Miscellaneous Monday - What languages do you speak?

[Dreamsuite Mike]

Having spent the first 5 months of the year in Central and South America, with very little English spoken in most places we went, my wife and I tried hard to learn a bit of Spanish.  My wife put a lot more effort in than I did and was pretty good.  At times I felt like I made progress, then someone would try and talk to me in Spanish...😵‍💫.  After 6 months, truth be told, I was rubbish. 😳

I really want to learn Spanish and have decided that I should attend lessons.

I am heading to Indonesia soon so also want to know the basics of Bahasa also...

Oddly, I went to France recently and I know a bit of French from school but every time someone spoke in French, my first reaction came out in Spanish🤦

What language(s) can you speak and how well?  

What language do you wish you could speak?

Any tips for someone who is hitting a brick wall when it comes to learning a new language?

[Evgenii]

What language(s) can you speak and how well?  

• Russian (native)
• English (Intermediate)
• Hebrew (a little)

What language do you wish you could speak?

• Spanish

Any tips for someone who is hitting a brick wall when it comes to learning a new language?

Practice, only practice. And it's better, if it will be with native speakers. Without practice knowledge of language degrades :(

[Oliver Siebenmarck _Polymetis Apps_]

What language(s) can you speak and how well?  

• German (native)
• English (pretty decent)
• French (a little)
• Spanish (also a little)
• Cebuano (Just some words and phrases, but I like it a lot)

What language do you wish you could speak?

• Swedish
• Japanese 

Any tips for someone who is hitting a brick wall when it comes to learning a new language?

As @Evgenii already said: Practice! And if you have the means and opportunity to: Travel!

[ronald_bergmann]

Knowing German and English I found Swedish to be very easy to learn (up to a conversational level). Gör det! Det är jätte roligt att lära sig svenska!

[Mahesh Shinde]

It's awesome!

[Randy O_Neal]

Born and raised in the heartland of the US, I've never operated in a world where I needed anything but English.  While in high school, I tried to learn French, but that didn't go over very well.  Let's just say je ne parle pas français.

I did go on to earn a minor in Hellenistic Greek while working on a degree in Biblical Literature, but that's an unspoken language, and despite my once being able to read some of the New Testament in the original Greek, I've lost those skills... though I do have a fine suite of translation aids at my disposal.

These days, I've managed to learn a few small phrases, in Spanish (Mexican Spanish, not Castilian Spanish), as there is a growing population of Spanish-speaking people in Kentucky.  I've even managed to sing a few songs in Spanish at church, though that was mostly memorizing the phonetics of the lyrics.  Even so, my #1 phrase is realamente no hablo español.

Ultimately, I find myself channeling my inner Bruce Willis, from The Fifth Element:

[Dreamsuite Mike]

@Oliver Siebenmarck _Polymetis Apps_ @Evgenii Is it true that once you learn one other language, additional ones come easier?  

(if it's not, I don't wanna know 😄)

[Oliver Siebenmarck _Polymetis Apps_]

@Dreamsuite Mike it's been long since I learned my first second language, but I am pretty sure it gets easier once your brain has wrapped itself around the idea of different languages existing.

Certainly felt like it made it easier for me, but then again I am only fluent in two languages. True polyglots might have a different opinion.

[Dam]

What language(s) can you speak and how well?  

French (native)

English (trying to lose my french accent 😃)

Vietnamese (for daily life and friends talks)

German (college memories) 

What language do you wish you could speak?

Spanish 

Any tips for someone who is hitting a brick wall when it comes to learning a new language? 

Travel, travel, travel 🚀😃

[Marjorie]

Don't lose the accent!  French accents are amazing! 

[Teodora V]

What language(s) can you speak and how well?  

Bulgarian is my native, so I hope I am good enough at it 😃

English is now my second best to native, because... well, because of life.

I studied Chinese for five years and was pretty good at it but lack of speaking and practicing made me quite rubbish 

What language do you wish you could speak?

