To think it must be great to be able to speak another language?

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Found myself in Newcastle today and wandered into a Polish store which sold lots of foodstuffs. Some Polish people in there all chatting to each other. ds1's friend's parents can speak three languages and it all seems to be so interesting and other wordly.

Cue me, thinking it would be great to learn another language and insists upon learning Russian in the hope it will actually make me feel more interesting and exotic I have a whole new alphabet to learn, can't pronounce the words - ds1's friends parents thought I was trying to speak Czech to them - and all in all, it's just so bloody silly as I can only speak about 5 words, but I go around the house muttering to myself and trying to remember things and it feels lovely.

Is it possible to learn anything like this by yourself and what is the point?

I've been learning Spanish for about six months, using the Michel Thomas audio courses, with some books and apps (especially a good flashcard app) to widen my vocabulary. I feel like I could make myself understood now, but I still can't understand spoken Spanish - it's just so fast, and all the words seem to run together. I watched 'All about my mother' on dvd today, and I could pick out lots of words, but nowhere near enough to get the gist of what was happening without subtitles. We're going to Spain next week for a short holiday, and I'm expecting to feel a right prat, because although I can speak to them (slowly), I don't think I'm going to be able to understand anything anyone says back to me!

I moved to Wales five years ago and I love the welsh language. I'm not at all fluent but am trying really hard

Ooo, you clever lot I'm very impressed by everyone's abilities, esp. those who speak more than two languages.

YANBU OP. I agree with the posters who say you have to actually use a language to learn it. I've been learning Welsh for a while and know that if I actually used it more I'd have been fluent by now.

Find yourself someone to practice on!

at all the Welsh girls. My Welsh language skills came on loads when I started going to a conversational group once a week on top of my evening class, just actually using the language really helped.

I'm in awe of everyone who can speak more than two languages, I worked in Geneva for a while after Tokyo, and previously could have got by with school girl french, but every time someone spoke to me in french I think my brain panicked and flipped the foreign language switch and I'd reply in some kind of god-awful French/Japanese/English mishmash.

There is no barrier to learning. I spend a lot of time in France and whilst I could get by, I really wanted to be fluent. Ive been doing the Rosetta Stone course and its excellent. I do about 1 hour an evening and Ive improved hugely in only 1 month. Give that a try..they do lots of different languages.

CrabbyBigBottom, you will be able to read and understand more than you think. Buy some trashy magazines like Diez minutos, Semana, ¡que me dices! While you are there.
Almodovar is hard to understand anyway as they are quirky films. Try Belle Époque , Como Agua Para Chocolate and Jamon Jamon too.

Thank you KenDodd - I will. I can get the gist of written Spanish now, but it's the speed of the spoken word that gets me - my brain just doesn't work fast enough to pick the words out and translate them!

It sounds bizarre but that really is the last thing to click, as you soon won't need to translate to yourself. Plus accents are difficult. I had done 9 years of Spanish including two at Uni. I arrived in Andalucia and couldn't understand a word anyone said!
I'm not sure if you can get TVE but watching the news and the awful telenovelas will help too.

it' a hard language to learn but no-one pulls up their judgy pants cares if you forget a word and put the English one in.
Nice to see another married to a true Welshman! Great game last Sunday! like you, Lost , my Welsh is better when I've been on the

I arrived in Andalucia and couldn't understand a word anyone said!

Oh arse - we're flying to Seville on Tuesday!

I'm very envious of all the people who speak other languages. I was really good at languages at school & can pick then up pretty quickly, but forget them just a quickly too. I have an a level in Spanish but can barely remember it now.

If I go abroad (v rarely) I will make sure I can get by. But I struggle to learn a language without an end point, or someone to practice with.

If I can do it anyone can.
I speak four.
Mind you, I'm an interpreter, so just as well...
My point is though, you're not born just knowing how to.
Just give it a try, you'd be surprised how easy it is.

and it's a lovely feeling when you've learned in this country, you go to the country in question and 'try it' on a native speaker and it 'works' IYKWIM

Crabby Don't worry, you will tune into the accent . It's just like someone learning RP English and ending up in the middle of Glasgow or Liverpool.

DH speaks 2 (Czech, English), understands 2 more (Slovak, Polish), and knows a bit of Russian and German too (although due to Russian being compulsory learning at school, he is not a fan!). I am trying to get him to speak to DS in his language more and more, as it would be wonderful for DS (and DD when she arrives!) to grow up bilingual. I spent 2 years, including one year living there, trying to learn Czech, and I can just about get by, but can't have a converstion in it - poor FIL doesn't understand a word I say in Czech, and I don't understand his accent at all! When I lived there though, and spoke it more often, I was often asked if I was Slovak, which I took as a HUGE compliment :o

My wee sister lives abroad now, has done for 2.4 years, and can get by in the other language - she is as bad as me at languages, and had to do the basics course 3 times just to get a pass mark at the end of it. Luckily she is in a country where everyone prides themselves on speaking english too, so doesn't need to worry too much!

Wish I was better at languages really, but it appears that our family is not to be gifted in that way.