Hardest thing for you learning a new language?

[CrOtALiTo]

I will.

[AutumnBreeze]

I've put these two books on hold at the library:

http://www.amazon.com/Muerte-Lenta-L.../dp/0061565512

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Como-Agua-Pa.../dp/0785731237

When I had time to read (pre child lol), which I looooooove to do , I was never much into mysteries so we'll see if that first one keeps me interested. The second one I've heard a lot about and always wanted to read the English version but never got around to it.

I also love movies and the Spanish speaking channels we have are always playing some of my favorites. Not too long ago I sat and watched a good portion of 'Terminator' with the Spanish subtitles at the bottom and loved it since I could relate what they were saying in Spanish to what I knew they were saying in English. Very cool.

[Rusty]

Subtitles are often abbreviated (the spoken words don't always get put in subtitles to save room/time) in English. This happens even more often, I've noticed, with the foreign language subtitles.
Push yourself to watch a movie entirely in Spanish. It'll seem extremely useless at first, but the more you hear the spoken language and associate it with the images you're seeing, the sooner you'll begin to understand what is being said. When you find a favorite part, watch it over and over while repeating the words.
If you can, watch Spanish-language movies instead of the voice-overs. That way you'll get the added bonus of body language (facial expressions, utterances, subtle gestures) with the spoken word. Watching how the mouth moves when someone is speaking is a much-overlooked learning tool.

[AutumnBreeze]

Thanks for the tips Rusty! I think I'll check and see what kinds of suggestions Netflix has for Spanish-language movies that they think I would be interested in .

[Oteo]

Thanks, that is actually good advice! I used to watch movies I loved in Spanish and even went to a Spanish mass (Catholic). My family got pretty sick fairly quickly having to listen to the Spanish. Maybe I'll start up again though.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by AutumnBreeze

I also love movies and the Spanish speaking channels we have are always playing some of my favorites. Not too long ago I sat and watched a good portion of 'Terminator' with the Spanish subtitles at the bottom and loved it since I could relate what they were saying in Spanish to what I knew they were saying in English. Very cool.

Follow Rusty's advice. If you want to read, then read a book. A movie is made to be seen and heard, not read.

Originally Posted by Oteo

Thanks, that is actually good advice! I used to watch movies I loved in Spanish and even went to a Spanish mass (Catholic). My family got pretty sick fairly quickly having to listen to the Spanish. Maybe I'll start up again though.

You're welcome. I know it will help, it helped me and some people I know. :-)

[bobjenkins]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Subtitles are often abbreviated (the spoken words don't always get put in subtitles to save room/time) in English. This happens even more often, I've noticed, with the foreign language subtitles.
Push yourself to watch a movie entirely in Spanish. It'll seem extremely useless at first, but the more you hear the spoken language and associate it with the images you're seeing, the sooner you'll begin to understand what is being said. When you find a favorite part, watch it over and over while repeating the words.
If you can, watch Spanish-language movies instead of the voice-overs. That way you'll get the added bonus of body language (facial expressions, utterances, subtle gestures) with the spoken word. Watching how the mouth moves when someone is speaking is a much-overlooked learning tool.

¡Gran consejo Rusty! ¡Piensas es el mejor mirar un película en español con subtitulos (español) o sin el subtitulos?

Me recomendas algunas películas españolas para mi mirar. Yo acabé de mirar Laberinto de Pan, y El Orfanato, me los amaron.

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by chileno

I wrote my first sentence in Spanish to say it in English. I looked up for each word and its pronunciation, and then just said it.

When I realized I had some kind of system, then I did the opposite, read and write in English, in order to translate it in Spanish, because that is what I know best.




Wait, you made me write all this, to tell me you are going to TRY?

I know you've got enough time, else you wouldn't be able to post here.




Funny you say that. Why would a person who wants to speak English, who has no problem and is knowledgeable in Spanish grammar, would need to re-learn all that in English in order to speak English?

Can you answer that for me?

I think that Chileno is angry with me (but I know he likes writing )

Well, I said that I'd try because now I've got enough time, bu soon I won't be able to spend so much time here (or anywhere).

And grammar is my vice, I like it

[bobjenkins]

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.

Yeah its a funny thing.. when I am comparing the two language I think spanish seems to be thought out better! the rules are more consistent, unlike in english it seems terrible made up as they went along. Even though my first language is english, spanish makes more sense then english for me!

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by bobjenkins

Yeah its a funny thing.. when I am comparing the two language I think spanish seems to be thought out better! the rules are more consistent, unlike in english it seems terrible made up as they went along. Even though my first language is english, spanish makes more sense then english for me!

As you ca say that the Spanish is better for you than the English that is your native language.

Unlike of other languages I believe that the English is easier than other ones.

But your commentary about it's very weir.

[bobjenkins]

Originally Posted by CrOtALiTo

As you ca say that the Spanish is better for you than the English that is your native language.

Unlike of other languages I believe that the English is easier than other ones.

But your commentary about it's very weir.

When I say that it makes me sense I mean spanish is more consistent then english, like with the "h" always being silent in spanish, its easier because its always silent

But in english sometimes letters are silent and sometimes they are not so when your learning it sometimes you might have to guess if its silent or not
like with the word .. "know" the "k" is silent but in "kitchen" its not

also theres alot of double letters in english that are not in spanish, like "necessary" compared to the spanish "necesita"

theres alot of these things I notice that seem to make it easier, you know what I mean?