Spanish, Italian, maybe Greek :) 

Any tips for someone who is hitting a brick wall when it comes to learning a new language?

As @Dam said, spend as long as you can in an environment that helps and supports your learning. But being consistent also helps, so don't wait for the perfect opportunity!

[Dreamsuite Mike]

So far a great selection of languages which is making me feel very very monoglot and quite frankly embarrassingly lazy.

@Randy O_Neal Your post sums things up nicely 😂

[Trudy Claspill]

I tried to learn Spanish in school. We had a couple of students from Panama who spoke Spanish natively. When they spoke "naturally" I found that I could not keep up with the speed at which they spoke.

I jokingly say that I speak "ballet French". I take ballet classes, and the terminology is in French, so I know French phrases that are applicable to ballet but would not be useful in a normal conversation. 

[Amanda Barber]

Great topic! I took French for 6 years, but didn't retain much over the last 20 years. I can read a little still, but never was great at conversation - it takes a lot more brain power for me to make sense of a language when someone is speaking it. Otherwise, I only speak my native English. 

[Marjorie]

What language(s) can you speak and how well?  

• English (native)
• German (Ein bisschen) can understand, speak a little
• Spanish (enough to travel)

What language do you wish you could speak?

• Czech
• Spanish

Any tips for someone who is hitting a brick wall when it comes to learning a new language? 

• I really do not have any advice, I know a bit in several languages. I wish I knew what to do to become more fluent.
• I would guess conversing with someone from the country you wish to speak their language.

[Laurie Sciutti]

What language(s) can you speak and how well?  

1. English (native)
2. Italian (studied 4 years in high school and can understand and speak some, more so when I was younger)
3. Japanese (studied in college, can understand and speak some) 

What language do you wish you could speak?

I wish that I kept learning Italian and Japanese so that I were fluent now.

Any tips for someone who is hitting a brick wall when it comes to learning a new language?

I think the best advice is to immerse yourself in the language.  If you can, surround yourself with those who speak it natively.

[Ankush Bora]

Great advice!

[Markus Fredén]

Hi!

What language(s) can you speak and how well?  

• Swedish (native)
• English (very well)

What language do you wish you could speak?

• Russian
• Dutch

Any tips for someone who is hitting a brick wall when it comes to learning a new language?

• Give up

/Markus

[Haoyang Lu]

What language(s) can you speak and how well?  

1. Chinese (native)
2. English（Trying to take a IELTS G test）
3. Japanese (JLPT N2) 

What language do you wish you could speak?

Serbian.

Any tips for someone who is hitting a brick wall when it comes to learning a new language?

Take tests (Set a timer, it can bring you pressure).

Failure can effectively make you remember every mistake you made. 

[Justyna Gdowik _ Deviniti _]

What language(s) can you speak and how well?  

• I can speak Polish as a native language, English at an advanced level, and I have some understanding of German and French.

What language do you wish you could speak?

• I wish I could speak Spanish and Italian.

Any tips for someone who is hitting a brick wall when it comes to learning a new language?

• If someone is hitting a brick wall when learning a new language, my tip would be to not be afraid of making mistakes and to practice as much as possible. Embrace the learning process and immerse yourself in the language through conversations, reading, and listening. Find resources that work best, such as language apps, textbooks, or language exchange partners. 

[John Funk]

Southern US English is my primary language   :-)

And I guess American English is my second language haha

I also speak Spanish having lived in South America for 5 years. 

About to start learning Arabic now that I am in Dubai. 

Best advice - learn a language while you are young! Have your children learn now while it is much easier for them!!!

[Walter Buggenhout]

What language(s) can you speak and how well?  

• Dutch (mother tongue)
• English (pretty well)
• French (if I am given some time to think before I speak)
• Spanish (when on holiday and in very practical situations)
• German (if mixing it up with a lot of dutch counts as a basic way of speaking the language too)

What language do you wish you could speak?

Italian and Japanese . Sign language.

