trying to imititate the inflection of your choice. Argentinian, Mexican etc...

That will cure it, I am sure.

[Fazor]

It's certainly difficult to speak and listen to others in the language. But the hardest thing for me is just remembering everything. Verb tenses and conjugations, idioms, vocab . . . you can learn them all individually, but in use, you have to put everything together. It can be a lot.

I'm awful at spelling, but spelling in Spanish seems to be a lot easier than in English. Things tend to be spelled the way they're pronounced, and follow certain conventions, whereas English doesn't seem to be as consistent.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Fazor

It's certainly difficult to speak and listen to others in the language. But the hardest thing for me is just remembering everything. Verb tenses and conjugations, idioms, vocab . . . you can learn them all individually, but in use, you have to put everything together. It can be a lot.

I'm awful at spelling, but spelling in Spanish seems to be a lot easier than in English. Things tend to be spelled the way they're pronounced, and follow certain conventions, whereas English doesn't seem to be as consistent.

nothing that reading and writing won't fix, though. I mean practice.

[Fazor]

Sí. Es por qué soy aquí.

[Ambarina]

Originally Posted by Fazor

Sí. Es por qué soy aquí.

Pequeña corrección:
Esa es la razón por la que estoy aquí o Por eso estoy aquí.

[Fazor]

Me gusta 'Por eso estoy aquí' mejor; es más breve.

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by chileno

First of all, I misspelled "fluency"

And yes, it has always been fascinating for me to watch children develop in two languages. They just go and get it.

My two girls are fully bilingual, with almost no accent in English and almost no accent in chileno.

I say almost because it is impossible not to soften your accent living outside your country. In the case of my girls, although there were born in the US, their first language was spanish a como diera lugar! :-)

The case of your girls is very interesting because they developed the language in early age, if you taught them the Spanish as first language although they was born inside of the U.S.A, and as rule the first language that musted to be to them was English, you did the major endeavor in giving them your native language, look, I can't to do the same than you, because I don't live in some place as you, but I can teach to my children when I learn the language to a correct way I can teach them the language as second option besides the person that knows the English has more opportunity in this world very competitive.

But some is true about it.

The people born with the gusto of the languages and you was one to them.

[irmamar]

Do you know that being bilingual makes that the Alzheimer can be delayed (I'm not sure, I wanted to say: puede retrasar la aparición del Alzheimer)?. To be bilingual in this case is enough if you get a minimum in writing, speaking or listening. This is because of the connections made in the brain are good for this. These connections also help to get a better memory and concentration.

[Fazor]

This is random, but now that I've been concentrating on learning Spanish again, I'll find myself start to sing parts of songs in Spanish. I oft don't get very far, due to limited vocab, inability to translate that quickly, and how often idioms are used in songs. But whenever a easy/common phrase pops up, I tend to sing it in Spanish.

[Jessica]

Originally Posted by irmamar

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.

that's true.

there are some Chinese characters that are pretty easy to write and some pin yin that are easy to pronounce

[Jane]

Originally Posted by Fazor

It's certainly difficult to speak and listen to others in the language. But the hardest thing for me is just remembering everything. Verb tenses and conjugations, idioms, vocab . . . you can learn them all individually, but in use, you have to put everything together. It can be a lot.

I'm awful at spelling, but spelling in Spanish seems to be a lot easier than in English. Things tend to be spelled the way they're pronounced, and follow certain conventions, whereas English doesn't seem to be as consistent.

Sometimes, in the middle of a sentence, I find that I completely forget how to say a particular word, or like you said; verb tenses, conjugations, idioma, etc... It could be something I use very often, something easy, but somehow, fpr the life of me, at that particular moment, I can´t remember...
Believe me guys, that is frustrating...

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Do you know that being bilingual makes that the Alzheimer can be delayed (I'm not sure, I wanted to say: puede retrasar la aparición del Alzheimer)?. To be bilingual in this case is enough if you get a minimum in writing, speaking or listening. This is because of the connections made in the brain are good for this. These connections also help to get a better memory and concentration.

I didn't know it.

But if you have whole information about your commentary, I think that it will be good idea sharing with us the information that you know in relation the you said before, as I said before, I didn't know anything about, but yes I believe that because when you are learning two or more languages you brain get endeavor more and more in resolve the questions and learn the that you are doing, then it's like that the mathematics, you know the people who study mathematics or some similar to it they think so much and the brain produce more cells and you are more intelligent, for example I don't know if the same situation with the other people, but when the first days that I was learning the English by first time, always I had heartache, but with the time the concentration was easier until today, already not I had heartache anymore of course I have, but it's for the hot that there is in my state, I believe that it's normal.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Do you know that being bilingual makes that the Alzheimer can be delayed (I'm not sure, I wanted to say: puede retrasar la aparición del Alzheimer)?. To be bilingual in this case is enough if you get a minimum in writing, speaking or listening. This is because of the connections made in the brain are good for this. These connections also help to get a better memory and concentration.

Right. The same as playing chess or solving word puzzles.

It is a mental exercise.

Originally Posted by Jane

Sometimes, in the middle of a sentence, I find that I completely forget how to say a particular word, or like you said; verb tenses, conjugations, idioma, etc... It could be something I use very often, something easy, but somehow, fpr the life of me, at that particular moment, I can´t remember...
Believe me guys, that is frustrating...

That is because your mind gets in the way, more so when you know, and then in public you "forget".

It is frustrating, but that is battle that you have with yourself and not with the language.

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by CrOtALiTo

I didn't know it.

But if you have whole information about your commentary, I think that it will be good idea sharing with us the information that you know in relation the you said before, as I said before, I didn't know anything about, but yes I believe that because when you are learning two or more languages you brain get endeavor more and more in resolve the questions and learn the that you are doing, then it's like that the mathematics, you know the people who study mathematics or some similar to it they think so much and the brain produce more cells and you are more intelligent, for example I don't know if the same situation with the other people, but when the first days that I was learning the English by first time, always I had heartache, but with the time the concentration was easier until today, already not I had heartache anymore of course I have, but it's for the hot that there is in my state, I believe that it's normal.

I suppose you meant "headache" instead "heartache"

I give you a couple of links:

http://www.universia.net.co/vigia-de...l-cerebro.html


http://www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/n...de-demenc.html

[chileno]

Headache = dolor de cabeza

Heartache = dolor de corazón, concerniente al amor.

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by irmamar

I suppose you meant "headache" instead "heartache"

I give you a couple of links:

http://www.universia.net.co/vigia-de...l-cerebro.html


http://www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/n...de-demenc.html

I'm sorry, I made a bit mistake about it.


In this moment I can't to enter to the website because in my job there is a proxy and well the some website is prohibited.

But when I arrive to my home I can be free to check them.