Learning a second language

I see, would you still recommend that i go through all of the initial lessons instead of jumping into any of the informal stuff?

Of course my view of language is very much a matter of practicality as long as one can be understood then that ideally is good enough.
 
Kreeeee said:
The only problem with that is his pronunciation is terrible.



Are you sure they have the equivalent of -ing verbs? With zero knowledge of Polish it sounds like French where there is no equivalent (and you need double negation) so you are actually saying:

E: I read it
P: chitam tou
F: Je le lis

E: I don't read it
P: nye chitam tegor
F: Je ne le lis pas

It's much easier for us to speak without -ing verbs than it is for Polish/French speakers to learn when to use -ing verbs, and also English has really weird things like "put up", "put off", "broke out" etc.
Click to expand...

What i have put above is from the michel thomas polish lesson 1 and she asks : and what is " i am not reading it " where the correct reply is Nye chitam tegor. The question may have been a little misleading perhaps? Honestly i couldn't tell you myself what is right and wrong and can only trust what i am hearing here for now. Hopefully some polish people will have the courtesy to correct me in the future if i do happen to say anything wrong to them in polish though i know a lot of people for some reason feel rude doing that.
 
PiKe said:
I've always admired people who are multilingual, I don't particularly need to speak a second language but it would be nice to able to and to not be so ignorant that the entire world speaks English.

Is it possible to learn a language with free online resources or is it better suited to attend a class?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that lessons in a classroom aren't the best way to learn, at least they weren't for me. Did the standard French at school but conjugating verbs and other nonsense was unbelievably tedious and dull so its no surprise that I basically dropped out they didn't even bother putting me in for the exams. I suspect that immersion probably works better if you ask me how to conjugate verbs in English or explain the rules of English grammar I couldn't tell you. I just know how to use it I don't have a clue about its rules nor do I have much interest in finding out honestly.
 
Last edited:
Decided I fancied learning Swedish, started using Duolingo on my phone/desktop about two weeks ago. I can form basic sentences but suck at the listening/speaking aspect. Really enjoying myself though!
 
harry5522 said:
I see, would you still recommend that i go through all of the initial lessons instead of jumping into any of the informal stuff?

Of course my view of language is very much a matter of practicality as long as one can be understood then that ideally is good enough.
Click to expand...
no defiantly follow the initial lessons in fact i went back loads of times to same ones . i just found the informal stuff more useful but it becomes easier to look at the verb ending and convert it to the form you need
 
Kreeeee said:
Are you sure they have the equivalent of -ing verbs? With zero knowledge of Polish it sounds like French where there is no equivalent
Click to expand...

French certainly does have a present participle (the -ing form). For regular '-er' verbs you take the stem and add '-ant'. So the present participle of 'passer' is 'passant'. Regular '-ir' verbs are similar: 'tenant', 'venant', etc. Irregular verbs have irregular forms, eg. 'etre' is 'soyant'.
 
Kreeeee said:
I understand that.

If no one uses it, it might as well not exist as languages develop and features get added or removed with time. People here just use the present tense.
Click to expand...

Language is an always evolving beast!

On the bright side got a cracking smile and conversation from a Polish girl at work after I called an English person she was arguing with a ******** kurwa.

She's instantly jumped into "let me help you" mode and I ain't complaining about spending more time chatting with her :D
 
TheSkateyBird said:
Decided I fancied learning Swedish, started using Duolingo on my phone/desktop about two weeks ago. I can form basic sentences but suck at the listening/speaking aspect. Really enjoying myself though![/QUOTEdukti
Click to expand...


Vilket duktig flicka du ar!
Swedish is hard. I still can't write properly, but I'm pretty confident in everyday situations now. Thank god nearly everyone speaks English or at least understands it.

Of all the languages though Swedish seems a really pointless choice :p
 
@moon man

Well i am starting to pick up on the basics now. I will say i think the Michel Thomas method goes a little bit to fast (for me) but i guess this is why we have pause and rewind. I find some things simply glue into my head really easily. Such as czesc zak sie masz/(dzieki/dziekuje)/co to jest/prosze bardzo/Przepraszam/nie rozumiem

Those have all pretty much burned themselves into my brain and they just roll of the tongue now. especially given that they are quite useful and daily words.

The girl i like from work is being really helpful and helping me to understand a lot she likes to point at things and tell me what they are in polish of course i don't remember all of these but it's certainly helping to form a foundation.

I still sometimes get mixed up between to and jest but that's just a matter of practice.

however for me the most surprising thing is that given this is the first language i have tried to learn i am finding it strangely enjoyable.
 
yes it goes too fast for me but i repeat lessons ,having said that i need to get back on with lessons as ive been slacking for a long time now. i do get practice at work though the two main teams sit together at break on a big table and i hear a lot of polish ,its like a jigsaw and you start recognising the main corner pieces then afew more here and there ,
i agree its enjoyable as well ,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom