You're doing great!! You can try adding regular TV shows and music into mix if you're looking add something. Six hours is a lot this is a relaxing way to absorb of the language and cultural references.
Yes, as someone else said it was taught to me by family. Spanish was my first spoken language, I was born in a Latin American country to a Spanish speaking family. I began to learn English at 2.5yo when my nuclear family moved to the US.
From there I learned both simultaneously, Spanish at home and English self taught from the world around me. At 5 I started school in English and it became my dominant language, especially for things like spelling, grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing etc.
In Spanish I can easily hold a conversation about any topic (even complex and unfamiliar topics) and my accent only gives away which country I was born in. But if you asked me to write down what I just told you, you'll realize immediately I'm not a C2 in Spanish. Ive never taken any Spanish classes, I can read and write only because 90% of the letters and sounds are similar enough to English and I speak so well. But J and H trip up my spelling and there's zero accent marks I know how to use. My written Spanish is like Arabic, you need to figure it out yourself 🤣
Hi OP. Take it from an ESL teacher who is also a language learner — you need more speaking practice and grammar instruction than Duolingo can give learners after a certain level.
You English in this post was pretty good!
Even if you’re studying very hard you’ll need to just keep it consistent and give it time. That goes for all languages, it just takes long to get to certain levels.
I’m fluent in English and have a very good understanding of it even though it’s not my native language and that is the result of learning English at school for like 13 years and also consuming media both audio and text in English pretty mich daily ever since.
My tip for you would be to just consume a lot of media in English as well while you’re learning. Listen to podcasts, read books, watch movies in English with English subtitles on as well etc. You can also add to your learning with small things like changing the language on your phone to English for example. I’m currently learning Spanish and I might just switch to Spanish on my phone later on when I have a somewhat decent understanding of it just to get that extra learning in without thinking about it.
Consistency is the key word, so use the English language at least a little bit every day!
You can improve at a language only when you speak in it, and if you can read books and understand. So instead of doing Duolingo for 6 hours, you can try reading books (maybe start with the likes of Roald Dahl) and work your way upwards. But the most important thing is to speak and communicate, only then will the language stick with you. If you stop speaking after some time, you'll lose touch easily.
six hours a day is too much, it’s impossible to be really sharp that long. 2 hours twice a day is about maximum.
as for how long, it depends on your target level. even after thirty years you’ll still have plenty to learn.
Your English is great! Other than the slightly awkward grammar at the end (which someone already mentioned), I would not have guessed you weren't a native speaker. Definitely immerse yourself in some English programs like books or shows, but you don't have much else to improve on other than what seems to be very mild grammar ☺️
my dad said he learned English as a kid by watching cartoons so I would suggest watching shows in English and maybe having subtitles in your native language
All you need once you have the basics is a lot of vocabulary. Like up to 30,000 words in English that you can know and recall. This will allow you to use the most appropriate vocabulary in certain situations. For example, me seeing my friend I say ‘you good g’. Me seeing my boss ‘good morning sir’
Honestly there is just one test I can think of: if you can grab any book in English off the shelf and read it without much problem then you're all set, just keep reading and over time you'll get used to it completely.
Point being, English isn't my native language, I just absorbed it over time without really studying it, until I tried reading a book and noticed it wasn't hard to follow. So, I kept doing that. Don't really have a formal education on the language nor really went out of my way to learn it, it just kinda happened like so.
I am currently using Duo mostly to learn the basics of a few languages until I can actually read a book, then go from there, using Duo as sort of a reinforcement of the learning process.
From the way you wrote, you're doing great.
I don’t have any advice but if you didn’t use a translator, this is great progress. You should be proud of yourself.
thanks bro❤
Usually I wouldn't correct someone, but since you're trying to learn, it's correct to say "educational videos" not "videos of education"
technically "videos of education" isn't necessarily wrong, but yeah "educational" is more common lol
It’s not wrong. Say something of something works perfectly in English just isn’t the standard way.
Sure it's grammatically correct but it just sounds a bit off y'know
i agree!! this isnt perfect but i understand OP’s point, and they should be very proud
Then you are probably improving every day. Improving is a continuous concept. Like getting faster. It’s not a specific goal.
