Do you speak a second language?

How did you learn? I was fluent in Italian when I was younger b/c family members always spoke it.... I was thinking about getting Rosetta stone to pick it up again......Has any one had success with this program?

Re: Do you speak a second language?

I speak Arabic fluently - my parents ONLY spoke Arabic around me, so much so that when I was 4 and went to school - I was not comfortable speaking English!

Obviously as I got older, and my parents got (lazier) by speaking less Arabic, I forgot a lot of it.

For the past five years or so, I've asked my parents to ONLY speak to me in Arabic, and I started watching Arabic channels which bought everything back very quickly.

Rosetta Stone is a fantastic program, but it's expensive, and it's formalized language - I would recm'd trying to borrow it from someone before making the purchase. Just to see if it works for you.

I did pick up Italian through Rosetta Stone, but that's after taking it for four years in college...

Re: Do you speak a second language?

spanish fluently
i understand, can read it and write it, but my speaking needs to be polished a bit..
My family is hispanic.

I can also understand and read french.I took it for 6 years in school

Re: Do you speak a second language?

Re: Do you speak a second language?

My cousin used Pimsleur to learn Portuguese & she picked it up really well.

Re: Do you speak a second language?

I speak German growing up with my mom and my grandmother lived with us from 3-17. i also took it in school and worked for a German company in college.

While I was definitely once fluent, it takes me time to find the right words sometimes, but I'm sure it would all come back if I immersed myself in it (which I don't really see happening, unless I went back to my old company)



DH is fluent in Spanish (first language - he grew up in Spain), but he learned English through the NY schools and is now more comfortable speaking English - much to my dismay - as I want our children to learn Spanish.

Re: Do you speak a second language?

I speak Georgia and Russian fluently(Well Georgian is my first language and Russian was second ) besides fluent English(I can speak, read and write all of them ).
I understand little bit of Polish and Spanish ,but I don't speak it.
I would love to learn Spanish and planing to in near future.

Message edited 7/7/2008 3:30:48 PM.

Re: Do you speak a second language?

No, I wish I spoke spanish though.

DH is fluent in spanish and his grandmother (and a few aunts/uncles) can only speak spanish and I hate that I can't really communicate with them. I can understand 90% of what they say, but can't speak it.

I was going to look into Rosetta stone too, but heard it was expensive.

Re: Do you speak a second language?

technically, English is my second language... I am fluent in Polish and I know a bit of Russian (but I forgot a lot since I dont use it every day)

Re: Do you speak a second language?

I speak fluent Russian, as well as read and write. I was born and raised in St. Petersburg.

Re: Do you speak a second language?

English is my second language. I speak French fluently.

Re: Do you speak a second language?

Spanish in my first language. My mom spoke to us in spanish all the time. As we grew older, we spoke english to her because we were learning it in school.

I brushed up on my Spanish by listening to spanish music and (this is gonna sounds nuts)....watching spanish soap operas!!!!!

ETA: Rosetta Stone is FANTASTIC!!! My DH speaks to my mother back and forth in Spanish really well because of Rosetta Stone.

Message edited 7/7/2008 5:10:38 PM.

Re: Do you speak a second language?

fluent in ITalian (first generation), and went to ITaly many summers growing up for 2-3 months at a time.
spoke only ITalian at home.

Im also fluent (or close to it) In Spanish. learned it very quickly in school. and spoke it in many areas of life (school, work, neighbors, etc.)

Know a good amount of Greek (grew up in "little Athens" (Astoria )

and have picked up some armenian from my hubby's family.

I Love languages.

I should have listened to my aunt in ITaly many years ago, she would tell us towork as translators for the United nations.

Message edited 7/7/2008 5:47:34 PM.

Re: Do you speak a second language?

je parle francais...les bon temps roulez! lol

hablo un poco espanol

Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch

I also speak enough hebrew to understand when my relatives are speaking about me and what my friend says to her dad...so I can make sure it is not about me.

Re: Do you speak a second language?

I used to speak German pretty fluently, but have since lost all of my spoken abilities. I lived there for a year and studied it in college. I feel if I were to go back there, I would pick it up.

I used to understand bits and pieces of other languages like Afrikaans, Dutch and French, but haven't looked at anything in a few years, so I feel I have lost them as well.

Re: Do you speak a second language?

English is my first language but I'm near native fluent in French. I can also speak Spanish and understand Italian.