Books and movies in English

@Dreisteine
Sounds good! Good luck with that and keep me updated!

@Luminita
Currently not comprehending what most conversations are about, I understand words here and there. I find it crazy how little I do understand becuase I can express myself and talk about anything I want easily it just doesnt make sense

@Dreisteine
Yeah, you seem to have a pretty good vocabulary from what I can tell just by reading your posts. Maybe you can try to figure out what it is that makes it hard to understand. Is it maybe the accent or the speed of talking? The topics (in some cases, you might just not know enough words about a certain topic) or something else? This might help bring you a bit closer to understanding the issue.

Did I get it right that you have no problem with talking yourself? Just understanding what other people are saying? Because usually, when you start a new language, it‘s the other way around.

Luminita schrieb:Did I get it right that you have no problem with talking yourself? Just understanding what other people are saying? Because usually, when you start a new language, it‘s the other way around.

Well, I had a different experience. Most people tend to speak fast and not necessarily very clear when they speak in their native language. The learner must now, pretty fast, connect the sound he heard with the vocabulary he memorized in the distinct form. That usually only can be achieved by a lot of practice. When I read books or newspapers or anything in French or Spanish, for example, it is just like reading a German or English book. I understand everything and that pretty fast. I also can speak pretty well.

But when I sit in a subway car in Paris and next to me a couple of kids from the banlieues are chatting with each other, it is very difficult to follow their conversation. Even if you know the vocabulary, the brain needs to connect the sound to the right word. Example:

"Eygibmaher!" "Needasismains!"

The poor guy who studied German now must figure out that "Eygibmaher" actually is supposed to be "Ey, gieb mal her" and then realize that "ey" is not a real word at all, "mal" is the short form of einmal and so on. Then he has to translate "Needasismains" into "nein, das ist meines" and has to realize that "mains" does not at all mean "Mainz," the city, but "meines..."

This is quite a task for the brain, as can be seen by the fact that so many computers completely fail at providing real time translations.

Or, as the famous Israeli comedian and author Ephraim Kishon once bragged: To have a conversation with a Frenchman I learned how to say in perfect French: "Please answer me in English."

Only practice will help here. Listening to the same kids for 2 weeks will suddenly make you understand them. And, sometimes, even speak like them. :D

Rick_Blaine schrieb:Well, I had a different experience. Most people tend to speak fast and not necessarily very clear when they speak in their native language. The learner must now, pretty fast, connect the sound he heard with the vocabulary he memorized in the distinct form. That usually only can be achieved by a lot of practice. When I read books or newspapers or anything in French or Spanish, for example, it is just like reading a German or English book. I understand everything and that pretty fast. I also can speak pretty well.

Okay, yeah, I get that, haven't experienced it though. I guess that's different for everyone.

Rick_Blaine schrieb:And, sometimes, even speak like them. :D

Copying the way someone speaks - I do it all the time. I don't even realize that I do it. ^^

@Luminita
Yes I have no problem at all talking myself I am basically fluent and when I talk to someone one on one I can comprehend most of what they say. The problem I have is trying to understand native speakers when they arent directly talking to me its very frustrating!

Last book(s):
Whyborne & Griffin series
C.S. Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy (highly recommended, but do yourself a favour and avoid the German edition. It's outright abominable.)

Last movie: Borat. Very funny.

Without wanting to delve into the literary merits of their works and as far as contemporary authors are concerned, I am fond of John Boyne, John Connolly and Tan Twang Eng.

For all the true crime fans out there, I highly recommend American true crime writers (like e. g. Ann Rule). Their writing style is often quite clear, and and therefore not too 'elaborate' for non-native speakers of English.

Then there also exist a bunch of internet true crime YouTubers: I especially like Stephanie Harlowe and Kendall Rae. One can additionally run the English subtitles under their videos, so if you don't quite catch what they're saying, you can always check.

Aggie schrieb:Then there also exist a bunch of internet true crime YouTubers

JCS :)

My last book was: Complete German, grammar,Verbs,vocabulary.For my fiancee , she is US american.

And for me: Breeding the worlds largest living Arachnid, by Orin McMonigle, a book about Whip spiders.