I was born in the US but started speaking only spanish, this is all my mom spoke to me. My dad knew both english and spanish but spoke mostly spanish, to be able to communicate with my mom. Once I went into kindergarten, I started to pick up on english but really struggled with it until about 3rd grade. I took all 4 years of spanish in high school and can speak and write very well. I'm glad I kept it up through the years, I put it to good use in my current job, I translate for many spanish speaking parents where I work

Fauxie said:

whistle said:

SagsWay2low said:

It just dawned on me. Almost everyone I know is bilingual now. 30% are multi-lingual speaking 3 or some times 4 languages.

I know a New Zealander who speaks fluent Thai, English (of course), Chinese, and 2 dialects in the Philippines (Tagalog and some obscure colloquial dialect).

I have struggled and struggled to learn Spanish (which theoretically should be easy for an English speaker compared to some other languages) But could do little more than order food at a Cuban restaurant.

i'm currently learning Thai, and it is ....challenging.

I asked my friends how they learned and all of them say television or reading.

This to me seems like it isn't enough.

I'm getting a little bit frustrated at my skill level. I've been in Thailand for a year and a half, and can carry on on very basic conversations, and am often misunderstood when I pronounce words.

For those of you Bis out there, how did you do it?

How fluent are you in your second language?

Do you have more languages that you can speak?

I plan to do extensive traveling over the next few years, and I would like to be able to pick up more language to assist me.

They say if you're younger it should be easier to learn other languages. Because my parents are from different contries, and my mom being a photographer, I lived in many different countries...My family moved a lot...and learning new languages came almost natural to me. I lived in Japan, South Korea, India and some how I ended up in America now haha. I've been to Vietnam which is where my mom's originally from, but just for 2 months...

It kind of messed up my personality though =( Just recently one of my friends pointed out that I always keep certain distance with even the ones who I call "best friends". I always carried this attitude inside when I made new friends, which is 'Oh what's the point of getting reeeally close to them and being best friends with them? I know my family will to move to different country after 2 or 3 years anyway...as usual. And I know even though we're good friends now, we will eventually fall apart when I move to another country...' Type of attitude D= It's good that I sort of have a "backup plan" after I'm done with college, (If I don't get into grad school!!), which is to become an interpreter or a translator for companies, but sometimes I wish my family hadn't moved as much when I was younger...

Oh and I used to have funny dreams too haha In my dream, sometimes My Indian friends would speak English...or My American friends would speak Korean...>_< And I'd get so confused as hell!!

Anyway, as far as pronunciation goes, singing songs definitely helps A LOT. Even though I suck at singing, I used to always go to Kareoke with my friends and sing my favorite American songs...Lucky for me, my 2 favorite artists are American!!

And I think watching interviews would be easier way to start than watching TV shows or News. I watched Michael Jackson's interviews a lot...thinking "Oh, what if I actually get to meet him one day?? I don't want NOT to be able to tell him what I really want to tell him XP I'd better improve my English!!" haha ^_^; Prince and Michael Jackson were definitely my motivation!!And try reading short internet articles or magazines first, before you try reading books.

I'm a very talkative and definitely SHAMELESSLEY loud person >_< I don't really remember ever caring if my grammar was perfect or not. I'd always try to speak as much as possible with people around me and I also asked my friends to correct me whenever I was wrong. And I used to carry electronic dictionary in my purse

and I was never embarrassed to pull it out whenever someone said a word I wasn't familiar with *_* it gives you synonyms and antonyms as well when you search a word. I'd always write those down in my agenda and try use the word at least twice for the rest of the week.

At the end of the day I think learning a new language really depends on one's ATTITUDE. If you already got the grammar and basic words part down, all you need is practice...Try having random conversations with friends. Eat with them, go shopping with them, and just be around them as much as possible. And try watching Thai celebrities' interviews on Youtube as I mentioned above because the sentences are much shorter and less complicated...And sing Thai songs out loud! Especially if you're passionate about Thai culture(at least you seem to be...to me!), it shouldn't be too hard ^_^!! Good luck!

veronikka said:

I was born in the US but started speaking only spanish, this is all my mom spoke to me. My dad knew both english and spanish but spoke mostly spanish, to be able to communicate with my mom. Once I went into kindergarten, I started to pick up on english but really struggled with it until about 3rd grade. I took all 4 years of spanish in high school and can speak and write very well. I'm glad I kept it up through the years, I put it to good use in my current job, I translate for many spanish speaking parents where I work

This is something I really like about you.

