a language program

Hi All

Has anyone out there tried Fluencia for learning Spanish? I see there is a free trial with no requirement for a credit card and no cancellation. 

Maxie

Hi A122

You sound like my husband and son and that has made me smile. Just saw it and wondered, what it was like

Have a good day

Maxie

Hi Again

I read your email again and I find I have not been hounded by all sorts of things. At the end of the day I like to use various learning programs. I find even Duolingo brings something to the table, even though it is repetitive and boring, I find it helps reinforve certain concepts and improves my vocabulary. Frankly I am a bit passionate over languages and use Rocket for 3 languages currently. Spanish being at the beginner stage. I speak Portuguese as in European Portuguese and so there are similarities. My goal for language is to be able to communicate. My Portuguese is not always spoken grammatically correctly, but that doesn't stop me from being able to communicate at a high fleucy level. I learnt Portuguese when I was growing up in Mozambique, and continued speaking it in South Africa. Then married a Portuguese man have have continued speaking. My dream would be to have total immersion in the various languages I am learning

Have a great day

Maxie

Hi Allan 

No offence was taken. I am fairly careful, as have mentioned that I have 2 members in my family that beat to the same drum that you do. So I ask them if I am concerned. I haven't found that I have been hounded and if someone does I either ignore it or block them. I'm not an online shopper, prefer to shop locally. 

My neighbours are also South African and they have great big get together a to make boerewors. Our local butcher makes it too and it is not a false one. We live in a smallish town on Vancouver Island, but lived in South East Asia for 15 years. I miss South Africa, but crime is just awful and would not go back there to live if you paid me.. Sadly.

Happy learning

Sharon 

Hi Allan 

Speak in Afrikaans has two meanings. Bacon and then fat normally pork. I have a friend here, but grew up in Austria. They had a small farm and her dad used to slaughter a pig in the autumn. She says every bit was used. I suspect that South African small farmers were the same. My grandfather was a small baby and their farm was burnt during the Boer War by the British and they were put into a concentration camp. If you have any interest in history. There was a woman called Emily Hobhouse, she fought relentlessly to improve awful conditions in these camps. My grandfather and his family survived, many didn't.  My dad was Afrikaans, my mom British. Both sides of the family were horrified at first that they got married. I miss the bush terribly, but could no longer live there. 

Have never made boerewors, but good SA sites with genuine recipes.

Planning a trip to Germany in May/ June. Looking forward to the culinary delights and to practice my German. Which is a lot better than my Spanish

Sharon 

Hi Allan

We werein Singapore and Brunei. Very different places, but enjoyed both. I miss Singapore, especially the different foods one could get. I now have to cook them if we want Asian food. 

Yes nacklacing was quite common, especially in the 80's. Was a very troubled time and a tremendous amount of violence too. The aparheid government had a lot to answer for it too. Now violence is often linked to crime and quite frankly it is quite petrifying. I just never felt safe while there. Even in your own home it is not safe and home invasions are quite common. Such a shame as it is such an amazing country. 

I need to get going on my language, especially my German. None of my family speak a word, although most places speak English we did come across small villages where they didn't. When we were there last my German was really basic, but it has improved  a lot. I really enjoy being in Germany, haven't been to Spain, but will likely go, as Philip's family now live in Portugal. Hence the Spanish Rocket learning.

Have a good day

Sharon

Hi Allan

Hope all is good in your Spanish learning. I have decided to subscribe to Fluencia. Have asked them about their privacy and sharing information and didn't find it that scary. That said would probably set Philip and my son spinning, and you too. Well, decided I like their bite sized lessons, I Rocket a tremendous amount, but find the grammar and cultural lessons overwhelming, vague a lot of the time and confusing. Not to mention irritating at times. I do find it great for vacabulary though. 

So Fleuncia it is. I use the Coffee Break podcasts too. They are free. I use them for Spanish and Italian and have subscribed to their German courses and their more advanced levels of Italian. 

For the German it is great, as it takes place between a teacher and a pupil. No speaking , but really good in small bites. Very practical. Introduced thematically and not as generalized as Rocket.

Have a great day. Today the sun is shining on Vancouver Island. Not warm yet, but it is a start

Sharon

I learned about a new AI program that is more than just a translator. languatalk (dot) com is interesting and has free use, but will limit how long you can chat with the AI if you don't pay (I can go 2-3 minutes before it stops me, but you can use other features still). I have no affiliation and get nothing if you use it. What I like is when you are AI chatting you can click the pencil and it will tell you what you did wrong but also will tell you what a native speaker might have said instead (on occasion). Have fun!