Natural gift skill you wish you had, that you have already

[tulip]

I would like to have an aptitude for languages. I do alright in my native tongue, but I have always really, really struggled with learning new ones and I wish I was better at it. I suppose if I were to immerse myself, I might do OK eventually but I've not had the opportunity in my life to date.

Immersion was key for me to become fluent in my second language. But the others come much more easily now. It was a priority for me, so I made it happen years ago and the benefits have been long-lasting and extend beyond the original second language.

[Crankin]

I wish I was fluent in another language, too. I have the aptitude, but unless I'm immersed at this point, it's not going to happen. I can get by in Spanish, for traveling purposes, but verbs make all the learning go out the window when I'm trying to speak under stress. And now, because Spanish is the one language I am just a little familiar with, when I try to learn a little of another, I keep thinking in Spanish. I marvel at those who speak multiple languages. I have one son who is fluent in Italian (he lived there for half a year) and my younger son came back from his first deployment in Spain a few years ago, speaking rapid and fluent Spanish. He now can handle a bit of Farsi and Pashtun and is taking Chinese in college.
Sometimes, I feel utterly talentless.

[shootingstar]

I know I don't have a natural affinity to learn another language. I knew only Chinese until kindergarten. Learning English was an immense shock. But yes, I mastered it within 1 yr. even though I had to go for ESL help for another yr.

Chinese has degraded immensely --I could never offer interpretation in any job. This is a serious matter in the business world particularily anything involving legal, finance and health matters on the job. Myself and siblings have all learned the hard way in our jobs. That is the truest test of linguistic fluency and accuracy --to speak the language accurately in response to unscripted, unpredictable situations with other people, particularily with members of the public...as your client.

But yes, I must still speak it within my family.

French was a struggle to learn. I think I only know certain words, phrases, because I had to study language.....3 different times over 2.5 decades! All mandatory --public-high school, university.

[GLC1968]

French was a struggle to learn. I think I only know certain words, phrases, because I had to study language.....3 different times over 2.5 decades! All mandatory --public-high school, university.

Yeah, me too. 5 years of Spanish, 1 year of Japanese and I can't speak either of them at all. What scares me is that I got A's in all of the classes too...and yet I managed to not retain any of it!

[skhill]

I wish I spoke a second language too. I read Latin and Classical and Koine Greek pretty well, but I never got around to learning a modern language. But really, I wish I had more mechanical ability/ handyman skills. Sometimes it's a struggle to even hammer in a nail straight.

I'm very thankful for my musical skills. I play several instruments tolerably well-- not professional caliber but well enough to play in local amatuer groups. I can sightread and sightsing (which is much more difficult) quite well, and y'all have reminded me that's not an ability that should be taken for granted.

[Veronica]

I wish I spoke a second language too. I read Latin and Classical and Koine Greek pretty well, but I never got around to learning a modern language. .

I majored in Classics with an emphasis in Latin. It's not the most useful degree to have. It's made me popular at work though, as many teachers come to me for grammar and root word needs.

I'm pretty happy with who I am, but I would like to have more skills to take on zombies.

Veronica

[tulip]

For those of you who want to learn a second (or more) language, immersion is really the only way to do it, not only for the language itself but for all of the cultural references, the food, the manners, the art, the architecture, etc. You cannot learn it from a book, and while Rosetta Stone will get you to a certain point very effectively, it won't get you all the way. I find nothing more exciting than learning about another culture by being thrown right in once I get the basics of the language down. I can feel my brain growing when I've done that, and it's pretty invigorating. It's never too late, in my opinion.

---
I think the hardest thing for me is being confident in a new skill that I am learning, and not talking myself out of it at the beginning by telling myself that I suck at it--it's a habit that I learned early on and it's a hard one to break. Any new skill takes ALOT of consistent practice and work, and I often have just thrown in the towel when it gets hard. That's my biggest challenge these days, is to overcome that initial "I suck at this" attitude.