|
My native language is English. I went to a school from K-6 that taught Hebrew half the day and at one point was fairly fluent. That had faded from dis-use, but in times where I have been around Hebrew speakers, it will come back (e.g. one summer I went t Israel, one year I worked at a Hebrew school etc.)
I started learning French in Grade 4 and am fluent. I took it through High school and into university. It too faded a little from dis-use, but when I got certified as a teacher I took the French qualification and have been teaching it, so it's back up there again and stronger than ever. I don't think I would ever 'pass' for a native speaker, and my speaking is still better than my reading/writing. But I am proud of how far my French has come and would have no problems communicating/understanding it if I were ever in Quebec or France.
I have a few years of high school/university Spanish and was passable in that at one point. It's been a long time since I have used it though. I feel fairly confident that if I applied myself to it the way I did with the French, I could get it up there again. But there would be little point since I have so few chances to use it. So I would rather focus my efforts on improving my French as much as I can. I have thought about posting a little in the French forums here (I wold love to do some ebook reading in French) but have been shy. I know my writing is not as good as my speaking is, and I don't want the actual French people to feel like I am interrupting their 'real' conversations with my 'learning French' issues.
|