I think my point is that some things don’t need explained and only confuse people when they are. Riding a bike is another analogy… Some can walk the path without “knowing” the path while others others like pouring a Guinness and “understanding” it more than drinking it. I on the other hand prefer drinking it after someone else has poured it simply because life is complicated enough. I guess if ones English deteriorates in an English speaking country it is more a problem of discipline and/or the company one keeps.
I am very sorry that you don’t understand me. I told the same thing as you. Have you learned to speak? How? In the same way as you learned to ride on a bike. We all learn to speak without the slightest effort. Only with older brain is difficult to learn another language. It has lot of reason and I know which are these reasons. Now 1 am at night. so I won’t tell you now.
I tried to explain this. Why are you shocked that there are things what we forget. Except the cycling. - say the Hungarian.
Hello,
The children can learn without effort. Why? They don’t need to express only expressions of vital importance. “mum” “daddy” “bye-bye” and with “give me” they can express their wish.
The adults would like to express everything what they had accumulated in their brain. For that it isn’t enough a few words. Even the style is also important as the style is the man himself. It isn’t any more an effortless task.
I believe and I find it true that the adult people -who begin to learn a foreign language in their second childhood - this means a continuous compromise with themselves. Why? Because they have to reword continually their thoughts ( lack of the appropriate expression) for that they could express their thoughts.
Why does an educated adult knows almost every word in his/her mother tongue? Because they lived and learned. This means that they would like to make up leeway in the foreign language. If I give it another thought it occurs to me the Greek mythology:The Danaides. Learning a foreign language in the period when our knowledge sinks very easily into oblivion.
It is easy for them who live in a bilingual country. I mean only the skills of language.
The Danaides (1906), a Pre-Raphaelite interpretation by John William Waterhouse
Kati I thank you for your responses and here is some more of my “opinion”
One of the most important elements of communication is context and I am speaking from a personal context.Nearly 20 years ago I learned German whilst I was living in Germany. Most of the people I socialized with spoke German(including Russians Poles, Portuguese, Czechs etc) and my TV and Radio was in German. After about say 2 years I was quite fluent in German but I met plenty of Brits and Paddies who had been working there 5 years who could order a pint of beer(ein bier bitte) and not much more. I soon realized they had sky TV (English) and didn’t socialize with any Germans except Girls who spoke English, they also bought their English newspapers from the International Press, etc and a lot went home every few weeks. I was at one end of the scale and they were at the other. I first learned rather quickly the language relative to my work, I also quickly learned any signs etc and as I was surrounded by the Language I responded naturally to my environment.
However now I’m back in Belfast and I’m trying to improve my French and I’m no spring chicken let me tell you - so I listen to Michel Thomas on my I pod and read a few things on the internet watch a few things on You Tube, but theres no one for me to interact with, ask me a question, “speak to me” I can’t rehearse something and then go into a shop and try it out simply because even French restaurants speak English which means I have to really go out of my way for some kind of interaction - Crucially I will not be thinking “what do I need to say for this situation” which is a very important dynamic.
So context is very important. If you are speaking in a context of learning English in Hungary I would imagine it would have similarities to me learning French in Belfast
Its only logical that I would find it a lot easier to learn Hungarian in Hungary than for you to learn English in Hungary especially if I was on my own and embraced the culture.(btw I did the last time I was at Balaton) Age is of course another factor as it is with me but location and lifestyle are key factors too.
Hello,
It was very difficult to log in I believed that I couldn’t answer your letter… We are in the same boat. After 20 years I began to brush up my forgotten French . I was very sad that I could speak in French much better than I speak now in English but learning English, the so many same words with other pronunciation or very similar ones drove the French out of my head.
My grandson knew it that I feel sorry for it and he brought me the news that there is a DUOLINGO course where I can learn French and English together. Of course they lay the stress on French but we have to translate there and back and every explanation is in English. It is very good but unfortunately it has a mistake that who did the tests didn’t know well any of the two languages.
For example there just have been 2 sentences:
- Il ressemble à son père. = He takes after his father.
- C’est ainsi . = It is in this way.
Both of them was wrong. Why? I don’t know. There can be other translations as there would be context. I saw ‘Larousse’ and ‘About com. French language’ and I found similar sentences.
What is your opinion about this?
So this course is good for me because the two languages became entangled somewhere in my brain. I could read Le Monde, but when I have to say something in French only the English words came into my mind.
As I was really very good at French I was very sorry and I always planned to do something with it. This course helps because I have been doing it for two months and the two languages divided from each other.
I knew what happened in my mind as I began to learn English at full steam and I didn’t use the French the similarity between the two languages caused ‘an analogue inhibition’ in my brain. I don’t want to show off with this word but as I used to be a teacher who taught mentally disabled children we had to study lots of medical subjects and the cerebral activity. I forgot a lot of things but I remember this one.
Now I agree with you in everything what you wrote. It is very important the context. I never was so lucky that I can live in the country where the people speak the language what I would like to learn. In Hungary also there is an Institut Français which is a small France. So there we can learn very well and after 3 years I passed the state examination in French.
But in English the ETN helped me lot but there wasn’t possibility for dialogue, when you have to answer immediately. Now for two months one of my friend who lived for about 30 years in the GB she told already me several times that he has a 80 year-old English man friend who lives here in Hungary and he couldn’t speak a word of Hungarian. I didn’t want to spend the money and -now I regret it - but I said to myself the ETN is enough for me.
Now I began to have lessons from him. We could fluently speak and I feel that it is very useful. Because it is a personal context. As you said.
About your French learning, you can try this DUOLINGO -despite its faults it is very useful. And free.
Here is a pic of Balaton. I 've taken it from my son’s sailing boat. This mountain is very famous of its wine. Its name: Badacsony. Have you been there?
Hmm? Im no expert but my guess for what its worth is…
- he looks like your father
- It is thus
Which is of course very similar
Thats impressive “State exam” I mean it is what is - you certainly can’t fake that! 
Just googled DUOLINGO Kati - and it looks very interesting. thanks very much for the heads up on that.
Think I might have been were the picture was taken from - Last time I was in Hungary was about I’m guessing 5 or 6 Years ago maybe you can tell me? It was the summer and they were rioting in the streets because some politician was taped saying things he shouldn’t be saying? I was in Budapest too. I actually hired a car at the Airport after flying in from Berlin. I drove around for a couple of weeks seeing if I could set a new record for drinking duck soup cooked on witches cauldrons or whatever you call those things it must have been coming out of my ears I drank so much. I remember thinking how authentic everything looked then I drove around the corner into a massive Tesco store. I remember staying in “Hotel Paprika” right beside the border post on the main road to Vienna. Had a massive double room for 35 Euro a night ensuite bath & shower massive TV and for about a week every morning I would come out get in the car give the Border Guard my pass (after 2 days he stopped asking)then drive into Vienna which only took about 20 minutes saved a lot of cash on hotels.
Thats a very good trick for saving on Vienna Hotels from Belfast Jamies travel Bureau 
When I left the car back to Vienna Airport(Eurocar) I got the Hauptbahnofs mixed up and missed my Sleeper Train to Berlin - what a nightmare trying to find a hotel.
The taximan I was with was great and promised to get me somewhere to stay. Eventually after leaving a few regular customers home and after trying about a dozen hotels which were getting progressively worse we eventually found one who said yes. When the male receptionist nodded his head I produced my passport and stepped forward in the small reception area, while I was paying him a door opened to my right and a woman and an embarrassed looking man came out into the cramped reception. The receptionist said Zwei Stunden(2 hours) and the woman gave him some money and the key. It was actually a nice hotel with lots of old bare timber beams etc
Some strange noises too
Hello,
Many thanks for your translation. Both are good .
But just now I’ve remembered that their single translation was:
In the socialism we have one singl possibility to pass a language examination that was only excepted in Hungary -state Exam -this was a very “high-sounding” name and took it very seriously. Our exam had been happened in twice, first day we have to translate two texts one was from Hungarian into French the other was the opposite. The second day there was the oral examination:listening comprehension, after we had to say what we heard, dialogue, speak about my job, my family etc. It was very difficult.
I was there twice because on the first I received an intermediate examination, I tried again because I wanted to receive an advanced examination but for the second times I received another intermediate examination so I have 2 of the intermediates.
My teacher found an translation job for me at a monthly as I received the best mark for my translations. While I had been translated - my French became better and better. The translations are very good to ameliorate your skill.
As I had to teach in a school , my children went to school etc. I was always very busy and I did my translations at night because I received always a deadline. After one year I became so tired that I finished translating because they paid only 33 Forints for one page and in those days everybody who translated had another job.
Unfortunately I can’t find out in which year you could be in Hungary as there is rioting very frequently.
In Hungary there is neither freedom of speech nor the state isn’t under the rule of law. We don’t have never more constitution only “statute” what was in Pericles era.
Few days ago I met accidentally this expression " statute " instead of constitution. Whereas Pericles era was golden age in Athens, but his statute permitted him to elect himself again and again so he could rule about for 30 years.
Of course our PM can’t be resembled Pericles and he could’t make the golden age of Hungary (he could do that half of the population live very deep poverty but and his bootlicker who carouses , they will elected him again) he took over only this “the statute” which is changed from day to day and their aim is to lengthen their power as long as possible.(Phew)