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1. • CommentAuthorKendra
   • CommentTimeMay 23rd 2009 edited

    

   Main Topic
   
   how many of you actually know the language?
   tim pipek -- 3/7/2007
   
   (this isn't that important im just a lil curious) If you don't understand the title. How many of you foreign exchange students actually know the language of the country you are going to go to? or.... How many years have you studied it?
   
   
   Responses - In order received...most recent at the bottom of page.
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Roxanne Bantay -- 3/8/2007 1:09:53 AM
   
   I'm going to Japan and I've been studying the language for four years in school, not that that means anything since we're two years behind any of the other foreign language classes (like Spanish or French) and can barely read at kindergarten level. I had a friend who went to the Japan summer language homestay and he was conversational in six weeks and spoke/understood better than I could, currently anyhow. He didn't have any background in Japanese at all before he went. I suppose some background helps a little bit once you get there, but it's not a big deal if you don't have any.
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Becky Jensen -- 3/8/2007 8:58:58 AM
   
   I knew no German...it was more fun for me that way! :D
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Jenny Con -- 3/8/2007 9:57:28 AM
   
   no czech
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Becca Heywood -- 3/8/2007 1:46:23 PM
   
   I wrote a long response. It§s not there. That§s not fair. But same as jenn. No czech. Well, I knew the numbers...
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Lauren M Pacho -- 3/8/2007 3:26:07 PM
   
   umm...ciao? that's about it.
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Jennifer Niemeier -- 3/8/2007 3:45:54 PM
   
   Someone at the airport in NY taught me how to say "I'm glad to be here" in Dutch. That and yes/no were all I knew when I landed in Belgium! Jen N
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Rebecca L. Thomas -- 3/8/2007 4:42:56 PM
   
   I studied French for five years, including AP level... And then I went to Paraguay! I took Spanish for one semester before I went, but really I knew pretty much nothing when I got there... -Rebecca, Paraguay Feb. '06 - Jan. '07
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Theresa D Bloom -- 3/8/2007 7:26:28 PM
   
   my italian doesn't really extend past please, thank you, and you're welcome
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Theresa D Bloom -- 3/8/2007 7:27:17 PM
   
   i hope to take an italian class this ummer though
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Lauren M Pacho -- 3/8/2007 8:28:46 PM
   
   I'm going to try to learn some before though with Rosetta Stone and Italian for Dummies...probably won't help much though.
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Braden M Carkhuff -- 3/8/2007 8:32:58 PM
   
   I had a year and a half of German... So, about 20 verbs... Needless to say I learned more in a week than I did in those years... But, I can express myself without a problem but, the German grammar is impossible... So, there is always room for improvement... But, fun nonetheless... Braden Carkhuff Germany SS 0607
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Allison M Savage -- 3/8/2007 8:40:12 PM
   
   I'm learning the basics, but I seriously doubt that I will know that much when I get to Iceland. I'm just going to wing it and try to learn as much as I can.
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Hallie G Wallace -- 3/9/2007 8:25:55 AM
   
   I've been taking French since I was 3 1/2 years old haha. They started teaching us early at my old school. But I couldn't have a conversation until about 6th, maybe 7th grade. In 8th grade I went to France for a month and I came back and I was almost fluent. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of that, since I'm not learning anything in my French class. We don't do any speaking. I'm pretty sure that for the past week, we've been coloring and stuff haha.
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Lura r Long -- 3/9/2007 4:43:51 PM
   
   okay then for all the people who didn't know any of the language when they exchanged, how much did you know when you came back?
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Victoria Baena -- 3/9/2007 9:14:32 PM
   
   from before^^im in spanish 2 as a freshman, but i really like it and so i've learned more tenses and stuff, i hope maybe i'll learn the rest of the tenses before i leave and maybe that will help too! and for lura's question yess i want to know too!:)
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   anna boggess -- 3/9/2007 9:42:38 PM
   
   i took like 2 years of italian but i haven't taken any for like a year. i know enough verbs and some of the tenses to get around a little bit for a while lol
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Roxane Rogers -- 3/9/2007 10:33:17 PM
   
   I am going to Ecuador and I am fluent in spanish, but dialects differ and i speak the more mexican dialect so a lot of words will be different. my mom speaks it but i also studied at a international immersion school for 9 years so i can read and write too....
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Rebecca L. Thomas -- 3/10/2007 7:59:04 PM
   
   I only studied Spanish for one semester before I left, but after a year in Paraguay I would call myself conversationally fluent. -Rebecca, Paraguay Feb. '06 - Jan. '07
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Roxane Rogers -- 3/10/2007 9:09:57 PM
   
   Just curious Rebecca did your host family speak any english?
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Rebecca L. Thomas -- 3/11/2007 12:19:16 PM
   
   No, and I'm glad they didn't. I knew some AFSers in Asunción who had someone in their family that spoke English and they were disappointed because it made it harder for them to learn Spanish. Hardly anyone in my town spoke English, and there were no other AFSers in my town, so I spent my time with Paraguayans and learned Spanish! -Rebecca, Paraguay Feb. '06 - Jan. '07
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Lauren M Pacho -- 3/11/2007 2:43:33 PM
   
