[KUREHA]

Do you think it's hard to learn?

At school I had to do French and German and sometimes it was confusing doing them both at the same time, but the French teacher said English was harder than just about any other.

[yellowted]

here in England it is understood that English is the most complex of all the languages as it has not only has rules for working words out, but loads of exceptions which make it impossible to just learn the rules and succeed.

it is however the most commonly used language throughout the world, so definitely worth trying to learn it.

[shezbut]

I have heard that English is the most difficult language to learn, as there are many exceptions to the rules. However, English is my native language, so it's hard for me to judge whether this comment is accurate or not. What is your native language?

Spanish was a relatively easy language class for me in college ~ beginning and then intermediate. I wanted to keep my GPA up though, so I decided not to go into advanced when the next semester came around.

Best wishes to you!

[venusss]

Originally Posted by shezbut

I have heard that English is the most difficult language to learn, as there are many exceptions to the rules. However, English is my native language, so it's hard for me to judge whether this comment is accurate or not. What is your native language?

Spanish was a relatively easy language class for me in college ~ beginning and then intermediate. I wanted to keep my GPA up though, so I decided not to go into advanced when the next semester came around.

Best wishes to you!

Spanish... I studied it. All gone. My problem was, it was hard to practice conversation becausespanishspeakersspeakmilesahour... when they THINK they speak slowly and carefully.

English? I adapted to it quite well. German is harder. Or try learning Czech and come report

Russian is quite hard too with all the tenses, and the spelling (not just talking cyrilics).

[KUREHA]

I'm from England - but I was just wondering compared to other languages and my Dr says she has to think first so it sounds right - where she is from is kind of near Russia.

English is considered difficult due to a number of factors. First, many of the rules in the English language have so many exceptions that the rule is difficult to know when to apply and not to apply. Another thing, unlike most European languages, there are very few words that hold a gender. You know what endings for plural to put on most European words, for example, based on the word's gender, while, with the exception of obvious words such as "mother" or "girl", most words in English do not have a strict gender and it can seem a bit random what to put on the end for something for plural. For example, the plural or "goose" is "geese" but the plural of "moose" is "moose"....it can mean one or more than one. Also, English pronouns that signify gender: "he", "him", "her", etc can be very confusing for foreigners and are probably the biggest problem most foreign language students have, and the English language is also steeped in figurative language that is based on the culture that many find just outright confusing.

I'm writing this as a 20+ year English teacher who's spent the last two years scoring the TOEFL (test of English Fluency) that a lot of non-native English speaking high school and college students take to gain entry in to an English speaking school. If you have any questions you'd like to pose to me, feel free. I don't have all the answers but will be happy to help if I can.

[yellowted]

learning two new languages at the same time is confusing, i tried learning Spanish and Italian and although they are similar, i got soo confused that i hadn't a clue what was being said! it is far better to concentrate on one at a time, though i know schools in England do push kids into doing more. which in my opinion is wrong as many kids haven't even mastered english correctly! what wiv fink, fumbs and fanks, yeah, ya no wot a meen!

[Fresia]

I grew up in a multilingual home with English being the primary language. However, it was the more difficult one to learn for the reasons mentioned above. I completely understand why with all the exceptions, plural, and gender issues that it is problematic.

Being multilingual has well served me well that I have been trying to understand why my brother no longer sees the value in it. He will not allow me to teach my niece and nephew nor enroll them in classes while they are young. He only wants them to know English despite being so much easier when younger to learn. It breaks my heart but I will respect his wishes.

[KUREHA]

Maranara - thanks for the reply and everyone else.