Alexei Triglot Newbie Japan Joined 5844 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes Speaks: Japanese, Portuguese*, EnglishC2
| Message 73 of 204 22 November 2008 at 9:20am | IP Logged |
I`m 19 years old.
European Portuguese - Native tongue;
English - Started learning when I was maybe 6 years old. Passed the CPE in December 2006 but, since the stinky diploma is only valid for two years, it was a pointless endeavour;
Japanese - Was stupid enough to learn this language to a level where I could actually consider moving to Japan, which I did. Can read newspapers and talk to people but there`s still a good deal of words I don`t know.
I can understand Spanish and French but, because I don`t speak either language, I decided against including them. I have the feeling most people overestimate their abilities by adding languages they can understand (languages which are similar to their native tongue or second language) but cannot really speak or write in.
I`ll start leaning Mandarin Chinese in April 2009. I`m supposed to study another language in University so I`m thinking of picking Russian. I wonder if I`ll start learning it right away on my freshman year...it would be better if I did.
Not that I have much hope anyway. I doubt that even as a pentaglot I`ll be able to find a good job. Even being a language teacher here in Japan is hard. The pay is average and you`re expected to be a native speaker.
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ongaby Tetraglot Newbie Czech Republic Joined 5911 days ago 14 posts - 15 votes Speaks: Romanian*, EnglishC2, French, Spanish Studies: German, Czech
| Message 74 of 204 03 December 2008 at 3:43am | IP Logged |
Alexei wrote:
I`m 19 years old.
European Portuguese - Native tongue;
English - Started learning when I was maybe 6 years old. Passed the CPE in December 2006 but, since the stinky diploma is only valid for two years, it was a pointless endeavor;
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Not true about the CPE. It's valid for life. Read here:
http://www.cambridgeesol.org/exams/general-english/cpe.html
""a CPE certificate is valid for life, you never need to take the exam again""
IELTS is valid only for two years.
Edited by ongaby on 03 December 2008 at 3:44am
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Chris G77 Newbie United States Joined 6002 days ago 28 posts - 37 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian
| Message 75 of 204 09 December 2008 at 1:34pm | IP Logged |
31 years old
English: native
Italian: studied for about 9 months, fairly advanced. Best compliment i have received is that my manner of speaking and accent are very native-like. I have lived among Italians & with family, so its not all that impressive, really. I would like to reach complete fluency. Right now I am highly proficient, need to take a trip to ITA to practice hardcore...thats a good excuse for a vacation, right?
German: Minored in German in college but have retained very little. Very difficult language for me but someday I'll take my revenge and learn it well!
Must add I am really impressed by all of the young people so well invested in learning languages. Good work!
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Oleg Triglot Groupie Russian FederationRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5827 days ago 57 posts - 95 votes Speaks: Russian*, Polish, English Studies: Spanish, French, Italian
| Message 76 of 204 09 December 2008 at 3:26pm | IP Logged |
19 years old.
Russian: native and beloved;
English: at least Intermediate, I hope ;) started studying it when I was 12. Back then, the studying wasn't so intensive as it is now, though.
Spanish: I've been learning it for almost 2 years now, but I'm still not able to speak any confidently, except for simple topics.
Need to specify: I learn Spanish on my own, and don't pay enough attention to it; that's why it takes me so long to make my vocabulary big enough.
Edited by Oleg on 10 December 2008 at 3:58am
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taKen Tetraglot Senior Member Norway mindofthelinguist.woRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6115 days ago 176 posts - 210 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Dutch, French Studies: German, Icelandic
| Message 77 of 204 10 December 2008 at 8:24am | IP Logged |
I'm 19 years old.
Norwegian: Native.
English (6 years old): My interest in American Fantasy literature and using English online really helped me reach a reasonable level before I entered my teens. In Norway we start learning English in the first grade, and since no American series are dubbed like in many other parts of Europe many Norwegians reach a very good passive understanding.
French (16 years old): Having learnt this one in school, and then having it been reinforced by the fact that my girl friend speaks the language. I pride myself in being able to understand and express myself in on of the most beautiful languages of the world. But I'm still learning, and every day I find new words that I'm quick to make into flashcards.
Dutch (18 years old): My girlfriend also speaks Dutch (Native to Belgium), so naturally (being the language geek that I am) I simply had to learn it. Currently I'm doing a 10-month course in Antwerp, so that I can invest some time into learning both French and Dutch and also find out what I want to study next year.
Russian (19 years old): I just began learning this one, and I admit that it's not easy, but it's certainly still very rewarding. I've bought several books about the language, and I'm currently using the Pimsleur and Michel Thomas Foundation courses every day.
I also have some understanding of German, which one might expect since I'm a Norwegian who speaks both Dutch and English. Hopefully I will have reached advanced fluency in all the afore mentioned languages before I'm 25. In addition I plan to learn Spanish.
Edited by taKen on 10 December 2008 at 8:36am
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spykel Diglot Groupie Canada Joined 5825 days ago 40 posts - 48 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Scottish Gaelic
| Message 78 of 204 11 December 2008 at 12:42pm | IP Logged |
I'm 25 years old. I'll list my languages by decreasing competency:
English: Native language
French (9 years old): Started studying in grade 4, as required by my province. Loved the language, and have continued to develop my fluency ever since.
German (18 years old): Took a course in first year university, and also loved it. Have continued to study it off and on since then.
Swedish (24 years old): Just recently started studying the language with the help of a Swedish penpal.
Latin (20 years old): Studied on my own time in university, but have largely forgotten it due to disuse.
Ojibwe (12 years old): Learnt smatterings of this language from my native friends in high school. Still remember some simple phrases, greetings, the names of animals, and how to form diminutives.
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Eimii Groupie United States Joined 5830 days ago 44 posts - 47 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Russian, Polish
| Message 79 of 204 11 December 2008 at 4:20pm | IP Logged |
Age: 18
English: Native
Spanish: Studied since I was 12 at school...I could get around Mexico, but I'm not fluent and I have abandoned it.
Russian: Studied already for 3-4 months. I can speak with mixed results and I convince myself that I can speak more than I can. Though really, I don't know much at all, which becomes apparent when I download novels and try to read them.
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eddina Triglot Newbie Poland Joined 6174 days ago 3 posts - 3 votes Speaks: Polish*, NorwegianC1, English Studies: German, Danish
| Message 80 of 204 11 December 2008 at 5:25pm | IP Logged |
I'm 22.
Polish: Native
English: Studied since I was 5 or 6 I guess, but I don't think anyone can call that first stage actual studying ;) I really started learning the language intensively at the age of 15 and unfortunately I must admit that I am still quite unsatisfied with my current level: passive understanding very high, productive skills - haven't evolved much since I was around 18.
Norwegian: Studied since I was 18. Very rapid progress, now at quite an advanced level - I can understand almost anything written in either bokmål or nynorsk, but I may have problems with understanding Norwegians speaking some funny dialect, for example, say, from Kristiansund or Indre Sogn ;) Productive skills: satisfactory but could be better.
German: Started studying when I was 11, but I haven't had much contact with it since I took up Norwegian. Now I don't think I' d be able to say a longer sentence in German as it always gets completely mixed up with Norwegian. I hope to refresh it some day, though.
Danish: I took a course in Danish last year, it was mostly about differences between Danish and Norwegian and learning pronunciation. I think I could imitate a Dane saying "rødgrød med fløde" ;) plus, very high understanding of written language, but it shouldn't count as it's almost identical with Norwegian.
Icelandic: Started 2 years ago with Old Norse, continued with modern Icelandic, gave up after a year or so. Too little motovation, too much grammar.
French: I had to take it at school when I was 13-14. I didn't like the teacher so I was happy to give it up. I still remember one silly nursery rhyme and the basics of pronunciation.
Russian: I can read the alphabet :>
Edited by eddina on 11 December 2008 at 5:37pm
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