I am Greek by the way and a newbie to your blog, so a big hello to everyone!
Originally I started learning english in my country when I was about 7-8 years old. Then I was bitten by a radioactive bug and decided to go to the UK and study in their higher education (of all the superpowers in the world…).

I wouldnt say english is a hard language compared to some other languages, but I always treated it more like a learning game(even the terminology stuff for my science) so I cant really be objective about the whole thing.

In contrast, it has been so long since I learnt french or actually used them, I always feel annoyed by that.I admit I have forgotten a lot of the vocabulary (oh well no Parisian love for me just yet I guess,lol)

Judging from you blog entry text, your written english is very good and it shows that you have put a lot of work into it. Well done!

English is considered the world language of political negotiation. It is also the international language of science and medicine. There are over 75 Countries that claim English as the official language.

I have spoken English all my living life and still have not mastered its subtle intricacies.

By the way, I’ve been listening to Nirvana for 10-11 years and I still have trouble figuring out what the hell Kurt Cobain is going on about sometimes. Doesn’t help that he never really sang clearly either.

I’m impressed that you know so many languages.

I applaud it actually.

I wish I could do more with language, but I haven’t really applied myself.

Thanks all for your nice comments on my English ! I actually speak better than I write… I never really had a chance to write in English, that’s one of the reason I started this blog

Sebastien : you’re right, the way of speaking is very different from one country to another. Some cultures speak with the throat, some with the mouth, some with the nose… yep !

Funny you have an American accent when you speak French ! Last time I went to France, people found I had an accent too

Dan : I visited the US first time in 2002 – long after all of my trip… Therefore, I first met Americans in China, I learned about the fast food culture in Salavador (where they have a long avenida with all the US fast food I didn’t know about !), I watched all the Hollywood movies in HK… Weird, I know !

Wat : you’re close, just have to learn Chinese now ! My Spanish isn’t that good anymore cause I rarely speak it, but I used to be able to have a conversation back in South America.

ErinOrtlund : Now, I know Quebec slang cause I’ve been there for a while. I can understand it but I won’t use it : sounds weird in my mouth…

I usually teach standart French but I give this equivalent in Quebecois when I know it : i.e “déjeuner” (FR), “diner” (QC). People are okay with that…

Accent isn’t a problem at all, since not everybody in Quebec has the same accent ! Not to mention all the immigrants… So I just speak clearly and never had a problem, students get used to it.

Webmiztris : Yeah, a very bad idea to start with these bands… But hey, I learned a lot about drugs !

lmao!

it seems like you’re doing pretty well with the English language now!

So if you don’t understand/like the Quebec accent, do you teach your students French as it is spoken in France, or have you had to adjust your accent to the Canadian context?

And it seems as though you’re speaking all of those! I’m not speaking Chinese, so I’m a bit jealous.