CeeEme Journey

[CeeEme]

I am Brazilian, and my native Language is Brazilian Portuguese. That could be helpful for learning languages such as spanish, italian, french and romanian. But I always have been atracted to English and German, so these are the first foreign languages I have learnt: English at 11 years old and German at 18 years old.
When I was 22, I got the chance to live in Japan for 18 months, and I have learned enough japanese to survive there, although I had a hard time to learn how to read: it was really frustrating.
At 32 years old, I went to France, and after living there for 5 years, I have a good knowledge of French, but I had no proficiency exams results to confirm it.
Now, at 50yo, I am trying to solve a problem I have found often: be able to use two or more of the languages I have learnt at the same time, without my mind going blank.
Also, I like to discover new things in grammar: that's why I am learning Navajo and Danish.

[Cèid Donn]

When I was 22, I got the chance to live in Japan for 18 months, and I have learned enough japanese to survive there, although I had a hard time to learn how to read: it was really frustrating.

Japanese is often considered one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, language to learn to read and write in as a second language because of its unique and very complicated writing system. A lot of people find conversational Japanese fairly easy to pick up, but learning to read in Japanese often takes a lot of time and effort for most learners. So you're not alone there!

Now, at 50yo, I am trying to solve a problem I have found often: be able to use two or more of the languages I have learnt at the same time, without my mind going blank.

It just takes practice. Be patient with yourself. There are quite of few of us here who are 40 years and up in age, so don't think age is an obstacle. You are not just an older learner, but a wiser and more experienced one, and that's is definitely to your benefit. Sometimes, because older learners are more experienced with the learning process, they feel like things are harder for them, but in truth, it's just that they are more aware of how much work it takes to get good at something from their own life experience. The thing is to always keep a positive attitude about it and remember that learning things as an older person has its strengths too.

Also, I like to discover new things in grammar: that's why I am learning Navajo and Danish.

You will definitely learn some new things about grammar with Navajo! I have studied Navajo on and off for a few years now. It's an amazing language.

Best of luck to you with your learning!

[zenmonkey]

Welcome to the forum! You've got a nice language set there. Good luck!