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by bobjenkins

When I say that it makes me sense I mean spanish is more consistent then english, like with the "h" always being silent in spanish, its easier because its always silent

But in english sometimes letters are silent and sometimes they are not so when your learning it sometimes you might have to guess if its silent or not
like with the word .. "know" the "k" is silent but in "kitchen" its not

also theres alot of double letters in english that are not in spanish, like "necessary" compared to the spanish "necesita"

theres alot of these things I notice that seem to make it easier, you know what I mean?

I understand you mate.



I hope you have good luck with your learning.

[AutumnBreeze]

Originally Posted by bobjenkins

¡Gran consejo Rusty! ¡Piensas es el mejor mirar un película en español con subtitulos (español) o sin el subtitulos?

Me recomendas algunas películas españolas para mi mirar. Yo acabé de mirar Laberinto de Pan, y El Orfanato, me los amaron.

I've heard a lot about Pan's Labyrinth. I'll check this one out as well .

[Celestemmcknight]

you seem to know English. In my opinion, the best way to learn any language is to learn from a person who already speaks it. Im guessing you know Japanese, since shes your friend, try teaching her English.

[brute]

Originally Posted by Celestemmcknight

you seem to know English. In my opinion, the best way to learn any language is to learn from a person who already speaks it. Im guessing you know Japanese, since shes your friend, try teaching her English.

It seems that every language is easy in some parts and difficult in others. In some areas Japanese is very simple once you know how to read and write it!!
1 It uses about 2000 Chinese (Kanji) characters which are really elaborate pictograms. Each of them usually has two completely different interpretations.
Howevever there are 3 other writing systems called syllabaries (not exactly alphabets) which can be used to write every possible Japanese sound. There are only 46 different syllables in Japanese ,each one having its own phonetic sign.
1 Hirugana - used for Japanese words - Curved characters
2 Katakana - used for imported words (mainly English) - spikey letters
3 Romanji - Roman alphabet used for teaching learners whose native language is European.

A syllable is either a vowel or a consonant + a vowel. There are many sounds in English that are never heard in Japanese. Every word must end in a vowel (exception "n").
Romanji is pronounced as in Italian.
Like French, Japanese pronounces all syllables with even stress pattern.
The language is full of puns and ambiguities.
Nouns are very easy to use: no gender, no number, no definite and indefinite articles. Example "E" can mean a picture, the picture or a whole gallery full of them.
Verbs are very simple to learn. They do not conjugate and there are very few tenses. No subjunctives etc.
Numbers can be complicated as there are two comletely different counting systems!
Many adjectives are used as in English or Spanish,but others take verbal endings!

Japan has adopted many English words which sound very differnt in Japanese.
Airurando - Ireland boifurendo - boyfriend boringu - bowling gorufu - golf etc...

A very interesting language. I studied it for a year in the distant past.

[CrOtALiTo]

I guess you know write Chinese and also I guess that you speak the Japan, I don't now anything that languages but they are hard to learn to pronoun, because they have much symbols that I can't understand, also the Russian is hard to lean something, you in your previous post said about the symbols within of the languages as example you placed the language Chinese, and well, I found interesting the investigation that you made about it, in fact in Spanish there are symbols that are necessary for some kind to words in the language, but well, each language has different symbols.

Thank you for share this information with us.

Sincerely yours.

I hope you understand my own view point.

If you have doubt about my thought, please you ask me.

[brute]

Originally Posted by CrOtALiTo

I guess you know write Chinese and also I guess that you speak the Japan, I don't now anything that languages but they are hard to learn to pronoun, because they have much symbols that I can't understand, also the Russian is hard to lean something, you in your previous post said about the symbols within of the languages as example you placed the language Chinese, and well, I found interesting the investigation that you made about it, in fact in Spanish there are symbols that are necessary for some kind to words in the language, but well, each language has different symbols.

Thank you for share this information with us.

Sincerely yours.

You can learn a lot of Japanese by using our Latin alphabet called romanji.

If you can learn katakana you will be able to read many English words which they use. There are just 46 simple letters which make all the sounds in Japanese.

Kanji are very difficult. It is useful to recognise some of them. i can only read a few of them.

The Russian (Cyrilic) alphabet uses Latin letters, Greek letters and some extra ones. Some of the Latin letters are used to make different sounds.

(PECTOPAHT = RESTAURANT)

I hope this helps.

[laughingwithfee]

The hardest thing for me when learning a new language is definitely conversations. I can learn verb conjugations, nouns, etc. quickly and remember them, but when asked to do a conversation, I have a very hard time of it.

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by brute

You can learn a lot of Japanese by using our Latin alphabet called romanji.

If you can learn katakana you will be able to read many English words which they use. There are just 46 simple letters which make all the sounds in Japanese.

Kanji are very difficult. It is useful to recognise some of them. i can only read a few of them.

The Russian (Cyrilic) alphabet uses Latin letters, Greek letters and some extra ones. Some of the Latin letters are used to make different sounds.

(PECTOPAHT = RESTAURANT)

I hope this helps.

Yes, I guess that nail of the learning is learn everything about the phonetic first than other thing, but I believe hard learn if you don't understand so well the language, also are there people who learn the language faster than others one, then unlike of the languages easier as the Spanish and English also the Portuguese.

Whatever I believe hard the Chinese.

[ElDanés]

Originally Posted by brute

(PECTOPAHT = RESTAURANT)

Just to get everything straight, the correct spelling is ресторан.