i realized today that my english has turned to shit

[devicenull]

serios replys only, im fucking crying here!

i was asked in class to give an example of an english idiom or metaphor... i couldnt think of a single one. I used to tutor ESL students about this shit. I am fogetting words like "font" and "heavy duty"... substituting them with thingy and high-endurance. my english is full of things that make no sense and its only getting worse. and the problem is that people here understand it. in short, my brain hurts

[jingai]

Try to read and write things in English regularly. There's no reason why you should lose any ability.

Translating things from Japanese into English is not a natural process and does not reflect upon your English at all. English also doesn't necessarily have words that are exactly the same as Japanese words that you've been using, so don't feel bad if you can't come up with equivalents.

[Steve Bildermann]

my brain hurts

Believe me I know what you mean....

my english is full of things that make no sense and its only getting worse

Well actually it's merely adapting to the environment.

Don't worry, be patient, keep checking Rob Pongi's posts...one day (maybe soon) you'll clearly understand what he writes and 'boom' you've arrived at the final FG destination.

Smile your a DOMO ARIGATOU San Queue linguistic happy

[tetsujin gaijin]

People forget that when they move to Japan they pick up TWO new laguages. Japanese and ENGRISH.

[Andocrates]

Don't worry. To me it happened also. But at the time to America I return I became skilled at english.

[Steve Bildermann]

I became skilled at english.

as opposed to skilled in english

Steve 'still can't do joined up writing' Bildermann
Me know gammar. Me cood use it gud.

[Naniwan Kid]

After I moved back to America all my buddies made fun of me for a month because I couldn't remember that I hadn't used in a few years. I think it's pretty normal. It'll come back....

[katakori]

read (literature).

[kamome]

I went through that phase when I lived in b.f.e. Saitama for a year. I used to do English crossword puzzles and read English-language books to keep up my English. Those were the days before reliable internet access--now all you have to do is read internet sites from the States.

[Steve Bildermann]

now all you have to do is read internet sites from the States.

[cstaylor]

[Charles]

Yep, it happens. My English ability started deteriorating the moment I started studying Japanese, I didn't even have to live in Japan to have difficulties. You start picking up weird speech patterns, which results in weird thinking patterns. But that is the whole point of learning foreign languages, to learn to think in ways you could never think before.

A good example: somehow I picked up

[devicenull]

[Bongo]

Yeah, it can be tough when you are on the spot, frantically searching the drawers of your mind for the appropriate vocabulary or phrase.
Especially when, you suddenly find that the very drawers you are searching are full of Japanese vocabulary and mothballs with a few torn and scorched pieces of English from 1980 lining the bottom of the Hikidashi!
Ha-------------~~~

[devicenull]

my drawers are full of naughty bits, remains of german, japanese, chinese, a few pieces of korean, some random words from languages studied in linguistics classes, and a sick and dying english which I neglect like the red-headed stepchild that it is.

[guriguri247365]

serios replys only, im fucking crying here!

i was asked in class to give an example of an english idiom or metaphor... i couldnt think of a single one. I used to tutor ESL students about this shit. I am fogetting words like "font" and "heavy duty"... substituting them with thingy and high-endurance. my english is full of things that make no sense and its only getting worse. and the problem is that people here understand it. in short, my brain hurts

I understand what youre saying about forgetting English - many of us have been here for many years. And cuz of that forget simple words, things, concepts, TV shows, whatever. But, if you cant give an example of a metaphor or idiom, then I hope youre not an English teacher

[Skankster]

-
-

i realized today that my english has turned to shit

I used to scapegoat that likewise. But on further analysis I realized the areas in question, that had turmed to crap, was not that good in the first place.

It has to do with coming to Japan at a young age and not doing business in the US correspondingly. So you never really had a grasp on the concepts/vocabulary you are trying to express.

Just try relaxing, first of all. Then focus on building those areas up.

I was asked to define "draw down" from a contract recently.
If you know what that is you were up on me. But I now know it is a word I had no real need for previously so I was not threatened by it.

[devicenull]

serios replys only, im fucking crying here!

i was asked in class to give an example of an english idiom or metaphor... i couldnt think of a single one. I used to tutor ESL students about this shit. I am fogetting words like "font" and "heavy duty"... substituting them with thingy and high-endurance. my english is full of things that make no sense and its only getting worse. and the problem is that people here understand it. in short, my brain hurts

I understand what youre saying about forgetting English - many of us have been here for many years. And cuz of that forget simple words, things, concepts, TV shows, whatever. But, if you cant give an example of a metaphor or idiom, then I hope youre not an English teacher

well, its more of a force of habit I suppose. I got tired of explaining them all the time so I just stopped using them. 4 months of that and no real native english speakers to talk to seems to have brained my damage

[silverfall]

The old cliche is true. If you don't use it you lose it. Anyone notice that you start to do the Japanese drop thing? You start to drop articles and tense modifiers. I slapped myself when I caught myself doing it but sometimes I slip. Thank god for the Fox channel on Sky Perfect. The Simpsons are keeping me fluent.

[guriguri247365]

devicenull,

smoking dank every day then man! That seems ta affect us all a little bit too much :P

[devicenull]

devicenull,

smoking dank every day then man! That seems ta affect us all a little bit too much :P

gah, i have heard too many horror stories about students in the past here getting arrested for pot. and after china... fuck pot. it's all about the hash. much easier to conceal, better effect, and full of goodness. Still, wouldnt want to even touch it here. last year, a student smoked 5gm of weed that he bought off of a japanese friend. his host family smelled it on him and reported it. he was basically forced to turn himself in and he got 2 years. the friend who sold it to him got away with no penalty of any kind.

[djgizmoe]

[Buraku]

my brain hurts

Believe me I know what you mean....

my english is full of things that make no sense and its only getting worse

Well actually it's merely adapting to the environment.

Don't worry, be patient, keep checking Rob Pongi's posts...one day (maybe soon) you'll clearly understand what he writes and 'boom' you've arrived at the final FG destination.

Smile your a DOMO ARIGATOU San Queue linguistic happy

[gkanai]

I am fogetting words like "font" and "heavy duty"... substituting them with thingy and high-endurance.

You "fogetting" more than just your vocabulary.