KoolEaze said:

I speak German and Turkish fluently and I also speak English fluently because there used to be a lot of American people in my German hometown.

A burning interest in English and American TV shows like Magnum P.I. and of course rap music in the early to late 80s helped me a lot. These days I wouldn't really recommend rap music as a way to improve your English but Run DMC, Whodini, Ice-T,KRS-1 helped me a lot and I'm very grateful.

You just have to have a burning interest and desire to learn the language that you want to learn, and it helps when you're exposed to it the way I was in the 1980s.

The secret is to learn a shitload of languages while you are still a kid, even if you don't speak them for the next 25 years, once you immerse yourself again, it just comes. The pronunciation will be excellent, your vocabulary maybe NOT so good, but that part you can work on

ZombieKitten said:

The secret is to learn a shitload of languages while you are still a kid, even if you don't speak them for the next 25 years, once you immerse yourself again, it just comes. The pronunciation will be excellent, your vocabulary maybe NOT so good, but that part you can work on

How many do you speak?

Our youngest nephew hears Thai, English, Korean and Japanese, so he's a bit confused right now, but we're hoping over the next few years he'll be decent with Thai and English and it'll all just come together.

I should commit to Thai more. It comes to me so easily now, but I don't give it the effort it deserves. If I'd been really (I mean REALLY) making an effort I could've been fluent by now. It's tough not to get complacent at certain points. I come back from other countries, even places like Malaysia where many ppl can speak English, and I feel all warm and fuzzy being back in Thailand, knowing I can get in a taxi, go anywhere I want, chat about whatever, and do whatever I want to do without a phrasebook or a local. It's like there's nothing I can't do, but then turn on the radio and I can't repeat after each line what the singer said, so I'm not all that!

Fauxie said:

ZombieKitten said:

The secret is to learn a shitload of languages while you are still a kid, even if you don't speak them for the next 25 years, once you immerse yourself again, it just comes. The pronunciation will be excellent, your vocabulary maybe NOT so good, but that part you can work on

How many do you speak?

Our youngest nephew hears Thai, English, Korean and Japanese, so he's a bit confused right now, but we're hoping over the next few years he'll be decent with Thai and English and it'll all just come together.

I should commit to Thai more. It comes to me so easily now, but I don't give it the effort it deserves. If I'd been really (I mean REALLY) making an effort I could've been fluent by now. It's tough not to get complacent at certain points. I come back from other countries, even places like Malaysia where many ppl can speak English, and I feel all warm and fuzzy being back in Thailand, knowing I can get in a taxi, go anywhere I want, chat about whatever, and do whatever I want to do without a phrasebook or a local. It's like there's nothing I can't do, but then turn on the radio and I can't repeat after each line what the singer said, so I'm not all that!

I can speak 2 properly (well, ONE properly, the other kind of only enough to talk with little kids and old people ) then I have 2 more that I don't really speak, but I know exactly what other people are talking about, so watch out

ZombieKitten said:

Fauxie said:

How many do you speak?

Our youngest nephew hears Thai, English, Korean and Japanese, so he's a bit confused right now, but we're hoping over the next few years he'll be decent with Thai and English and it'll all just come together.

I should commit to Thai more. It comes to me so easily now, but I don't give it the effort it deserves. If I'd been really (I mean REALLY) making an effort I could've been fluent by now. It's tough not to get complacent at certain points. I come back from other countries, even places like Malaysia where many ppl can speak English, and I feel all warm and fuzzy being back in Thailand, knowing I can get in a taxi, go anywhere I want, chat about whatever, and do whatever I want to do without a phrasebook or a local. It's like there's nothing I can't do, but then turn on the radio and I can't repeat after each line what the singer said, so I'm not all that!

