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#4346275 - 03/23/17 01:20 PM Question for Non native English Speakers  
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Just wondering how you learnt English and what was the most effective thing you did to learn it? There are an awful lot of non Native English speakers on the internet and I'm always impressed at how well they speak/write English. I've been learning French for a couple of years and now I'm getting a little frustrated as I seem to be stuck at an intermediate level and I'm not really sure what to concentrate on to improve efficiently.

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#4346282 - 03/23/17 01:30 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: Ant]  
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PanzerMeyer Offline
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Originally Posted by Ant
I've been learning French for a couple of years and now I'm getting a little frustrated as I seem to be stuck at an intermediate level and I'm not really sure what to concentrate on to improve efficiently.



In my opinion, you will really never learn another language unless you immerse yourself with native speakers for at least a few months. I took 4 years of German when I was in high school and college and I actually had a pretty decent conversational ability UNTIL I graduated from college and thus had no native speakers to continue learning the language. I can still read German a bit now but my conversational skills have really diminished.


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4346285 - 03/23/17 01:36 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Originally Posted by PanzerMeyer
Originally Posted by Ant
I've been learning French for a couple of years and now I'm getting a little frustrated as I seem to be stuck at an intermediate level and I'm not really sure what to concentrate on to improve efficiently.



In my opinion, you will really never learn another language unless you immerse yourself with native speakers for at least a few months. I took 4 years of German when I was in high school and college and I actually had a pretty decent conversational ability UNTIL I graduated from college and thus had no native speakers to continue learning the language. I can still read German a bit now but my conversational skills have really diminished.


I would tend to agree except I see heaps of non native English speakers on youtube, for example, making videos in English from their own native countries and I can't believe that these people all disappeared off to England or the US for a few months to immerse themselves in our language, or that they have lots of English friends hanging around. They must have picked up most of their skills 'in situ'

I've just come back from a week's language course in France, I have a French private tutor, and I have friends in France, so it's not like I'm bereft of native conversation. I'm just a little frustrated that something I appear to be finding difficult seems to be so easy to these foreigners who speak English so well.

#4346291 - 03/23/17 01:46 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: Ant]  
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My neighbour,who is Polish,told me he learnt most of his English by playing computer games and interacting with the gaming community.


EV's are the Devils matchbox.
#4346293 - 03/23/17 01:50 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: Ant]  
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English is the universal language for a myriad of reasons; hence, the language is everywhere and easily accessible especially since the advent of the internet. Even in Miami it's becoming more difficult to find people who only speak Spanish. Most of them at least have a basic command of English.

Last edited by PanzerMeyer; 03/23/17 01:51 PM.

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4346300 - 03/23/17 02:25 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: Ant]  
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I work with Czechs and almost all of them learned better English by playing online games with VOIP.


"They might look the same, but they don't taste the same."
#4346301 - 03/23/17 02:31 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: Ant]  
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Playing online games with comms can be both a funny and educational experience. smile

I remember playing Joint Ops years ago and we had a German member who spoke grammatically correct English but he also sounded just like Arnold Schwarzenegger. biggrin We also had a Canadian player who sounded like he was from the film "Strange Brew".


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4346302 - 03/23/17 02:31 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Originally Posted by PanzerMeyer
Even in Miami it's becoming more difficult to find people who only speak Spanish.

hahaha


Airplanes are now built to carry a pilot and a dog in the cockpit: the pilot's job is
to feed the dog, and the dog's job is to bite the pilot if he touches anything...

- Arlen Rens, Lockheed Martin test pilot
#4346304 - 03/23/17 02:48 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: Ant]  
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Sesame Street.

#4346312 - 03/23/17 03:17 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: Ant]  
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My wife learned English at school, also French and German as well as her native Flemish Dutch, but she says that watching UK/USA TV here in Belgium got her to a point where she spoke English pretty fluently, then when the internet came along it was mainly English that she used on it. She does still have some moments in regards what prefix to use i.e. using "un" instead of "in" and my favourite is "raped cheese" instead of grated cheese biggrin

Back in the UK she is mistaken for Scottish or Irish as people cannot quite place her accent, but then again I have a very mixed accent having spent my formative years just north of Glasgow and then moving to the far north when I was 16.


Chlanna nan con thigibh a so's gheibh sibh feoil
Sons of the hound come here and get flesh
Clan Cameron
#4346321 - 03/23/17 03:24 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: Alicatt]  
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Originally Posted by Alicatt

Back in the UK she is mistaken for Scottish or Irish as people cannot quite place her accent, but then again I have a very mixed accent having spent my formative years just north of Glasgow and then moving to the far north when I was 16.



