Sep 2017
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Sep 2017
Oct 2017
Ayumi
Sep '17

My mother tongue is hungarian. First I learnt english in school, than we had to choose a second language to learn which was german for me. The fun fact is that I haven't used german for ages so I completly forgot it X.X) After school I've learnt japanese in a course, but it was too expensive, plus after a time I lost motivation. It was really interesting, maybe I just got tired. I have a new job now, and I need to use english (or german) but I just feel like a beginner with all those business expression I need now, plus I'm too shy to speak... so... I feel I should practice english, but I have no idea how to start it.

KateGrove
Sep '17

Watch out, the Hungarians are coming out of hiding :DDD
Üdv, Ayumi :smiley:

Ayumi
Sep '17

Yay! It's always nice to meet hungarians on Tapas. :smile: Üdv. ^^

LastRedFox
Sep '17

My native language is Spanish, so I´m learning english, japanese and italian this year. The next one I would like chinese and korean.

YangKoete
Sep '17

I've retained a fair chunk of Italian from High School, and I'm also studying Japanese too. ^w^

Bosque
Sep '17

I'm studying english, it is difficult to learn in school because in most cases the subject is secondary, it was always one of my favorite subjects and it is now easier for me to practice online than at university (Forums, videogames...) but I do not think I can follow a conversation in a chat

echotokki
Sep '17
Momomori

I've looked into Tagalog before, I find it so fascinating that it can be so different depending on the region and also have such a large mix of english and spanish with it. One of my friends Mom's is filipino and I find her phone conversations to leave me in awe :smiley:

Houndstooth
Sep '17

I'm teaching myself French, because it's one I did at school (I wasn't very good but the basics are still there) and I've travelled to france a few times and I'd like to be more confident next time.
Also, my boyfriend is french so it's really nice talking to him in a horrific mix of english, french and memes

MaggieW
Sep '17

I'm Dutch (half Taiwanese), and I started studying Japanese seriously a couple of months ago because I'm aiming for a job there xD I would also like to improve my mandarin Chinese, and one other language I'd really like to learn is Taiwanese, because I want to understand my grandmother and talk to her :smiley:

shaylafarley5
Sep '17

I'm re-learning Japanese though I have no one to practice and my job makes it difficult.

zigmenthotep
Sep '17

Well, I actually majored in Japanese for mt A.A. but have since forgotten most of it due to lack of use. I keep meaning to try and get back into it but it's tough really focusing on self-studying a language. I've also dabbled a bit in French and Esperanto (honestly more than a little upset that never took off), right now though I'm more focused on creating a language for my next comic.

scythe
Sep '17

I'm a native english speaker, and it took me about 4 years to go from no German to functionally fluent. I could hold any conversation no problem, deal with thing like opening a bank account, give a presentation etc... what they don't tell you is that if stop using that language, you'll lose it.

Over a decade later I'm not even sure I could even watch a movie now in German and follow along. Reading is still the easiest thing though.

But anyway, I'm now learning French, very slowly, and I find it much more difficult than German. And since my wife and daughter speak it to each other, there's no danger of me no longer coming in contact with the language.

echotokki
Sep '17
2

What would you say pushed you through from no German to functionally fluent? I've read alot of things online about priorities but I work a full time job and also want to draw and work on comic projects. Even if it took me longer, I was wondering if you had any tips from your own experiences though?
I know theirs no quick way but the most fluent people I've met in a second language (from going from zero to 100 as an adult) are those who have taken intensive language courses or went to university for it.

echotokki
Sep '17
UbePie

I'm definitely going to check this out, thank you for the suggestion. I'm so surprised its free.

scythe
Sep '17
echotokki

Sherlock Holmes said "my mind rebels at stagnation," and I couldn't describe myself better than that.

In the Summer of 2001 I was on a 3 month break from university and I had nothing to do, so I pretty much just picked up my brother's old German high school textbook and started reading. Eventually I collected more books, and a dictionary. I bought a couple of computer programs but they were pretty useless. I focused only on reading at first. Eventually, I bought some proper German storybooks and after about 2 or so years, I started reading Harry Potter. I chose HP because I'd already read them in English, so at least I knew the basic story. It seemed impossible at first, but bit by bit, day by day, it started getting easier. By the end of the fourth book, I was reading through them at about 90% of my English reading speed and very rarely having to consult a dictionary.

This was back in the days of Microsoft messenger, so when I was brave enough, I logged onto the random chatrooms and just joined in conversations. Often when I slipped up and was forced to admit I was still learning, everyone jumped on me and wanted to chat. Germans are very happy when English speakers learn their language. I guess it's usually always the other way around for them. I met friends on those chatrooms that I'd later meet up with in Germany and hang out.

After 3 and a half years of that, I went to study in German for 6 months. My big moment had finally come. Mind you, I hadn't spoken a word of German to anyone at that point, but by the time I left, I had two and a half hour long conversation with a business man sitting next to me on a flight to Frankfurt, and he told me halfway through that he had no idea I wasn't German. Him telling me that was like a dream come true, four years in the making.

I guess you just have to really want it, and you have to put the time in. I mean, lunch breaks, during your commute, after work. You have to do it every day. Play to your strengths. I'm a visual learner, so I put post-its up on my wall next to my bed with verbs and articles and conjugations that I wouldn't take down until I'd memorised them front and back. But some people learn better orally, or by memorising grammar rules.

It has to become a passion and a challenge. A bit like a hobby really. Even in the darkest moments, when I'd realise how little I actually knew, despite putting years into it, I never entertained the thought of giving up on it.

Problem is, I very naively thought that once you'd learned something, it would just sit there in your brain, like books on a shelf you could access anytime you want. I made the same mistake again when I stopped playing piano regularly.

scythe
Sep '17

Oh, I forgot to mention that one month of good immersion is more valuable than years of learning out of a book.

I could learn and retain up to 100 new words a day while I was in Germany, and of course, you get the accent down, and the cadence, and you learn all the slang, you know, how people actually speak.

Only by being immersed in a language and a culture can you understand how the natives structure their thoughts using their language. It's very difficult to explain to someone who's only ever spoken one language, that how you think about things, and organise them in your head depends very much on the language you're 'speaking' in your mind.

Late into my stay in Germany, I was very much immersed. I spoke German, yes, but I also thought in German, and dreamt in it as well.

I think you'd have to be one of those polyglot geniuses to get to that state without surrounding yourself with speakers of the language you're trying to learn.