English is the easiest language to learn

Guest   Thu Jul 19, 2007 6:27 pm GMT
I see someone thinks English is the hardest language to learn. What a joke. It's the easiest in the world, isn't it? Apart from Afrikaans and Indonesian maybe.
Liz   Thu Jul 19, 2007 6:41 pm GMT
How many times are you (not specifically you - all of you) going to re-start this thread?

I don't know if it's the easiest in the world as I've never tried to learn all languages. But be a bit more realistic - there is no such thing as the easiest or the hardest language to learn - all of them have features / constructions that are easier or harder to master. It's not that clear-cut as you might think.
Guest   Thu Jul 19, 2007 6:46 pm GMT
What's harder in English then? I can't think of anything.
Jasper   Thu Jul 19, 2007 6:49 pm GMT
I've been told by non-natives that English is pretty easy to learn if you're a child or teenager, but exceedingly difficult if you're an older adult. I live in an area where there are many Latino immigrants, so I presume they know what they're talking about.

<shrugs>
Guest   Thu Jul 19, 2007 7:13 pm GMT
>>I've been told by non-natives that English is pretty easy to learn if you're a child or teenager, but exceedingly difficult if you're an older adult. I live in an area where there are many Latino immigrants, so I presume they know what they're talking about<<

Yeah but I bet most of the Latin immigrants haven't tried to learn any other foreign languages apart from English. I bet if they had to learn, say German, they would say it was far harder than English.
Guest   Thu Jul 19, 2007 7:34 pm GMT
I am a non-native speaker. I have mixed feelings about this topic.
I started studying English when I was like 7 years old,all my fucking teachers (yes both female and male), had taught us only grammar rules and forced us to go through those fucking "fill in the blanks" quizzes just to clear the subject. I had to read books but I could not read them because of low vocabulary. My word power was fucking low to an extent of "how are you?" I was forced to do rote memorizing for my essays. My ass could go by in any native speaking country with that knowledge of the language. To cut my sad story short, since I had stumbled across Tom's website three years ago, when I was inspired by his story, then I was able to make drastic progress in the language. I started believing in my own abilities, started taking a personal interest in learning the language. I have made a breakthrough within a short span of time. I read, listened, wrote and spoke(when an opportunity was arisen) and enjoyed the whole process. My pronunciation is markedly improved.Now I can understand nativespeakers on the phone with no problems. Now I can watch sitcoms at ease and there is no looking back. All was possible in three years, on my own, in the environs of my home. I have learned a lot in these three years than what I had learned in my whole high school period about the language(12 years).

Proper mindset, regularity and efficient methods are the best way to go for learning a foreign language. And persistence is the key. English is hard for some people because they don't follow the right methods and they don't have a crazy attitude towards the language. I mean, they are learning it because they are forced to learn it either for a job or clear a proficiency test. Only will people learn it if they start loving the language and there are no two ways about it. English is the hardest langauge or infact any other langauge is a myth. It is all in one's mind. When you have already decided in your mind that (you can't defeat Roger Federer in a tennis match)than you won't defeat him. You win half the battle in your mind and the remaining is just the formality. I will show you how to learn Japanese if my live depends on it.

Isn't it a success for me if my above-mentioned post is understandable to the readers of the forum?
Guest   Thu Jul 19, 2007 7:47 pm GMT
Sorry, but I really found your post offensive. I started to read it, but your tone was so ugly, I didn't want to waste any more time.
furrykef   Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:02 pm GMT
As a native speaker of English, I can't really form any objective impressions on how easy English is to learn. A lot of native speakers have the impression that it's really easy or really difficult... and either way, they're probably failing to take into account that a foreign learner's difficulties with the language may be different from a native speaker's. For instance, a good foreign learner will probably be more aware that English spelling often doesn't make sense, so they might have a higher tendency to use proper spelling than to try to spell things phonetically. They also probably have a much higher tendency to use the dictionary than an average speaker. I'm probably one of the only people I know who uses a dictionary for his native language all the time.

<< I've been told by non-natives that English is pretty easy to learn if you're a child or teenager, but exceedingly difficult if you're an older adult. >>

Any language is easy to learn if you're a young enough child. ;) I'm not convinced that it extends to teenagers. I'm having much more success in learning languages in my early 20s now than I did in my teen years in high school. I credit my performance now to a better understanding of how language works.

<< Sorry, but I really found your post offensive. I started to read it, but your tone was so ugly, I didn't want to waste any more time. >>

This poster has a point. I didn't find the cursing to be offensive myself, but it did seem almost comical, as if you were trying to swear as much as possible at first. In any case, the mods and the regular users would both probably appreciate it if you toned it down a bit. :)

- Kef
Skippy   Thu Jul 19, 2007 10:58 pm GMT
As a native English speaker, I can say that it has been the easiest language for me to learn.

For the rest of ya'll, who knows? But I'm sure the constant barrage of English-speaking movies, television shows, music, and tourists has helped the process.
TBD   Thu Jul 19, 2007 11:13 pm GMT
>>Isn't it a success for me if my above-mentioned post is understandable to the readers of the forum? <<

Yes it is, congratulations. I appreciate your passion, and agree with your point about loving a language to learn it, but I don't know why you're so angry. Relax, you got the job. The job being reasonable fluency with few errors. Pretty darned good in three years of self study. I'd say you should be proud, but I don't see any shortage of that trait exemplified in your post. Way to go. Its great to be passionate about something.

>> I'm probably one of the only people I know who uses a dictionary for his native language all the time. <<

I do too. Long ago when I was in school I used to keep one beside my desk. While reading textbooks, essays or a novel I'd write down every word I didn't know and the page number in the book. Then I'd look up each word, go back to the page where I'd initially found it, then re-read it in context. That would help to cement it into memory. Glad to meet another rare human unafraid to consult the dictionary. Kudos to you.
Guest   Fri Jul 20, 2007 4:00 am GMT
I used cursing for a humourous effect.
furrykef   Fri Jul 20, 2007 4:14 am GMT
<< I used cursing for a humourous effect. >>

Well, it *was* humorous, but I don't think this is really the place for such humor, sorry. :)
Guest   Fri Jul 20, 2007 10:27 am GMT
<<Well, it *was* humorous, but I don't think this is really the place for such humor, sorry. :) >>

and what about dissecting "what is cunt" thread?