Languages

I obviously speak English and it is my first language and have been learning Spanish. I am in Spanish three, I take it seventh hour. For me, learning Spanish has helped me with my English. When I started Spanish in eighth grade it improved my knowledge of English. This is because we had to know all about verbs, nouns, sentence structure and other similar stuff, and I had been struggling to learn that.

Some of the world's easiest languages to learn in order are Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, German, Hindi, and Mandarin. This is ranked on speaking, grammar, writing, and overall. The last one on the list (Mandarin) ranking difficult or very difficult in all categories. One reason for this is because it is a tonal language. What that means is the pitch or intonation the word is said affects its meaning. The same word means something different depending on the way it is said.

Part of the reason Spanish is so high up (ranging from very easy to easy on the scale) is because everything is spelled how it is said. So writing in Spanish in theory is a very straightforward task. Though some people who have taken a Spanish class could argue that even though it is spelled the way it is said it is still very hard to spell and write. I think that if you can learn a somewhat easy language like Spanish you should. I think this because for some jobs the starting wage is higher if you can speak another language. Another thing is that if you can take it while you are still younger it is better than waiting until you are older. It is a lot harder to learn another language once you are older, almost like how you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

There are also some very big differences between languages. I used to think that you just had to learn different words that that was all but I was very wrong. There are some words in Spanish that do not exist in English. There are also some things that are the same in English but different in Spanish. An example of this would be how there is a difference in past tense, saying I did this or whatever else and it is the exact same word in English but in different context means something totally different in Spanish. This is one of the harder concepts for English speakers to learn and people who have Spanish as a first language just explain the difference as whatever sounds better which does not help an English speaker.

I feel that if people can learn a language they should. I also know that some people struggle with it a lot more than others and some people might never be able to be fluent in another language and some people find it extremely easy to learn another language. In the end it is just personal. Some people will just take another language class just for college and some are genuinely interested and are able to learn many. I personally enjoy learning Spanish but most likely it will be the only other language I learn.

Questions - Which person are you? Are you learning a new language for college, because you want to, or are you not learning a language?
Would you ever consider learning a new language that wasn’t on this list or have you learned a language other than your first language?

 

Source - https://www.jumpspeak.com/blog/easiest-languages-to-learn

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  • I am taking a spanish class right now so that I can go to college. This is the only other language I have learned. I think there are other classes that might be more useful for you then a foriegn language class, but I'm glad that they are available for those interested. 

    • I agree that there are more usefull classes for some people but depending on what you want to do, as in if you want a job working with people in the future, knowing a second langugae is very helpful. I do wish that our school had more classes availble because I would like to have more oprotunities available.

  • I am in spanish 3 right now and don't enjoy it at all. I don't think I will continue next year but I do think that learning a new and different language is very beneficial for many people. I think that spanish will be the only language I will learn in my life and hopefully it will benefit me in the future.

  • I haven't learned Spanish nor that I want to I would rather get my other classes done and just go from there but if I would take a different language I would take Spanish. But I think it takes a long and I wouldn't have time for it like I would have sports, school, and work and I would like to get my classes done before taking non-requirement classes.

  • I have done spanish 1 and I am finishing spanish 2 this year, I think its a little helpful but I think its not that helpful unless you do all four years because you dont learn a whole lot in just two years. I think it would be very helpful for people who are working with all kinds of people.

    • I agree that if you do only two years it is not benificiall other then just a small basic understanding but with no use outside of class. I also agree that it would be very usefull if you have people who don't speak English as their first language.

  • I am learning a new language, spanish, and I would like to keep learning it all four years so I can get a good job and get into a good college. I would maybe consider learning french but spanish is more used and is what I want to learn right now. Speaking two languages has great advantages and since school offers teaching it then I will gladly take the class. 

  • I am not ever learning another language. I have only learned Spanish from you, and whatever I order from Garcias (a Mexican restaurant in Underwood). Learning another language would be a waste of my time, and I don't like my time being wasted. English is my only language. My favorite Spanish word is probably Peanuts. 

    • But it can be very binificial to learn a new language and arguably there are other classes that are required that are even more of a waste of time. But at least another language has a use outside of school and after you graguate as long as you learned it and didn't just memorize.

      • That is true, but my memory is worse then Dory with Alzheimers and Dementia , so I don't think I'll be taking Spanish anytime soon 

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