When Learning A Language

[Tilly2]

why is it that you can read and understand it but when it comes to speaking it, you forget how to say what you want to say? That's my experience, anyway.

[pixie373]

I agree with Karl. French people will pretend not to understand you if your pronunciation isn't perfect. It's just practice though and listening to tapes will help you pick it up, too.

[Peter Pedant]

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I do the comprehension far beyond expression bit as well
Dont get depressed.
I find the info bar on modern tel - Monde 24 and so on useful

I dont think I have ever thought in a foreign language....

[grasscarp]

Like Danny I have benefit of Italian other half which helped with learning the language. Mind you the first time I spoke a sentence from a phrase book he laughed at me which kind of shut me up for a long time. Have had some trouble with Russian which I am learning. Took about 3 years to get courage to speak. I also went on Conversation Exchange website to find Russians to talk to on Skype. Was inundated on day one, so had to remove myself from there. However, I did get practice in talking to Russians. Not doing it much now, but just an idea for you or anyone else struggling with a foreign language.

[jeffa]

The thing about people not understanding when asking for directions or similar is that these tend to be tiny snippets of conversation, not long enough to allow the speaker's (foreign) accent to be fully understood.

A while ago, I went to get my hair cut and the new barber asked me if I wanted a Caesar cut. I'm afraid I looked blankly at him whilst trying to remember what Julius Caesar looked like. His boss then intervened and informed me that his new Spanish trainee was asking me whether I wanted a scissor cut.

[CokeTulip]

jeffa..the Caesar look has a ring to it!

[jeffa]

I apologised profusely to the young chap, of course, but I genuinely hadn't understood what he said.

[Eve]

I used to study languages (French, German, Spanish and Italian mainly and bits of others) and still find it really hard speaking in front of a native speaker as I get all embarrassed (though alcohol helps a lot!).

I found that the best way was to be around native speakers and listen - often a different "kind" of language than that you are taught and you can pick up a more colloquial, chatty way of speaking rather than the rigid dictionary version. I went to work in France for a couple of weeks and it made a huge difference to my French.

I find that email/messaging is good as you can think about things and look things up and learn more than copping out if you aren't sure how to say something. Listening to TV, radio and music is also good or watching French films with subtitles, there are loads out there, books too, even children's books to start off. Songs are quite good as it can be easier to remember lyrics and what they mean.

Once you pick more up it's much easier to think in languages and just chat away to yourself. I'm rusty now but used to be able to switch between them easily, used to get tested such as being asked a question in one language to answer in another, it's amazing what you can teach yourself to do when you try though I've always had a fascination for languages.

[Eve]

Another tip, learn your world. No point learning a load of words you are never going to use. Learn words for things that surround you, in your home, things you do every day, journeys you make etc... Being around them so often will help reinforce them and your brain will recognise you are learning words associated with something familiar to you.

[FredPuli43]

jomifl's hint is a good one, learning everyday sayings and expressions.You do start to think in them after a while, they are so familiar to you. Going to a class where the teacher speaks and explains in French is a great help.

After that, only being immersed in the language gets you thinking of the French word first. This need not be a long immersion; a fortnight when you speak only French will do to get you going. Then you'll find, eventually, that, when you first have to speak English again, you have lost the English word and only the French one comes instantly.Hard to believe, but it's true; it happens to me.