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Second language?


fortune
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For about the last three weeks when I’ve got a little bit of spare time Between working, shooting or family stuff and the Spaniel. I’ve been trying to learn to speak Spanish. I just took it into my head that I would do it.

Has anyone done this with any sort of foreign lingo and if so did you use some sort of language course or did you find a local evening course?

Do many people have a second or third language?

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I'm passing pigeon in Swedish, my Dad is Swedish, I pass for a Dane or a Nord as my accent is so bad :(

 

Good luck, keep going, its a strange, different level of thinking learning a new language, enlightening.

 

I too would like to learn a language abstract from our norm, like Russian...Arabic...not interested in the Chinese, Japanese areas though.

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I tried to learn Spanish years ago with one of those linguaphone courses. I gave up in the end. I think it would have helped me to have someone else to talk to for practise and to make it interesting. Its a bit dry following a tape and reading books. An evening course would have been better.

 

I still wonder which would be the most potentially useful language to learn from the point of view of travelling or living abroad . Don't think its Mandarin. Most educated Chinese now speak good English. Don't think my face is the right shape for Russian.

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I've worked with polish people for 4 years and my girlfriend is polish I can speak a lot but I'm not fluent but they understand me and I understand them, if you have a iPhone/iPod touch/ iPad you can get many apps that can help you learn I've tried to learn with them but found it easier to learn from them instead, Rosetta Stone software is highly rated in teaching languages but its expensive for the software

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It all started a few weeks ago when I heard Gerri Halliwell’s track of Mi Chico Latino, again and wondered what the Spanish lyrics were about. I used a translator app and the language thing went from there.

I’ve started to use the BBC’s language tutor La Vida Loca. I’m finding it very good and I can see how difficult it would be without a spoken version as it would be very difficult to get the way it is spoken in relation to the way it is written.

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try evening classes at your local college, its better being around other people that are also speaking it.

I've looked at this angle and there aren't any Spanish courses within a fair distance and the one that I did find is only for an hour and a half and it is during the day about thirty miles away. Impossible whilst at work.

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For about the last three weeks when I’ve got a little bit of spare time Between working, shooting or family stuff and the Spaniel. I’ve been trying to learn to speak Spanish. I just took it into my head that I would do it.

Has anyone done this with any sort of foreign lingo and if so did you use some sort of language course or did you find a local evening course?

Do many people have a second or third language?

 

 

I can get by in Arabic, not fluent but good enough to get me in and out of trouble also the chicken and chips are all ways piping hot!

I learnt mine on the job when I worked as a dive instructor in Egypt…..not easy but persistence paid off

 

 

 

 

 

TEH

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I used the primsleur for polish but after repeating the words all the time I got bored

Hi

Cant make the link work for some reason but I just went into youtube and typed in spanish language and there is tons of stuff there. I should have known that as freuent there quite a bit. Thanks for jolting my brain cells though. good idea to direct me to youtube. Thanks.

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"Total immersion" is meant to be the most effective method for learning a language. It's well named - you either swim or sink!

 

A few years back Mrs Aldivalloch and I were at her sister's place in the south of Spain. It was way out in the country and absolutely not in the touristy area.

 

During our holiday her sister had to go back to Britain for a few days, so we were left to look after the place. Very few of the locals spoke English, so our Spanish was coming on in leaps and bounds - or so we thought.

 

One day Mrs A went into the local shop and successfully bought a fresh chicken! It was very tasty - a bit like British chickens used to be before supermarkets and polystyrene trays...

 

Anyway, buoyed up by her success as a chicken buyer, the next time we were in the shop Mrs A announced, "I'm going to tell them how much we enjoyed that chicken."

 

"I think you're being a bit ambitious," I cautioned her. "Oh, rubbish!" she retorted, turning to the woman behind the counter and letting go a stream of "Spanish". The woman looked baffled. So she let rip again. The woman continued to look baffled. She let fly a third time, but more slowly, carefully pronouncing her words.

 

A smile spread over the woman's face. "Ah, si, si!" she sang - and disappeared into the back shop. She returned with a big, heavy cardboard box which she dumped down on the counter.

 

Mrs A had only gone and managed to buy their entire stock of ice-lollies. There was a hell of a lot of them in that box.

 

"What'll I do???" she squeaked at me.

 

"Pay up - and SHUT UP!!" I replied. "Before you end up buying that ******* zinc bath they've got hanging outside the front door."

Edited by aldivalloch
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I use this http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/ and have found La vida loca interesting and easy to use. It's strange that France is only 20-30 miles away across the channel but it might as well be Mars for all I can comunicate with them. Still it's mostly only the frogs that speak French and they dont really count.

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It all started a few weeks ago when I heard Gerri Halliwell’s track of Mi Chico Latino, again and wondered what the Spanish lyrics were about. I used a translator app and the language thing went from there.

I’ve started to use the BBC’s language tutor La Vida Loca. I’m finding it very good and I can see how difficult it would be without a spoken version as it would be very difficult to get the way it is spoken in relation to the way it is written.

 

I think you should quit before you say any more ;)

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Speak Welsh & English with equal fluency so don't have a first or second language.

Looking forward to starting French classes again, I can string a sentence together to order food etc, but can't hold a conversation in French.....yet!

Cheers

Aled

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