You mean to tell me that not all Scots sound like Bill Connolly? biggrin


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4346323 - 03/23/17 03:33 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Originally Posted by PanzerMeyer
You mean to tell me that not all Scots sound like Bill Connolly? biggrin




"They might look the same, but they don't taste the same."
#4346326 - 03/23/17 03:43 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: Ant]  
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Wow. I think I understood about 25% of what that guy said in the video. Lol.


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4346354 - 03/23/17 04:44 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: Alicatt]  
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Originally Posted by Alicatt
..... but she says that watching UK/USA TV here in Belgium got her to a point where she spoke English pretty fluently, .


I hear that a lot but have never really understood it. I could watch Japanese TV from now until doomsday and I don't think I'd ever understand Japanese. I can't quite figure out how words and sentences you don't understand magically translate in to sentences you can understand just by listening to them over and over again.

#4346361 - 03/23/17 05:00 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Originally Posted by PanzerMeyer
Wow. I think I understood about 25% of what that guy said in the video. Lol.


I recommend subtitles for Rab C Nesbitt yep


EV's are the Devils matchbox.
#4346364 - 03/23/17 05:18 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: Ant]  
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Originally Posted by Ant
Originally Posted by Alicatt
..... but she says that watching UK/USA TV here in Belgium got her to a point where she spoke English pretty fluently, .


I hear that a lot but have never really understood it. I could watch Japanese TV from now until doomsday and I don't think I'd ever understand Japanese. I can't quite figure out how words and sentences you don't understand magically translate in to sentences you can understand just by listening to them over and over again.


Key word here being "spoke".

Once you get the basics (by reading, that is) yes, TV and movies pretty much teach you the rest. A lot of knowledge is just how to say X expression in language Y.

That's how it worked for me at least. I started with computers at a time when everything was in English, no internet of course, not even a Spanish keyboard. biggrin So you learn, dictionary in hand, as you go. "hmmm, so you "run" a program but DOS "runS" a program... second person singular adds a "s" at the end? That's it?"

The rest comes from watching The Nanny with subtitles.

Nowadays I guess Youtube and the Web fulfills that role.

It also helps that, at least from a Spanish perspective, English doesn't have any concept that you didn't know already Japanese would be another matter I'm sure.

So at the end, it's easy to learn and you have plenty of material all around you.... one day you can just speak English for some unknown reason.


When you're feeling sad, just remember that somewhere in the world, there's someone pushing a door that says "pull".
#4346365 - 03/23/17 05:21 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: WileECoyote]  
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Originally Posted by WileECoyote

Japanese would be another matter I'm sure.




Yes. Having a totally different alphabet and script would tend to make things a bit more complex. wink

Actually, I was shocked to find out that Japanese and Spanish have quite a few similarities when it comes to pronounciation rules.

Last edited by PanzerMeyer; 03/23/17 05:22 PM.

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4346368 - 03/23/17 05:24 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: Ant]  
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Originally Posted by Ant
Originally Posted by Alicatt
..... but she says that watching UK/USA TV here in Belgium got her to a point where she spoke English pretty fluently, .


I hear that a lot but have never really understood it. I could watch Japanese TV from now until doomsday and I don't think I'd ever understand Japanese. I can't quite figure out how words and sentences you don't understand magically translate in to sentences you can understand just by listening to them over and over again.

She had already learned the basics in school, therefore she already had a handle on what was being said.

I have no feeling for language and really struggle with speaking Dutch, partly is that I cannot pronounce some of the words which stems from a childhood accident that damaged my throat and adam's apple, hang I struggle with English too sometimes smile Now I can read the subtitles on the TV programs here and understand what is being said either spoken or written - tho I'm better at reading Dutch than hearing it.

As for Japanese, once you start to understand a few of the words and how they are put together you start picking out more and more of them from what is being said. I had a Japanese friend that lived with me while he was studying in Scotland, as part of his way of paying for his studies he gave Japanese lessons at college which is where I met him, but with not having much access to spoken Japanese other than the likes of Ran and Kagemusha after he went back home I very quickly lost the ear to the flow of the language.


Chlanna nan con thigibh a so's gheibh sibh feoil
Sons of the hound come here and get flesh
Clan Cameron
#4346369 - 03/23/17 05:30 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: Ant]  
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Sorry, must do the mandatory Monty Python sketch posting since this thread made me think of it. smile




“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4346371 - 03/23/17 05:31 PM Re: Question for Non native English Speakers [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Originally Posted by PanzerMeyer
Wow. I think I understood about 25% of what that guy said in the video. Lol.


Just for you PM, a teach yourself Glesga



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfCk_yNuTGk


Chlanna nan con thigibh a so's gheibh sibh feoil
Sons of the hound come here and get flesh
Clan Cameron
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