[DanTheMiataMan]

I did ALS (American Sign Language) cus i failed at Spanish, German, Hebrew, French.

 

[NightOwl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, perhaps my brain has reached its limit, and I'm too afraid to admit it. I'm not sure what to call it, I just can't seem to focus in class in general any more, but math and foreign language even more so. I hope nothing's wrong with me.

Nothing's wrong with you. You just aren't motivated. It could be outside influences and pressures or a lack of interest in what you're studying.

The real world definition of boredom may also apply. "I'd rather be doing something else".

Just like a lot of things in life, you'll have to suck it up and get through it since a second language credit is a requisite. Either that or switch to a course of study that you find more interesting.

 

[logwed]

I disagree. Having taken German for 5 years, while it contains plenty of cognates, has bizarre word order problems that change with the addition of a single word. It sucks. Go with Spanish, man.

 

[Samgotit]

Spanish. I had 26 years of French and all it's good for is reading the occasional sign that shows up in a Pepé Le Pew cartoon.

Chinese and Japanese would be nice for reading tramp-stamps. Otherwise, very few people speak either.

 

[LeftyGorilla]

My freshman year of college I took Greek for some reason. I had taken Spanish and Russian in high school. Greek sounded better. Like I could read philosophy in Greek. Well, about halfway through the semester the Prof took me aside and let me know discretely that the deadline to drop a class without failing it was coming up and that I should definitely drop her class before I failed it. Really one of the best teachers I've ever had.

I went back to Spanish for the language requirement. I have never had a practical use for it, but it fulfilled my graduation requirements.

Since then I've studied Sanskrit, Marathi, Thai, Pali, Avestan and a few other languages because I had interests that made learning them practical. Relatively. These are somewhat impractical languages.

But you should stick with what you know (Spanish), and just get it over with. Might make it easier to have conversational friends, usually unis have language tables that you could actually use it as a language of communication. That helps a lot.

 

[APWiseman]

I hated Spanish in High School, so I understand your pain. I took German in College (part of my philosophy requirement) and for the most part...the first couple of levels of German are easy. Straight forward structure with just lots of vocab to learn. Just like any foreign language, the higher levels (newspapers/magazine reading levels) where you have to pick up nuances in the language becomes tricky.

If Japanese is too hard, try Chinese. I hear that simplified modern Chinese is easier than Japanese.

 

[NightOwl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samgotit /img/forum/go_quote.gif Chinese and Japanese would be nice for reading tramp-stamps. Otherwise, very few people speak either.

1.4 billion people in Asia might disagree with you

.
Chinese comprise 6.5 % of San Jose's population with an annual growth rate of 5% since the year 2000. The percentage in San Francisco is over 20%.

 

[HONEYBOY]

I'd say stick with Spanish and see it as fun when you make mistakes rather than thinking that you aren't good at languages. I've found that improving my English vocabulary also helped my Spanish. This may sound odd but take a course in Mathematics or doing mathematics while studying a foreign language may help to make learning that language easier.

 

[cantsleep]

go with Japanese if you are korean. i took 3 courses of Japanese when i was in college and it was quite easy for me..

i took 4 yrs of spanish when i was in high school. well, i thought spanish was pretty easy to learn, too. maybe its because im in LA. i see/hear spanish everywhere here.

 

[cantsleep]

btw, do you HAVE to take courses?

i think i just got rid of that requirement with a simple proficiency test, when i was in college.

 

[Samgotit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cantsleep /img/forum/go_quote.gif btw, do you HAVE to take courses? i think i just got rid of that requirement with a simple proficiency test, when i was in college.

What was the proficiency in?

 

[cantsleep]

language

 

[Samgotit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cantsleep /img/forum/go_quote.gif language

How is he going to pass a language proficiency test if he sucks at language?

 

[nickosha]

I have a pretty difficult time with languages myself. I've taken Spanish for 3 years and I still can't even consistently pronounce words right. I think some people are just good (or bad) at learning languages, just like how some people have an easy time in math or English.

I have to guess that Spanish would be the easiest one for you to pick up though, since you already took some classes in it. Doing another language might just mess you up more

 

[A<aA?]

Stick with spanish. Japanese requires alot more work and dedication.

Check out Language Learning with Livemocha | Learn a Language Online - Free!. Basic free lessons/quiz, but you can pick up loads of latin american contacts to practice with on Skype.

The spanish book I'd recommend is 'Spanish Verb Tenses' by Dorothy Richmond. It's a cheap and brilliant book, verbs are the foundation of spanish.