The You-Know-Who-Deletes-A-New-Boring-Hang Out - Dong Edition

[Roux!]

Your Japanese is probably in about the same state of disrepair as my Chinese is now.

Thyne Chinese is most likely in a better state than my kanji... How many do I actually remember, now...?

[Nemkoon]

Needs Cats? Or Flonne.

[Sprung]

I'm on what I believe to be the final mission of Star Trek

[Gypsy]

I'm on what I believe to be the final mission of Star Trek

Hey stinky.

[Roux!]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Sprung again.

[deadlegion]

I'm surprised the rep system is still working at all, the thanks button bought the farm a while back.

[Jazzmarazz]

The people I work with:
"I watched my cat swollow an opossum whole, just as the snake unlatches his jaw to eat the mouse."

(Grammar corrected for clarity.)

[Elin]

If you won't admit that you're gifted you must at least be well above average intelligence, and obviously dedicated (even if only subconsciously).

I was dedicated to playing videogames more than I was to learning Japanese specifically. Luckily doing pretty much anything in a foreign language will eventually feed back into your ability with that language, provided you make the effort to understand what you're reading / hearing. I think people assume that language learning has to mean lots of stuffy poring over textbooks. It really doesn't. That's part of it, but the majority of it is actually just doing things that you like in the language.

And I'm not particularly intelligent. Of course it's hard to give any objective measure of overall intelligence, but I don't think I grasp things any more quickly than most of my peers do, and I get pretty average grades in non-language classes. I'm usually at the top of my language classes, granted, but I think the reason I generally do better than others there is because they often make the mistake of assuming that classes are all one needs to become fluent in a foreign language, while I know from experience that classes only give you a very basic framework, and it's what you do outside of class that really counts.

In short, I think I probably have a better understanding of how to learn languages than most of my peers do, but I think that's something born of experience rather than any innate talent. And if others spent as many hours using languages outside of class as I do and employed the same methods, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't have the same results. The problem is just that people aren't as obsessively geeky about languages as I am, and get fed up. :'D

[Gypsy]

I was dedicated to playing videogames more than I was to learning Japanese specifically. Luckily doing pretty much anything in a foreign language will eventually feed back into your ability with that language, provided you make the effort to understand what you're reading / hearing. I think people assume that language learning has to mean lots of stuffy poring over textbooks. It really doesn't. That's part of it, but the majority of it is actually just doing things that you like in the language.

And I'm not particularly intelligent. Of course it's hard to give any objective measure of overall intelligence, but I don't think I grasp things any more quickly than most of my peers do, and I get pretty average grades in non-language classes. I'm usually at the top of my language classes, granted, but I think the reason I generally do better than others there is because they often make the mistake of assuming that classes are all one needs to become fluent in a foreign language, while I know from experience that classes only give you a very basic framework, and it's what you do outside of class that really counts.

In short, I think I probably have a better understanding of how to learn languages than most of my peers do, but I think that's something born of experience rather than any innate talent. And if others spent as many hours using languages outside of class as I do and employed the same methods, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't have the same results. The problem is just that people aren't as obsessively geeky about languages as I am, and get fed up. :'D

@Jazz: Sounds like a fun environment.

[deadlegion]

And I'm not particularly intelligent. Of course it's hard to give any objective measure of overall intelligence, but I don't think I grasp things any more quickly than most of my peers do, and I get pretty average grades in non-language classes. I'm usually at the top of my language classes, granted, but I think the reason I generally do better than others there is because they often make the mistake of assuming that classes are all one needs to become fluent in a foreign language, while I know from experience that classes only give you a very basic framework, and it's what you do outside of class that really counts.

In short, I think I probably have a better understanding of how to learn languages than most of my peers do, but I think that's something born of experience rather than any innate talent. And if others spent as many hours using languages outside of class as I do and employed the same methods, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't have the same results. The problem is just that people aren't as obsessively geeky about languages as I am, and get fed up. :'D

Grades don't really mean much imo, an intelligent person can get average or even poor grades simply because they don't care/they get bored easily/lack of application.

And I agree that with languages it's all about real world practice, I assume you've probably refined your Japanese since you've been using it in day to day life?

[Elin]

Thyne Chinese is most likely in a better state than my kanji... How many do I actually remember, now...?

I have kind of a headstart in vocabulary and kanji there, though. :'D My Chinese grammar is now pretty much nonexistent.

Probably more than you think. You can get at least one hundred out of simple ones like 人, 火, 日 and 水.

Adorable alert.

[Gypsy]

The fact that you can't see it only makes it more adorable.

[Gypsy]

I've become an expert on adorableness in human beings since I've been gone fwiw.



Super adorable.

[Roux!]

I have kind of a headstart in vocabulary and kanji there, though. :'D My Chinese grammar is now pretty much nonexistent.

Probably more than you think. You can get at least one hundred out of simple ones like 人, 火, 日 and 水.

You just made me remember 4!

[deadlegion]

I've become an expert on adorableness in human beings since I've been gone fwiw.

Must be some powerful drugs they put you on dude