Also - and I wonder how many of you have also encountered this - as I encounter more folks from other countries and languages, I find myself learning to speak "their" English instead of "my own." After years as a card-carrying anomaly and "word geek" with an odd sense of humor, I have to "dial myself back" a lot. In later years, I've started to view this phenomenon through the lens of language learning. Anyone else?

I think I see what/where you're "driving at." Years ago, in an unexpectedly valuable sales training class, I was exposed to the 4 stages of learning: (1) unconscious incompetence (aka "beginner's luck with no learning program; (2) conscious incompetence ("holy smoke, I have no idea what I'm doing - help!")); (3) conscious competence (Watching myself put one foot oh so carefully in front of the other. "That's it, steady now, up and over and - good, let's try another one..."); and (4) unconscious competence (aka "second nature," "no sweat", "taking it for granted"). Sounds like you're on stage 4 with your English. My Spanish is in that strange nether region of "3-ish."

The three principle avenues of learning I have encountered over the years are labeled: (1) visual; (2) auditory; and (3) kinesthetic. IMHE, individuals will generally excel at one. If reading isn't working, try experiments with some type of a tape recorder. A third option is to mess around with paper, play-do or even 3D Modeling/Animation (e.g. Blender) to "hip" your trusty hippocampus to all your new language and other information.

Ideal imaging is frequently dangerous, particularly in situations with a lot of obstacles - oh yeah, like language learning. With practice, I've learned to look at everything as a continuum. I'm always "somewhere in the middle," with plenty of people "ahead" or "behind" me any time I hit the "pause" button and try to measure "where I am." Jamie (our fearless leader) continues to keep me alert with fresh ideas and approaches. Meanwhile, my favorite source re habits in general is Gretchen Rubin ("Better Than Before" - and she has a website). Every day you can do something - even one "little" thing - is a positive day.

Years ago, when I was volunteer-teaching English to a small class of Hmong Laotians from church, I was surprised to learn that for most, English was now their fourth (!) language, having already learned Hmong, Lao and Thai. Since most were moms with school-aged children, I scripted two dialogues for them to memorize: One was about shopping for breakfast cereals at WalMart; the second was about calling the kids' school to make an appointment with a teacher to discuss student progress issues. I think relevance can be a huge help for students and instructors alike.

Still cruising and dabbling in search of my next Spanish learning tool. Meanwhile, I took a surprise detour, tuning up my understanding of stress management reading and viewing video lectures from a Stanford primatologist who spends a lot of his off time observing baboons in East Africa.

What I find particularly useful is a two part process: (1) after I meet a verb, make sure I have access to conjugations so I can keep track of pesky details like Spanish "stem changes"; and (2) Invent sentences I envision myself using in conversation and then learn those rather than some poor naked infinitive that just got locked out of its apartment.

My biggest problem with print dictionaries is an extension of my problem with any kind of "standard" Spanish. When someone on the street is handing out copies of Nuestro Mundo or some other contemporary, right-now weekly newspaper, I can't get to square one with a lot of the language and print dictionaries are no help. Fortunately, good old Google English/Spanish can get me off to a good start anyway.

FYI, decided to check Webtoons out for myself and discovered they also offer Spanish, French and German. Waves of nostalgia as I recall elementary school Spanish when the teacher brought us comics of "El Raton Miguelito" to explore (obviously, language learning in our school system was no "Mickey Mouse" operation. 🙂

Welcome! Good for you learning Korean and aspiring to be a screenwriter. If you haven't done so already, check out the Writer's Market Book Club for at least one very good book on formulating - and formatting - your material.