Any tips for someone who is hitting a brick wall when it comes to learning a new language?

Just dare to speak. Even if what you say is totally worng 🤗, language is just a means to facilitate human interaction. People in general are very appreciative when they see you are trying. And, be open to and ask for feedback so you can improve.

[Wojciech Andryszek_Deviniti]

What language(s) can you speak and how well? 

Polish (native)
English (quite well)
German (quite well)
Russian (not so well)
Japanesse (finding a toilet and discuss a fine manga/anime) ;)

What language do you wish you could speak?

Czech
Spanish
Icelandic
Nawajo

Any tips for someone who is hitting a brick wall when it comes to learning a new language?

Listen, read, speak, sing, think, and write. Repeat all life.

[Walter Buggenhout]

Oh, +1 for Icelandic. Iceland is definitely a destination I have on my travel bucket list, largely thanks to working in the Atlassian ecosystem!

[Emily _ DevSamurai]

Vietnamese is my mother tongue, and I can speak English and some Chinese. I've always admired people who are able (and manage) to speak many languages since as a bilingual I understand how hard it is to learn a new language, not to mention more than 2 languages at a time. So this topic to me is just like, the summoner of legends somehow :D

In the near future, I will take a Spanish course, and maybe French too. Learning a new language means exploring a new culture, and that's always been one of my go-to parts of the journey. 

I am not that good to come up with any tips for language learners, but here is one thing I got from my own experience: don't be afraid of making mistakes; practice makes perfect, and always will.

[Aslan Bennington-Barr]

I speak English, but I'm learning Japanese and Portuguese.

I think it's really valuable to learn languages, communicating with people from all cultures is important and eye opening.

[Dave Mathijs]

What language(s) can you speak and how well?  

• Dutch / Flemish (native / mother tongue)
• English (listening, reading, speaking, writing)
• French (listening, reading, speaking quite sufficient, writing has been a long time ago)
• German (listening to Mono Inc., Rammstein and the Autogefühl channel on YouTube, reading Auto Motor und Sport, Auto Bild and the lyrics of the artists above, speaking a bit when in Aachen or Düsseldorf, writing has been a long time ago)
• Spanish (listening to La casa de papel, speaking the very basics on holiday)

What language do you wish you could speak?

• Spanish (mejor)
• Italian

Any tips for someone who is hitting a brick wall when it comes to learning a new language?

• If Jean-Marie Pfaff and Frank Welvaert can, you can too. (IYKYK) ⚽️
• The universal language: Find a partner that speaks that language natively (and preferably some English too) 💞
• Last resort: Google Translate

[Mike Clarke]

Wow! Great topic, and amazing to see so many people fluent in different languages.

What language(s) can you speak and how well?  

• English (native)
• Japanese (poorly)
• Mandarin, and Spanish (barely)

What language do you wish you could speak?

• I wish I had kept up with Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish - can barely speak toddler these days

Any tips for someone who is hitting a brick wall when it comes to learning a new language?

Practice and immersion.  Go deeper than the language and soak up the culture(s) associated with the language you're learning - it's more fun that way!

[Summer Hogan]

Great question @Dreamsuite Mike 

What language(s) can you speak and how well?  

English - very well as it is the only language I speak

What language do you wish you could speak?

Japanese - I tried to learn it while I lived there, but it was so difficult. I want to try again! 

[Alexander Pappert]

german (native)

english

french, but I forogt everything in the last 20 years ;)

[Gia Jgarkava _Twinit_]

What language(s) can you speak and how well?  

• Georgian (native)
• English (would call it fluent)
• Russian (Close to native, but with a heavy Georgian accent :) )
• Dutch (just a bit)

What language do you wish you could speak?

• Dutch, but really well
• Sanskrit (or at least Hindi)

Any tips for someone who is hitting a brick wall when it comes to learning a new language?

• When I tried, some apps or courses were good, though depending on the language, choosing a really good one is hard. For me, the best ones are with a good balance of grammar and vocabulary. Grammar is really important!