Very well said! I definitely relate to these moments of "blanking" and then questioning myself and you make a good point of how confidence that fluctuates in other parts of life can of course affect your linguistic confidence!
I began on french last year as my wife is fluent (her degree) and we were going to France for our honeymoon. It's mostly just duolingo each day so i'm not pushing it too intensely but I can gradually tell the difference in how well i'm able to recognise phrases and I could pull off basic interactions for the most part on the honeymoon!
I'm a nativespeaker im German. The only language I am truly fluent at is English (although I never got to go to am English-speaking country to truly test that out/ I only majored at university in English) I am advanced in Italian, though far from fluency and started learning French Spanish, Swedish. (Not at the same time 😆) I love all of them and I know, I should focus on only one but I truly don't want to even though this means being stuck at lower levels for longer.
Funny you mentioned those "draw a blank" moments. American, born and raised and still live in LA, learned French in school from 1st grade through 12th, but that ended over 40 years ago (I'm old). I also took four years of German in high school, which worked out well since I ended up marrying a German woman. Last time in France was 2 years ago, and at one point on the return flight home, I was chatting with the flight attendant - in French - about our failed engine and our return back to CDG. I had to look up "jet engine" in Google Translate before starting the conversation because that's not the kind of word you'd generally learn in everyday conversation, but I guess in some respects, it was a relatively advanced conversation about oil pressure gauges, and turning back as a precaution, and dumping fuel, and so forth. But then, I completely blanked on the word for "swimming" and felt like an idiot as I had to make the swimming motions (I was joking around with her, obviously). Not sure why I didn't just say that one word in English, but... anyway, I felt kinda dumb. My French is still a lot better than my German by quite a bit, though apparently, it (my German) is decent enough to get (both verbally and written) instructions on taking a COVID test, asking a cab driver if he'd take us on an hour drive using a train company voucher, getting into an argument with a waitress who spoke a thick "Bayerish" accent about the onion in my dinner when I told her I was allergic. I don't consider myself fluent in either; I consider that the level when I don't really have to struggle to have a conversation about almost anything. But then, I've been complimented by some French people (who didn't speak English) about my French. When I test, though, it comes out really low - A2 - because my spelling is atrocious, and I can't do those "fill in the word in the blank" even in English. I don't speak Dutch, but a lot of it comes from German, French, and English, so I can kinda understand it, particularly when written. (Ever notice the phrase "te huur" which is Dutch for "for rent" sounds a lot like a derogatory English word which means someone who is "for rent?"). One day, I was watching some video that was in Dutch with Dutch subtitles and it was weird that I completely understood it, almost as easily as English. Weird, because normally, I can get a few words here and there because they're so similar to French, German, or English (but don't ask me to say ANYTHING in Dutch).
Dutch is a bit strange in that way when you’re also an English speaker! Sometimes it sounds quite different, and other times my brain tells me that I should be understanding even when I don’t because it sounds so similar to English! 😅
I am fluent in German and English and a German native from the border-ish area to the Netherlands where my regional dialect also overlapps. Dutch always feels like a lovechild between German and English to me and I can understand most of it with a bit of guesswork but when I try to speak it... oh boi do I sound stupid even just reading out things :D
the second is the hardes to learn, then it become easier. and the best if not the only way is to immerse yourself in. French english spanish and dutch ( beginner)
I definitely agree with that in theory, although it’s hard to compare personally because Spanish I started learning when I was a little kid, versus French I only started in my early 20s 😅 So it’s hard to compare!
I speak a few languages fluently but there are definetely stages of fluency you go through- when you are at the level where there is no hesitation or nervousness, no translating in your head- then you have reached a comfortable level of fluency. I remember what it felt like reaching that level in English😎😉
For many of us, it’s not realistic to avoid feeling nervous ALL the time, no matter how fluent we get 🤷♀️ That’s my case, which is why I thought this video would be an interesting one, exploring the feelings and causes of those anxious moments vs. the ones where there isn’t any hesitation or anxiety! Brains are weird haha 😛 Congratulations on your journey to fluency with English!
You know more Dutch than you think you know. Take the idiom "de kat uit de boom kijken". The first four words are just "the cat out the" with a really thick accent. "Boom" doesn't sound anything like "tree", but it is cognate with "beam", and "boom" (the beam at the bottom of the mainsail) was borrowed from Dutch. "Kijken" does have an English cognate, "keek", but I never heard of it and found out only when I looked up the etymology of "kijken".
J'adore le français, mais mon parler est comme ci comme ca. Je peux lire avance francais, tel que Les Miserables par Victor Hugo en langue francaise. Cependent, mon francais parle n'est pas bon. Je cherche à améliorer mon français parlé tres bientôt. J'habite en Los Angeles, CA ce qui fait partie du problème de fluidité.
C'est parler qui est normalement le plus difficile pour apprendre une autre langue, surtout si on n'est pas dans un pays qui le parle - donc je comprends ça 😅 Peut-être tu peux trouver un groupe local qui fait des meetups ? Bonne chance pour ton apprentissage ! 🙏
Very well said! I definitely relate to these moments of "blanking" and then questioning myself and you make a good point of how confidence that fluctuates in other parts of life can of course affect your linguistic confidence!
