User blog comment:Razlem/How do you prefer to learn a language?/@comment-1917865-20100721162732

But understanding how similar languages function gives me a better foundation on which to eventually learn the others (maybe it's not as easy for other people, I'm not sure). I kind of like learning the semantic changes though ("toujours/totdeauna" vs. "siempre/sempre" etc.). But even the present tense conjugations are similar in form: je -e yo -o tu -es tu -es vous -ez vosotros -eis ils/elles- ent ellos- en Of course, these change for the different endings (er, ir, re/ ar, er ir)

As for Chinese, I don't have friends who can speak it well enough. I'm learning from a few different sites, and that's part of my problem. As soon as I start taking legit classes though, the difficulties should dissipate.