Having to learn a new language?

[Moon]

Well, there's not a lot you two can do except pick one language you'll both use with each other and study it. Since you both have some base in English, I'd use that and go from there. There are plenty of free websites, like https://www.livemocha.com/ that you can practice conversational language with native speakers. It also has everything from beginner to advanced lessons, all for free. You both can maybe decide which language to use and start spending a little time every day going through the tutorials and studying. If you think she's the right girl for you, communication is important, so it'll be worth the time. Good luck.

[Andy]

For those of us struggling to comprehend Finnish, here's a website full of helpful (Hah!) phrases. https://kisa.ca/finnish-phrases.html
Me and my guy had fun with this one (er, no offense to the resident Finns on here!)

Have you tried https://www.byki.com/? That's quite useful for some basics.

Also, I've only used it for Finnish but I imagine it would be very useful indeed for more common languages as there would be far more material for them. Worth checking out, it's completely free

[DemonxOisin]

I have to learn Spanish. I'm just starting, but I find it easy to pick up. It's just a matter of actually making an effort.
I have to learn it, partly because we don't know where we want to be later in life, and also because, if we ever had kids, I would want them to be bilingual, and I've heard that the best way to do that is for each parent to speak only in their native language in front of them. So I would kind of like to have an idea of what is being said from his side :P

[tiffinnie]

if we were to live in Brazil, I would need to start taking my Portuguese studies more seriously... but right now? I'm learning it because its fun, not because i have to. To visit, I need to know more... when he comes to visit im sure I'll be learning more.

[LotusWing]

We both speak English, but I'm trying to learn Cantonese because of my SO. I want to communicate with him not just in English but also in Cantonese. We have been discussing about what second language our kid should have, and we both agreed to Cantonese language. Otherwise my SO has been learning Danish and Vietnamese for years now, and he's doing way better than me learning Cantonese. I'm not a fast learner, and I find it difficult to learn a whole new language. Also I'm trying to get motivated to learn a new language. It's difficult but I want and have to learn Cantonese. Anyone els in here knows Cantonese?

[roosie]

We both speak English, but I'm trying to learn Cantonese because of my SO. I want to communicate with him not just in English but also in Cantonese. We have been discussing about what second language our kid should have, and we both agreed to Cantonese language. Otherwise my SO has been learning Danish and Vietnamese for years now, and he's doing way better than me learning Cantonese. I'm not a fast learner, and I find it difficult to learn a whole new language. Also I'm trying to get motivated to learn a new language. It's difficult but I want and have to learn Cantonese. Anyone els in here knows Cantonese?

I don't know any other words in Cantonese than "very beautiful", "brother", "son", "hello", "ayaaaaa", "a fat boy" (??), "thank you", some numbers and gwailo= a ghost/westerner (I think you can guess why..). I'd like to learn Cantonese because my SO lives in Hong Kong and I visit him regularly but it's difficult because my SO, despite being half Chinese, doesn't speak much Cantonese. His mum is native in it but she didn't speak it to her children which I find quite sad. Cantonese is such a difficult language and it's so important to know how the words are pronounced or otherwise you might end up saying something completely different.. It's hard for me as a Finn since our language is so monotonic.

My SO is a native English speaker and is trying to learn Finnish for me. I don't think I have to emphasize how hard it is since other people have done it already. He is slowly learning new words but finds it hard to put them together in sentences.. So most of the time he speaks in Finglish (or baby Finnish like we call it.. ), mixing English and Finnish. He is doing quite well knowing how hard it is. I'm not forcing him to study though, he is just motivated to do so.

[Dziubka]

I had already learnt Polish before I met my boyfriend (otherwise I wouldn't have gotten to know him anyway) and we speak Polish together.

But he has taken learning German a lot more seriously lately and he's making great progress. He's not fluent, but he can express himself quite well and hold easy conversations. (Somewhere around B1 in that European Language Thing).
It's quite important that he learns it, so we will be able to decide where we live - in Germany or in Poland.

[kireinamida]

I don't have to learn English because I already know it. XD

But he's trying to learn our language, and I think it's really cute when he does.

[Majo Grajeda]

I've gone to the Austrian School in Guatemala ever since I'm 4 (I turn 18 in June) so I've had a great contact with German all my life. I have to say though that learning a language at school sucks & that's why I've traveled around to learn languages. That's actually how we met, I was in Austria to improve my German!

He on the other hand had never studied Spanish, but he studied French for several years so it was really easy for him to pick it up while he was here. In total he's spent 6 months here & he's gone to Spanish lessons most of that time. He's really good in Spanish! & I'm really glad he learned it! Because he can now talk to my grandmother who loves him!



& we speak English most of the time, sometimes text in German or Spanish or have short conversations in them, but never for too long xD English is faster & easier

[13000km]

I'm moving to the US, but English is my first language so I don't have to learn a new one. I could do better with my grammar, vocabulary and sentence structure, but it's still the language I'm most comfortable with. I am also fluent in Mandarin, which my boyfriend is currently trying to learn. He started learning it before we even had a thing, so it has nothing to do with me and more to do with him liking new languages. It would come in handy when he comes here to visit though, since my grandma and some relatives don't speak English at all. I would love to learn a new language though, and he is most likely going to major in linguistics in university. (: