Spanish people usually have difficulty in learning English because both languages have different origins. English is a Germanic language while Spanish is a Romance language. Also, English is a language rich in synonyms that are not interchangeable in all their contexts so that means we have to learn its vocabulary in context.
English is my mother tongue and I have taught it to about 20 nationalities. The present tense is far easier than other languages and no one ever has to worry about genders in English. Adjectives are always before the noun. Phrasal verbs are hard for non native speakers. Get in, get off, get out, get down, get up, get on. They need to be learned one by one. Words have a harsher sound compared to Latin languages such as Italian. One mistake Latins make in English is the I sound. When they try to say 'it is,' it sounds like eeeet eeeeeez. I did a pronunciation exercise on this with an Argentinian student once. If anyone thinks English is hard they should learn German.
But German pronunciation is a lot easier, Kevin. I think students have problems mainly because there are so few rules and so many exceptions and because the language itself is very different from Spanish, Italian, Portuguese...
Spanish people usually have difficulty in learning English because both languages have different origins. English is a Germanic language while Spanish is a Romance language. Also, English is a language rich in synonyms that are not interchangeable in all their contexts so that means we have to learn its vocabulary in context.
ReplyDeleteVery intelligent and well-informed answer. Thanks.
DeleteEnglish is my mother tongue and I have taught it to about 20 nationalities. The present tense is far easier than other languages and no one ever has to worry about genders in English. Adjectives are always before the noun. Phrasal verbs are hard for non native speakers. Get in, get off, get out, get down, get up, get on. They need to be learned one by one. Words have a harsher sound compared to Latin languages such as Italian. One mistake Latins make in English is the I sound. When they try to say 'it is,' it sounds like eeeet eeeeeez. I did a pronunciation exercise on this with an Argentinian student once. If anyone thinks English is hard they should learn German.
ReplyDeleteBut German pronunciation is a lot easier, Kevin.
ReplyDeleteI think students have problems mainly because there are so few rules and so many exceptions and because the language itself is very different from Spanish, Italian, Portuguese...