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Got it, I agree with you 100%.

I am in my early 30's and I thought a lot of this was from the generation after mine, but it appears that even my generation uses very bad grammar. I have a friend who is a substitute school teacher and he even uses than/then and your/you're wrong.


Everyone makes mistakes but I don't think I have ever seen him use you're or than. I make mistakes here when I am in a hurry or typing on my phone.


Ah...I wasn't referring to English English or American English. I was commenting on the sad state of the language in everyday use in America. Grammar and spelling has taken a back seat. It gets worse when Texting is involved. It's no wonder foreigners speak better English than natives. Seems like the language is devolving back into Olde English; from before they invented spelling. A lot of the text messages I've read reads like Chaucer without the eloquence.
 
I know english and spanish. Learning Chinese. You have to speak the language. Reading out loud, listening to music and conversing with others will get you there.

I didn't grow up speaking spanish. But, I'm fluent. I've been learning for the last 9 years. Its a on going process.
 
I speak hebrew and english. I've never lived in Israel, though I have spent 6 weeks there. That 6 week long trip really improved my hebrew language skills more than any other class I've taken. I've been learning it since kindergarden and I'm now a junior in high school.
 
The best way to learn another language is by practicing it.
Two methods to apply, both are needed:
- Learn the grammar.
- Start using it.

Do all the things you like in the language you are learning.
For example if you like bicycles, get a bicycle magazine in Spanish, get familiar with it, continue your learning, and you will be getting it.
Watch TV, Movies with captions/subtitles.
Watch more, and more.

Spain's spanish is very hard to understand by ear, even for native spanish speakers from latin america, as the accent is very strong, normally spoken very fast and with a lot of idioms.

Get music in spanish, almost any kind of music is available.

Point out some of the things you like to get immersed with and maybe we can give you some websites to check.

Any training you take is a good start: Pimsleur, Berlitz, TellMeMore, Rosetta Stone, Total Immersion, o.

Some free websites:
http://learner.org/series/destinos/

Why do you want to learn spanish?
 
You'll find most europeans know both their native language, and usually english or spanish. it is not uncommon to know 3 or more languages over there.


I know english and a little bit of Russian (learning) - more interested in reading/writing it than speaking it, but i know some of the basics (counting, greetings, etc) so far.
 
I learned Spanish in high school but mostly during a 2 month stay in Mexico during which time I enrolled in a Spanish language immersion program at a university (Universidad Internacional, Cuernavaca)
 
3 languages here.

My grandpa used to speak 6 languages & was a prof (not in the US) of language before he passed. My grandma & mother speaks 4, me & my sis 3.

Growing up in my house I heard 3 languages & a little french, so that is how I learned.
 
It doesn't offend me, just thought I'd mention it. I used it in front of an ex and a couple of Japanese friends before and they didn't like it. I think it was because the U.S. military members called them that during WW2.

Yeah, western WWII veterans often use the word 'japs' when talking about them... I haven't experienced any problems with the phrase so far, but perhaps it's because the younger japanese generations don't relate us westerners to the war because it's so distant from them. I can imagine how it wouldn't be taken too well by the middle aged or older generations tho.
 
I can speak and write Chinese and English easily, most people in my country are bilingual, with some trilingual or more.
 
I speak fluent English, Portuguese, and Spanish.


I speak only the basics in French and Japanese, just enough to get around.
 
English, Hindi, Punjabi...

I used to speak and read basic Egyptian Arabic, but I'm way out of practice.

I know enough Spanish and French to stumble through countries where each is spoken regularly.

I learned through a combination of classes, travel, movies, living abroad, and having in-laws who are more comfortable conversing in a language other than English.
 
My native language is Filipino (Tagalog), and I'm quite fluent in English.

Also, I've been watching Korean shows (with English subs) for about 3 years now so I'm a kinda familiar with Korean language too.
 
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