English is a tough language. It is amazing to me that it has become a lingua franca. Instead of adapting foreign words to its own structure, it brings them in whole, giving us many ways to spell a sound. If you are not a visual learner, that causes problems. There are constant mixups with "they're", "their", and "there", for example. German has its own problems - "Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung" for "speed limit", anyone? - but if you understand a few basic rules, at least you can SPELL it.