Have you learned your SO's language?

[BinhJerome 14]

If your wife does not have much time to teach, pick a room, the best would be the kitchen, have her only reply to you in vietnamese or talk to you in viet, and reply or talk in english, once you can understand her then switch it up where you will reply to her in viet when she talks in english. This way you will have to learn to know what she is saying, and once you do that then move on to replying to her, if you can then do that with things you normally do together the rest will come in time. This is only a theory, never really practiced it. I have a translation book and I poke through it from time to time and when I chat with binh I will try to say some of it. I usually pronounce it wrong and she laughs but it is fun. But if it is something you can see her doing and she puts viet language with it you can comprehend it better, it would be like flash card learning but it would be everyday life.

Good luck!!

Jerome

[Sandrila 1]

I think after 4 years with my SO that I would have learned some substantial Arabic however

it hasn't happened.

I know a dozen or so words and I can decipher some words when I overhear him speaking but

I am still clueless. I keep asking him to teach me but somehow life just gets in the way and it

is easier for us to communicate and just speak in English.

On the whole I find Arabic very challenging especially with pronunciation.

It is on the list though

[R and F 34]

I just like the fact that Farid speaks Arabic really loud and I think he is angry when he does this. It is way too funny when he speaks it on the phone with someone at a store and everyone looks at him as if he is from outer space. I have not learned any Arabic but Farid knows some Spanish.

[John9981 9]

Like some of the couples here, each of us have to learn each other's language in addition to English we speak to communicate. We have no intention of doing that except occasional fun we have with each other's tongue.

[thongd4me 69]

My SO is a professional teacher but when I start learning Thai in earnest

I will do the whole 9 yards, including reading and writing their alphabet.

I've studied other non-Romanized alphabets before, namely the Cryllic,

Amharina (Ethiopian) and Hiragana/Katagana (Japan) so I feel that

despite my age (steeper learning curve) I will be able to adopt it

more quickly than some who have no such experience.

I can say a few touristic things now but it's the bare minimum.

A drawback of having an SO whose level of English is extremely high.

There is no necessity therefore for me to learn Thai other than the

initiative that I must muster. If my SO knew no English that would

have made it easier to Learn Thai, but then we'd have greater

obstacles in the interview.

[BinhJerome 14]

My SO is a professional teacher but when I start learning Thai in earnest

I will do the whole 9 yards, including reading and writing their alphabet.

I've studied other non-Romanized alphabets before, namely the Cryllic,

Amharina (Ethiopian) and Hiragana/Katagana (Japan) so I feel that

despite my age (steeper learning curve) I will be able to adopt it

more quickly than some who have no such experience.

I can say a few touristic things now but it's the bare minimum.

A drawback of having an SO whose level of English is extremely high.

There is no necessity therefore for me to learn Thai other than the

initiative that I must muster. If my SO knew no English that would

have made it easier to Learn Thai, but then we'd have greater

obstacles in the interview.

It sounds like you are as lucky as me. My fiancee is a english teacher and right now she is mainly tutoring. She was teaching at a international school but she quit at the end of the year because we hoped we would get the visa. It is nice to have a teacher to help learn a new language.

Jerome

[ThaitoUSA 15]

I had been living in Thailand for over two and a half years when I met my wife. My spoken Thai was quite good and I was just breaking through in reading and writing. I continued to learn a lot over the next year and a half there. Since returning to the US, I've a plateaued a bit, in part because she is an English teacher as well; is easier to communicate in English. However, I do speak Thai with her regularly and she loves when I do.

[Deryck and Miho 0]

I am in the process of learning Japanese, but still a long way to go...

I highly recommend Rosetta Stone for this because you can move through at your own pace, and hands-down one of the best software programs for language out there (and I have tried a few others without much success.) The cost IS a bit steep, but it you compare it to say a 6 month college class or instruction at Berlitz or similar, the price is definately lower and RS has way more material than you could hope to learn in 6 months of classes.

The one downside of software versus a live class is the ability to practice conversation with real speakers, but that is what your sweetie is for!　　

Regards,

Deryck

[FinnLove 0]

Hi! I know I'm not in the right region for this, but it popped up in "recent posts" and I couldn't resist! I've been learning Finnish for almost a year now in a classroom setting. My next class starts next week. Finnish is apparently the second hardest language to learn next to Mandarin Chinese. I still can barely say anything!!!!!! When I visited his family in Finland in July, I was able to say stupid things like "I have two sisters." AGH! It's an impossible language to learn! Lucky my hubby speaks amazing English...

[redglasses 1]

My husband minored in Japanese in college and lived in Japan for 4 years.

He has excellent listening skill that he can understand me almost perfectly when I talk to him in Japanese.

However, he is somehow very shy to speak and I think it is kinda disappointing not to fully utilize your skills.

So, my thoughts to you all here is

Once you remember a word or phrase, USE IT!

Edited September 19, 2009 by redglasses

[luckytxn 2,264]

My husband minored in Japanese in college and lived in Japan for 4 years.

He has excellent listening skill that he can understand me almost perfectly when I talk to him in Japanese.

However, he is somehow very shy to speak and I think it is kinda disappointing not to fully utilize your skills.

So, my thoughts to you all here is

Once you remember a word or phrase, USE IT!

For sure. I learned not long ago how to say "fat azz" in Vietnamese and I use it a lot now. Have it down perfectly.

[ScottThuy 140]

My husband minored in Japanese in college and lived in Japan for 4 years.

He has excellent listening skill that he can understand me almost perfectly when I talk to him in Japanese.

However, he is somehow very shy to speak and I think it is kinda disappointing not to fully utilize your skills.

So, my thoughts to you all here is

Once you remember a word or phrase, USE IT!

For sure. I learned not long ago how to say "fat azz" in Vietnamese and I use it a lot now. Have it down perfectly.

Teach me brother .. teach me!

Edited September 22, 2009 by ScottThuy

[BinhJerome 14]

My husband minored in Japanese in college and lived in Japan for 4 years.

He has excellent listening skill that he can understand me almost perfectly when I talk to him in Japanese.

However, he is somehow very shy to speak and I think it is kinda disappointing not to fully utilize your skills.

So, my thoughts to you all here is

Once you remember a word or phrase, USE IT!

For sure. I learned not long ago how to say "fat azz" in Vietnamese and I use it a lot now. Have it down perfectly.

Teach me brother .. teach me!

It is Dit map but it sounds more like dit mop

jerome

[lindal24 1]

I'm pretty sure its map dit--that was my sister's nickname when she was a child...

[BinhJerome 14]

I'm pretty sure its map dit--that was my sister's nickname when she was a child...

Binh said I pronunced it correctly and it is more like mop, dont know if it was bad internet or not but her and her mom both laughed. Either way one of us is close for sure.

Jerome