I'm glad this resonated with you too! Thanks for watching :)
I began on french last year as my wife is fluent (her degree) and we were going to France for our honeymoon. It's mostly just duolingo each day so i'm not pushing it too intensely but I can gradually tell the difference in how well i'm able to recognise phrases and I could pull off basic interactions for the most part on the honeymoon!
Everyone should be proud to speak a second language !!!
I agree! 🙌
I'm a nativespeaker im German. The only language I am truly fluent at is English (although I never got to go to am English-speaking country to truly test that out/ I only majored at university in English)
I am advanced in Italian, though far from fluency and started learning French Spanish, Swedish. (Not at the same time 😆) I love all of them and I know, I should focus on only one but I truly don't want to even though this means being stuck at lower levels for longer.
Funny you mentioned those "draw a blank" moments.
American, born and raised and still live in LA, learned French in school from 1st grade through 12th, but that ended over 40 years ago (I'm old). I also took four years of German in high school, which worked out well since I ended up marrying a German woman.
Last time in France was 2 years ago, and at one point on the return flight home, I was chatting with the flight attendant - in French - about our failed engine and our return back to CDG. I had to look up "jet engine" in Google Translate before starting the conversation because that's not the kind of word you'd generally learn in everyday conversation, but I guess in some respects, it was a relatively advanced conversation about oil pressure gauges, and turning back as a precaution, and dumping fuel, and so forth. But then, I completely blanked on the word for "swimming" and felt like an idiot as I had to make the swimming motions (I was joking around with her, obviously). Not sure why I didn't just say that one word in English, but... anyway, I felt kinda dumb.
My French is still a lot better than my German by quite a bit, though apparently, it (my German) is decent enough to get (both verbally and written) instructions on taking a COVID test, asking a cab driver if he'd take us on an hour drive using a train company voucher, getting into an argument with a waitress who spoke a thick "Bayerish" accent about the onion in my dinner when I told her I was allergic.
I don't consider myself fluent in either; I consider that the level when I don't really have to struggle to have a conversation about almost anything. But then, I've been complimented by some French people (who didn't speak English) about my French.
When I test, though, it comes out really low - A2 - because my spelling is atrocious, and I can't do those "fill in the word in the blank" even in English.
I don't speak Dutch, but a lot of it comes from German, French, and English, so I can kinda understand it, particularly when written. (Ever notice the phrase "te huur" which is Dutch for "for rent" sounds a lot like a derogatory English word which means someone who is "for rent?").
One day, I was watching some video that was in Dutch with Dutch subtitles and it was weird that I completely understood it, almost as easily as English. Weird, because normally, I can get a few words here and there because they're so similar to French, German, or English (but don't ask me to say ANYTHING in Dutch).
Another word for "rent" is "hire" (not common here in America, but common in England). "Te huur" is cognate with "to hire".
Dutch is a bit strange in that way when you’re also an English speaker! Sometimes it sounds quite different, and other times my brain tells me that I should be understanding even when I don’t because it sounds so similar to English! 😅
I am fluent in German and English and a German native from the border-ish area to the Netherlands where my regional dialect also overlapps. Dutch always feels like a lovechild between German and English to me and I can understand most of it with a bit of guesswork but when I try to speak it... oh boi do I sound stupid even just reading out things :D
the second is the hardes to learn, then it become easier. and the best if not the only way is to immerse yourself in.
French english spanish and dutch ( beginner)
I definitely agree with that in theory, although it’s hard to compare personally because Spanish I started learning when I was a little kid, versus French I only started in my early 20s 😅 So it’s hard to compare!
I speak a few languages fluently but there are definetely stages of fluency you go through- when you are at the level where there is no hesitation or nervousness, no translating in your head- then you have reached a comfortable level of fluency. I remember what it felt like reaching that level in English😎😉
For many of us, it’s not realistic to avoid feeling nervous ALL the time, no matter how fluent we get 🤷♀️ That’s my case, which is why I thought this video would be an interesting one, exploring the feelings and causes of those anxious moments vs. the ones where there isn’t any hesitation or anxiety! Brains are weird haha 😛 Congratulations on your journey to fluency with English!
@@AndreaHeckler oh most definitely!
You know more Dutch than you think you know. Take the idiom "de kat uit de boom kijken". The first four words are just "the cat out the" with a really thick accent. "Boom" doesn't sound anything like "tree", but it is cognate with "beam", and "boom" (the beam at the bottom of the mainsail) was borrowed from Dutch. "Kijken" does have an English cognate, "keek", but I never heard of it and found out only when I looked up the etymology of "kijken".
That’s definitely the case sometimes, but it’s not always so similar! 😅
J'adore le français, mais mon parler est comme ci comme ca. Je peux lire avance francais, tel que Les Miserables par Victor Hugo en langue francaise. Cependent, mon francais parle n'est pas bon. Je cherche à améliorer mon français parlé tres bientôt. J'habite en Los Angeles, CA ce qui fait partie du problème de fluidité.
C'est parler qui est normalement le plus difficile pour apprendre une autre langue, surtout si on n'est pas dans un pays qui le parle - donc je comprends ça 😅 Peut-être tu peux trouver un groupe local qui fait des meetups ? Bonne chance pour ton apprentissage ! 🙏