A Question for the Bi-Linguals?

Question

I moved to the United States when I was 13 years old. I've been here now for 10 years, and I sometimes find myself struggling with both languages. I speak fluent German, but only have the vocabulary of a 13 year old. And English is my second language, so there are still words that I don't know.

Do you guys sometimes feel frustrated that you cannot express yourself freely like an adult in both languages?

I hope I make sense....

Answer 1

I feel the same as you... My first language is italian, but i've been living in mexico for about 2 years so I've learned spanish... Then I moved again to Italy and I started mixing up the two languages... It was frustrating! I kept making stupid mistakes for a quite long time... My english isn't perfect at all so I apologize! :)

Answer 2

Currently, I speak Hebrew at home and English outside (i.e. with friends, school)

My first language was Hebrew but strangely enough, I know English better and have no problem with it. In fact, I excel in it.

Another strange thing is that I have no accent in either language.



With Hebrew, on the other hand, I lack a bit of vocabulary and i read slowly. So i am good with day-to-day talk (like at home) but fail with the formal, posh and business side of it. I also need to improve my spelling and reading skills. I do get frustrated that i don't know my mother tongue as good as my second language.

That's why i am taking it for GCSE - hopefully i'll know it better. Although I'm safe if I visit the country.

Answer 3

I totally understand. I speak English, Spanish and French.  I often get confused and end up using i.e. spanish words when i am speaking english.  I get very frustrated because I have also been educated in all languages.  i learned about different things in different languages and for this reason my vocabulary gets jumbled.  i wish i knew how to solve this problem.  i thought just speaking with educated adults and reading would help.  however, i have found that this does increase my passive vocabulary it doesn't increase my active vocabulary.  I still use the same words over and over.  if you have any suggestions, please share them

Answer 4

Im bi-lingual and my second language is spanish but i sometimes cant say what i want to say in one language but i can say it in the other and i get slightly confused but after a while you get used to it.

Answer 5

I speak four languages, english being my first language. Sometimes I get frustrated in not being able to fully participate in complicated philosophical, theological, or metaphysical discussions with other intellectuals.

Answer 6

I speak 3 languages ...I mean I was born talking 3 languages and when I started learning English for which I went to England to a language College.

After a while I still had to come back to my country of heritage, and when the members of my family, one by another would ask me some questions including both three languages it would simply be impossibly to answer...

So now I study overseas, know English, plus I learned German in other University before I transferred here. And the main problem with my language skills became to be that I do the same .. meaning have an 16year old vocab for the rest of the languages I have known for my entire life.

And , indeed it is hard to know several languages plus know them VERY WELL!

Answer 7

English is my first, Italian my second. I have no problems with English, since I still live in the USA, where I grew up, but there are times where I make stupid errors in Italian. Usually little ones that may even go unnoticed, but they bother me.

I do have a friend that moved here from Italy over thirty years ago, and now he struggles with Italian even though it was his first language.

Answer 8

Yeah, you get confused with both languages when you translate.

Answer 9

I don't find it a problem, because i use German and English in separate situations.  It's more difficult to use either language in a context i'm not used to using it, and i think both myself and others with whom i speak feel that it's sort of crossed a line when i do.  I think this is particularly true of children, because they associate German with their families and it seems to make them uncomfortable.  

Answer 10

Yes, you make perfect sense to me.  Although I'm not bilingual, as English is my 3rd language, I can completely relate to the frustration that you feel:  I used to struggle, too, when I was in ESL (English as a Second Language).  Don't be so hard on yourself:  it takes time, patience and tons of daily practice.  

What I did----as well as what I recommend for you to do----was acquaint myself with some friends who were superb in English, as well as were nice enough not to laugh at my mistakes (so I could speak freely with all of my mistakes & then they correct me in a nice way), and observe in great detail of how they spoke, how they sound when they spoke, and even ask them to speak slower so I could watch closely how they shaped their mouths in forming the sounds to words I didn't know or struggled with.  

Another great exercise to do is to read A LOT, starting from simpler books and upgrading to novels as you progress; even any type of magazines that you're interested in.  Aside from looking up unfamiliar words in the dictionary, reading gives you immense opportunities to practice your sentence structure.  For example, when you come across a sentence that you don't fully understand, ask a friend to help clarify for you by breaking it down one part at a time.  After you understand it, then use a notebook and COPY that sentence structure by making up YOUR OWN sentence, saying something different, but using the same style as what you read in a book or magazine.

Use a different notebook for writing down new vocabulary.  After you see an example of how the word is used in a sample sentence in a dictionary, make up your own sentence using that word.  For me, what helped me remember and build up my vocabulary was to break up each new word, either by finding out the ROOT of the word (where it came from) or associate it with a certain sound or image in my native language(s).  Then, while the new vocabs are still fresh on your mind, incorporate them into your daily conversations with people----every chance you get.

After you get into the habit of submerging yourself in English, it will come easier.  The hardest part, once you learn English, will be needing a second or two to "shift gears" as you switch back and forth with the sentence structures.