I can speak 2 properly (well, ONE properly, the other kind of only enough to talk with little kids and old people ) then I have 2 more that I don't really speak, but I know exactly what other people are talking about, so watch out

That's fun, but better to speak them and play dumb and then BAM! Surprise 'em with it. I've done that on occasion, playing the idiot farang who only knows 'hello' and 'thank you'. Not really even intentionally, just being myself, not saying that much, and them having that expectation that I don't understand.

ZombieKitten said:

Fauxie said:

How many do you speak?

Our youngest nephew hears Thai, English, Korean and Japanese, so he's a bit confused right now, but we're hoping over the next few years he'll be decent with Thai and English and it'll all just come together.

I should commit to Thai more. It comes to me so easily now, but I don't give it the effort it deserves. If I'd been really (I mean REALLY) making an effort I could've been fluent by now. It's tough not to get complacent at certain points. I come back from other countries, even places like Malaysia where many ppl can speak English, and I feel all warm and fuzzy being back in Thailand, knowing I can get in a taxi, go anywhere I want, chat about whatever, and do whatever I want to do without a phrasebook or a local. It's like there's nothing I can't do, but then turn on the radio and I can't repeat after each line what the singer said, so I'm not all that!

I can speak 2 properly (well, ONE properly, the other kind of only enough to talk with little kids and old people ) then I have 2 more that I don't really speak, but I know exactly what other people are talking about, so watch out

Wait, I've gotta come again at this post. I love little kids up to a certain age and then there's a point where I shun them until they're a certain age where they fully understand I'm not Thai and I don't speak the language fluently. I understand Golf (who's 7) 95% of the time, but it's around about now he's coming out with stuff occasionally that I don't know. Love you in a few years, kid.

Fluent Spanish and English...

1st languge was Spanish.. went to school, and by grade 5 spoke only English... went on to re-learn Spainsh in my early twenties and picked up some Creole (Haitian) and Italian along the way... I am not fluent but can understand when spoken to in either languge...

my older son has started teaching me how to speak Japanese .... he is fluent now.

ZombieKitten said:

Serious said:

ZombieKitten said:

The secret is to learn a shitload of languages while you are still a kid, even if you don't speak them for the next 25 years, once you immerse yourself again, it just comes. The pronunciation will be excellent, your vocabulary maybe NOT so good, but that part you can work on

:thumbsup: I would have loved to grow up bilingual .
But if you only speak a language as a very young child that seems to not help so much. David's daughter pretty much lost all her English very quickly even though she grew up bilingual . When he calls her now she cannot even understand him talking anymore when he speaks English .

ZombieKitten said:

Serious said:

:thumbsup: I would have loved to grow up bilingual .
But if you only speak a language as a very young child that seems to not help so much. David's daughter pretty much lost all her English very quickly even though she grew up bilingual . When he calls her now she cannot even understand him talking anymore when he speaks English .

I think you need to keep speaking to about age 7 or 8
My sister lost all hers, and she is 4 years younger

I speak fluent Pig Latin & Cow Latin

I talk to trees too

Serious said:

ZombieKitten said:

I think you need to keep speaking to about age 7 or 8 My sister lost all hers, and she is 4 years younger

That explains it. David's older just had turned 5 I think when she stopped to practice her English.

and if she doesn't keep hearing any english it will be gone forever

ZombieKitten said:

KoolEaze said:

veronikka said:

I was born in the US but started speaking only spanish, this is all my mom spoke to me. My dad knew both english and spanish but spoke mostly spanish, to be able to communicate with my mom. Once I went into kindergarten, I started to pick up on english but really struggled with it until about 3rd grade. I took all 4 years of spanish in high school and can speak and write very well. I'm glad I kept it up through the years, I put it to good use in my current job, I translate for many spanish speaking parents where I work

This is something I really like about you.

I need to learn how to pronounce your name

Mach said:

I talk to trees too

Takes too damned long to get them to answer you!

PurpleJedi said:

Mach said:

I talk to trees too

Takes too damned long to get them to answer you!

PurpleJedi said:

Mach said:

I talk to trees too

Takes too damned long to get them to answer you!

I just stand around and wait

Mach said:

PurpleJedi said:

Takes too damned long to get them to answer you!

I just stand around and wait

Yeah, that's an awesome pic!