   Everyone in my host family speaks English and I'm a little dissapointed about that. I really hope that they don't speak english to me.
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Krystina R Rillie -- 3/11/2007 5:55:25 PM
   
   Lauren same here! I don't want that to interfere in my learning Japanese! But yeah, I've been studying Japanese for 4 years independently (because they don't offer Japanese at my school) and I'm hoping that it's enough of a headstart for me. I want to come back fluent but my host family speaks english! Not only that but I'm going to Karyo High School! Almost all of them speak in English!!! I don't know what to do. I'll just say, "Nihongo ga hanashimasu." (Speak Japanese.) Hopefully I won't need to say that too many times! Sorry for the novel!!! Krys (*^-^) Japan yp 07-08
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Becky Jensen -- 3/11/2007 9:01:21 PM
   
   Lol, my desk mate constantly spoke English with me...it got really funny after a while because I was at the point where I could speak really well and I'd ask her something in German and she'd reply in English (I'd just really given up on asking her to speak German with me xD), and the whole class would yell at her to speak German with me xD. It was really hilarious...but yeah :) Just keep reminding them to speak X language, and eventually it'll click :)
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Kayla Frost -- 3/11/2007 11:44:28 PM
   
   Well, I haven't gone abroad yet, but there's this girl from Thailand studying for the year at my school. She said that when she came here, she knew only VERY basic words- like yes/no type thing- and now she's basically fluent after about 7 months! She got really good before, too, it's just 7 months currently. When I first met her in the beginning of the year she could understand and speak really well!
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Anna M Silvestris -- 3/12/2007 4:48:06 AM
   
   Absolutely no German! I tried to learn some basic things like 'die Wand' and 'Guten Tag' before I left but it didn't work out.
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Mary Frances Simon -- 3/12/2007 10:12:53 AM
   
   krys, if you have been in contact with your family say right out front, please only speak japanese with me. i did that with my family here and i even forget my sis is fluent in english because we never speak english. unless i need a word or an expression, its only spanish.
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Roxane Rogers -- 3/12/2007 7:32:42 PM
   
   that's good, how is your sister fluent?
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Will M Parucki -- 3/12/2007 8:36:57 PM
   
   I only know a few words in Swedish. When I get there I'll be in a language camp for a few weeks. So that will be good ^^
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Emily Hyndman -- 3/13/2007 1:06:47 PM
   
   i took two years of Spanish in high school, then went to the czech republic. I knew maybe 10 words. Now I'm conversationally fluent. I also studied German while I was there (i'd never really studied it) and I could have probably gone into German 201 at the beginning of this year (at university) but instead I went into 102, and I'm easily the best in the class. Albeit I roll my Rs and speak with a slight czech accent. Oops. Some people just have a knack for languages, some don't. My brother is horrible with languages, but he's a computer genius. I hate math, but love languages. Go figure. My best advice, don't be afraid to make a fool of yourself while you're learning! :)
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Christina Roger -- 3/13/2007 4:00:26 PM
   
   I speak French and English and some German. So of course I'm going to a Spanish-speaking country. Juuuust great. =]
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Allison M Savage -- 3/13/2007 4:15:10 PM
   
   Christina, my mom was really upset because I've been studying French at school and I'm going to Iceland. In the beginning she was like: You should go to Belgium!! Why aren't you going to a French speaking country?? It was amusing. But, yeah there are times when I regret not going to a French speaking country, but then I just think about Iceland and I'm happy again. I'll have fun whether I speak the language or not. Of course, it would have been sweet to have gone away for a year and come back fluent and show off in French class, haha.
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Will M Parucki -- 3/13/2007 7:11:51 PM
   
   My mom was/is the same way. But in most countries you can take French and Spanish at school. I think it'll be some much more fun going somewhere you barely know the language.
   
   Re: how many of you actually know the language?
   Elysia c Peitzman -- 3/15/2007 4:27:03 AM
   
   Before I came to Latvia I only knew 4 words in Russian. I, toilet, yes and no. It was pretty sad! Elysia YP Latvia06/07

2. • CommentAuthorhollybluwood
   • CommentTimeDec 7th 2009

    
   I know this is a pretty old post, but if anyones around.... I'm going to Russia (most likely) next year and i know not a single word (well, besides nyet, but...). I'm prolly gonna get rosetta stone; I'm just worried because a) everyone says its like the hardest language in the world and b) I am worried about not being able to read any signs at all. Totally different alphabet: scaary! what do you think?
3. • CommentAuthorhailey514
   • CommentTimeFeb 2nd 2010

    

   What I did was change my facebook language to Noweigan (... I'm planning on going to Norway) and I am also going to take it as an online language in school next year.

4. • CommentAuthormooks
   • CommentTimeJun 19th 2010

    
   I've had three years of Spanish and I'm going to Argentina. The thing is, I am only going for five weeks with a short summer program so I am afraid that I won't have enough time to really get good.