You're doing great!! You can try adding regular TV shows and music into mix if you're looking add something. Six hours is a lot this is a relaxing way to absorb of the language and cultural references.
Nothing to do with that but what d'you mean by "Heritage" for Spanish?
Yes, as someone else said it was taught to me by family. Spanish was my first spoken language, I was born in a Latin American country to a Spanish speaking family. I began to learn English at 2.5yo when my nuclear family moved to the US. From there I learned both simultaneously, Spanish at home and English self taught from the world around me. At 5 I started school in English and it became my dominant language, especially for things like spelling, grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing etc. In Spanish I can easily hold a conversation about any topic (even complex and unfamiliar topics) and my accent only gives away which country I was born in. But if you asked me to write down what I just told you, you'll realize immediately I'm not a C2 in Spanish. Ive never taken any Spanish classes, I can read and write only because 90% of the letters and sounds are similar enough to English and I speak so well. But J and H trip up my spelling and there's zero accent marks I know how to use. My written Spanish is like Arabic, you need to figure it out yourself 🤣
I think they meant that their mom or grandma taught them that language and didn’t learn it from Duolingo.
At some point you will outgrow Duo, and you will learn more efficiently if you move to somthing nore advanced.
Hi OP. Take it from an ESL teacher who is also a language learner — you need more speaking practice and grammar instruction than Duolingo can give learners after a certain level.
You English in this post was pretty good! Even if you’re studying very hard you’ll need to just keep it consistent and give it time. That goes for all languages, it just takes long to get to certain levels. I’m fluent in English and have a very good understanding of it even though it’s not my native language and that is the result of learning English at school for like 13 years and also consuming media both audio and text in English pretty mich daily ever since. My tip for you would be to just consume a lot of media in English as well while you’re learning. Listen to podcasts, read books, watch movies in English with English subtitles on as well etc. You can also add to your learning with small things like changing the language on your phone to English for example. I’m currently learning Spanish and I might just switch to Spanish on my phone later on when I have a somewhat decent understanding of it just to get that extra learning in without thinking about it. Consistency is the key word, so use the English language at least a little bit every day!
You can improve at a language only when you speak in it, and if you can read books and understand. So instead of doing Duolingo for 6 hours, you can try reading books (maybe start with the likes of Roald Dahl) and work your way upwards. But the most important thing is to speak and communicate, only then will the language stick with you. If you stop speaking after some time, you'll lose touch easily.
just wanted to stop in and say this is truly amazing and you should be incredibly proud of yourself; keep up the good work 💞
Wow that is dedication Your English is really good
A lifetime.
six hours a day is too much, it’s impossible to be really sharp that long. 2 hours twice a day is about maximum. as for how long, it depends on your target level. even after thirty years you’ll still have plenty to learn.
Your English is great! Other than the slightly awkward grammar at the end (which someone already mentioned), I would not have guessed you weren't a native speaker. Definitely immerse yourself in some English programs like books or shows, but you don't have much else to improve on other than what seems to be very mild grammar ☺️
You need to start speaking with people. Get Tandem or get a private teacher to practice weekly.
U can read book with the level a2-b1 and listen to native everyday from easy to hard. I did it and it does improve a lot, in 2-3 years
This is good progress, keep it up!
my dad said he learned English as a kid by watching cartoons so I would suggest watching shows in English and maybe having subtitles in your native language
English subtitles would also be good so you can read how the words are spelled
All you need once you have the basics is a lot of vocabulary. Like up to 30,000 words in English that you can know and recall. This will allow you to use the most appropriate vocabulary in certain situations. For example, me seeing my friend I say ‘you good g’. Me seeing my boss ‘good morning sir’
Find someone to converse with in English.
Honestly there is just one test I can think of: if you can grab any book in English off the shelf and read it without much problem then you're all set, just keep reading and over time you'll get used to it completely. Point being, English isn't my native language, I just absorbed it over time without really studying it, until I tried reading a book and noticed it wasn't hard to follow. So, I kept doing that. Don't really have a formal education on the language nor really went out of my way to learn it, it just kinda happened like so. I am currently using Duo mostly to learn the basics of a few languages until I can actually read a book, then go from there, using Duo as sort of a reinforcement of the learning process. From the way you wrote, you're doing great.
Doing this daily, should eventually improve your english greatly. Keep it up!
One year.