Pronunciation of 'France'

Johannes, I doubt that was really Benjamin making that unpleasant comment. We have a lot of trolls here and one of their favorite games is to impersonate other posters, so take obvious insults with a grain of salt if they don't match the tone of the person's previous posts.

Your English is pretty amazing for ANYONE just learning English, let alone for a 14-year-old!

I saw only very minor mistakes here and there -- if you want corrections, here they are:

In this paragraph: "I live in a small town in Western Germany near the Dutch border and their ain't many people here who speaks English fluently other from a couple of British teachers who makes seasonal visits to my school. Most times we would just watch videos with no interaction with native English speakers."

try the following changes:

I live in a small town in Western Germany near the Dutch border and THERE ain't many people here who SPEAK English fluently other THAN a couple of British teachers who MAKE seasonal visits to my school. Most times we would just watch videos with no interaction with native English speakers.

<<Johannes, I doubt that was really Benjamin making that unpleasant comment. We have a lot of trolls here and one of their favorite games is to impersonate other posters, so take obvious insults with a grain of salt if they don't match the tone of the person's previous posts. >>

I second this (ie. I agree with what she said)

Very good, especially for one so young! I remember when I was fourteen... I still liked languages, but doubt I put in as much effort as I should have. I seems like you've put in a lot of work. Bravo!

Every country (or its government) has, at some point in history or another, done something terrible or has had very cruel laws. Slavery in the SE US and Hitler's attempt to control all of Europe are just two of the many, many, many examples one can mention. There are just too many to mention (much less go into). However, we must learn from mistakes made in the past rather than use them in an attempt to label a particular culture as inferior. Germany today is actually a very friendly and civilised country (and I barely speak any German). We must not generalise about the many based on the crazy behaviour of the few. We need to put certain things in the past and work together towards a brighter tomorrow. I know that sounds a bit "wishy-washy" but if you really ponder it you'll see I'm right. Every culture has its good and bad but things are much better now then they were before 1950 when the major world powers were constantly at war with each other. There are still places where things are very unsettled (like Iraq) but at least the major countries of North America and Europe are at peace with each other for the first time in centuries. There may even be peace in the Middle East one day and even world peace is possible.

Once that goal has been accomplished people will be able to focus more of their time and energy on other things (like arguing over the pronunciation of the word "France" for instance).

Johannes, I'm 100% certain that wasn't the real Benjamin who made that horrible post. The problem here on antimoon is that we don't have to register, and therefore anyone can post stupid offensive nonsense under any name they want. I've been 'impersonated' sometimes too. Please just ignore that horrible post above. Anyone who writes stuff like that is disturbed.

Johannes, where do you live exactly? I'm in Düsseldorf! I'm British, but I teach Business English here. By the way, I agree that your written English is EXCELLENT for a 14-year-old! :) If you need any more help, I'm here fairly often, and Uriel and Tiffany are always very helpful.

Thankyou so much Uriel and Tiffany . I enjoyed reading the comments. I'm quite touched by you all. Once again thankyou so much.

Jason
your message was quite emotional and really touched my heart. I too want world peace - a day where I wouldn't have to watch the news and not see death is a day I hope I see very soon.

Candy
I'm from a small town called Nordboren a small town in Western Germany on the German and Dutch border. It is actually closer to Munster which is North of Düsseldorf. It is quite a small town with not many outsiders. You could say it's off the 'beaten track' (unsure if I used that term correctly as I heard it from a movie). I would love to have a proper class without videos - but actual discussions with native English speakers such as you. For now I resort to internet forums such as this one. Thankyou for the kind comment on my English. I admire the language and hopefully I could get that place at my school as an exchange student in England.

Do you speak also offer accent reduction classes (if there is such a thing) - I have a slightly hardtime trying to lose my German accent when I speak English. I'm actually quite weak when speaking English because I have a fear that my German accent will be a communciation barrier.

Sorry but I forgot to add this part to my last message.

Candy any tips about my German accent? Have you exprience a situation where their accent got in the way?

Hi Johannes! Yes, 'off the beaten track' was exactly right! I'm impressed. I hope you can spend some time in England - I'm sure you'll have a great time.

Unfortunately, I'm not the best person to ask about accent reduction. My students are all adults, aged 28 to 55, and their aim is just to communicate in English, to participate in meetings, write mails, make small talk, etc. I'm not really qualified to help them with their accents, I'm afraid, and in fact nobody has ever asked me! :)
I've never heard of any situation where a German accent was a barrier to communication in English. The great advantage for Germans is that your accent and intonation when speaking English do not impede understanding, unlike speakers of a few other languages. Boris Becker is a huge TV star in the UK these days, although he still has a strong German accent. Everyone understands him no problem. Please don't worry about your accent - don't let it inhibit you from speaking English. (Some people may not like the accent, but that's their problem, not yours). I speak German with a strong English accent, and nobody has ever complained! :-)

Boris Becker appears on that BBC sports gameshow. I can't remember its name, but all its contestants are celebrities, different ones each week, except the two team captains, of which Becker is one.

Being a British show, it's quite funny, with all the contestants always having a laugh and a joke and just "larking about" - except Becker, who nearly always looks serious and hardly ever seems to find anything funny. I always feel as though he's about to stand up and say: "How dare you laugh? You zink zis is funny??!!??"

"They Think It's All Over" is the show. I think BB is pretty good, actually! :)

You were right — it was not me who posted that offensive message. Thank you those of you who realised that it wasn't me! And I have absolutely nothing against Germany of German people whatsoever. I don't think that many other British people do either.

Correction: Germany OR German people

I have to say, I am upset that someone would impersonate me just to make that comment.

And just to say — I agree completely with what Jason said. I think it's amazing that Western Europe (at least) has managed to come together in the way in which we have, arguably against all the odds.

In my view, Britain has behaved just as badly in the past as has Germany. There are many things about my country's past of which I am not proud at all.

I really want to go to Germany again actually. The only time I've ever been able to go there was on a 12 hour coach journey from Frankfurt to somewhere near Wroclaw in Poland. It seemed very similar to England, in all honesty.

Johannes, I have a German stepbrother and stepsister from my father's second marriage, and I have never had any trouble understanding their German accents -- like Candy said, it's not one that interferes with listener comprehension. I don't know if this is because our languages are related or because of coincidence, but the bottom line is that you should not be embarrassed about your accent -- it's natural for you to have one, and you will reduce it yourself if you are ever in a position to speak with and hear native speakers on a regular basis.

I should add that the accent knife cuts both ways, Johannes; my mother lived in Germany for ten years and was quite fluent, but of course always retained her own accent when speaking, and was often asked what her nationality was.

Unfortunately for her, Germans at that time (30 years ago) seemed to have it stuck in their heads that Americans *never* learn other people's languages, and they would often refuse to believe her! After a while she got tired of arguing with them and simply "agreed" that she was English....

I say [fraens] just like [daens] (dance)

[dans] sounds an affection to me.
I'm from Italy.