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Listening before speaking | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| maxb Diglot Senior Member Sweden Joined 7186 days ago 536 posts - 589 votes  7 sounds Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: Mandarin | Message 49 of 83 02 March 2006 at 2:45am | IP Logged | |||||
I would say so. After that is approximately how children learn. First they listen a lot then they start to speak. That is why they always have perfect intonation. However even children need to practice saying the sounds of the language so it makes sense that adults should do this too. Having done a lot of listening the intonation of the language should be fairly clear to you in your mind. But there may still be some sounds that need to be developed. This of course depends on how close the language is to your mother tongue. For instance Mandarin contains some sounds which are not present in Swedish so I had to learn those. However for Italian I don't think there are any sounds which are not in Swedish, so for that language I could concentrate on the intonation only. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| duffdude Groupie United Kingdom Joined 7196 days ago 75 posts - 72 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Mandarin, Cantonese | Message 50 of 83 02 March 2006 at 9:28am | IP Logged | |||||
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Do you think the brain has the ability to learn several languages at once using this natural process, with as much ease/difficulty as we can learn several languages at the same time using conventional methods(speak as much as possible)?
I think it could be possible that it is easier to learn several languages this way. The whole idea of the natural approach is you do not have to try, learning just happens. So maybe you could learn more languages this way without it being very painful! Obviously time is still a restraint. Edited by duffdude on 02 March 2006 at 9:30am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| CaitO'Ceallaigh Triglot Senior Member United States katiekelly.wordpress Joined 6860 days ago 795 posts - 829 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Russian Studies: Czech, German | Message 51 of 83 02 March 2006 at 12:31pm | IP Logged | |||||
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So I took an Intro to Linguistics course this past winter, and this topic came up, that of bilingual children in the States, and how do they learn two languages at the same time. I recall a good friend of mine, whose parents are Czech, and how her teachers encouraged her parents to speak English with her at home because the thought then that learning two languages at such a young age would only confuse her.
Well, I can go into tons of reasons of why that's not such a great idea, but for now, I'll tell you what our professor told us, which is that the latest research shows that sure, it might take a child a little longer before she starts speaking, but when she does, whammo, she's bilingual. He said that children first start expressing themselves with one word sentences. Like, "Me!" or "No!" Then they move to two word sentences, like, "Give me!" Then, after that, they move straight to complex sentences with a subject, verb, object. And it just happens, without thinking. Again, two languages slows down the process, but it still happens. Maybe a little later, but it does happen. And whammo, you have a bilingual child. So perhaps as an adult, it might slow you down, but if you stick with it, I suppose you could have a whammo moment, too. That's what I'm hoping, anyway. :) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| axe02 Triglot Groupie Joined 7224 days ago 71 posts - 73 votes Speaks: English*, Portuguese, French | Message 52 of 83 30 March 2006 at 11:33am | IP Logged | |||||
I would like to do this too. I'm a very impatient language learner. My concern is whether the brain would be able to adequately sort the input into the appropriate language. I guess this goes back to the debate over learning languages simultaneously. I guess it's not that different from children naturally absorbing the languages of parents whose native tongues are not the same. There are bound to be mistakes, but maybe these sort themselves out over time. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| patuco Diglot Moderator Gibraltar Joined 7018 days ago 3795 posts - 4268 votes Speaks: Spanish, English* Personal Language Map | Message 53 of 83 30 March 2006 at 2:42pm | IP Logged | |||||
This might not be the case all the time. My own children started to speak both English and Spanish at quite a young age. In fact, this tends to happen to most other children in Gibraltar. Perhaps learning two different native languages from the outset helps rather than hinders the learning process... ...then again, it could just be something in the water! ;) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Sir Nigel Senior Member United States Joined 7107 days ago 1126 posts - 1102 votes 2 sounds | Message 54 of 83 30 March 2006 at 7:24pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I think it helps in any case despite a minor delay when the child starts speaking. I wish I would have grown up speaking another language. :(
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| CaitO'Ceallaigh Triglot Senior Member United States katiekelly.wordpress Joined 6860 days ago 795 posts - 829 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Russian Studies: Czech, German | Message 55 of 83 30 March 2006 at 7:47pm | IP Logged | |||||
I recall that our professor was addressing what seems to be an American frame of thought, which is that growing up in a bilingual home creates confusion in a child's developing brain. I guess there was some thought (that I don't agree with!) that a child should be fluent in one language first before beginning the second language. And I recall hearing this from countless friends who are children of immigrants, where the school teacher had the nerve to ask that they speak ENGLISH at home because speaking their native language was hindering the child's development. I see that you grew up bilingually yourself, as did my boyfriend, so perhaps the phenomenon of yours seems normal. I certain think it's normal, and I am in complete agreement that it is an asset. My father's mother was Spanish, but the thought during his childhood was that learning two languages was considered a weakness. So my father is proud to be monolingual, living in the same household, in fact, with his grandparents who spoke no English. Both of my parents have an intolerance for foreign languages. It's sad to me. I wish I'd grown up in a bilingual household. I think it's a gift. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| patuco Diglot Moderator Gibraltar Joined 7018 days ago 3795 posts - 4268 votes Speaks: Spanish, English* Personal Language Map | Message 56 of 83 31 March 2006 at 8:53am | IP Logged | |||||
This used to be the case some time ago in Gibraltar, namely, parents only speaking to their children in English (for various reasons, mainly political). Sadly, the situation has not improved in some households, which to my mind is a shame since they are depriving their children of the perfect opportunity to learn another language.
I think that it's just a lucky situation to be in, but if you want to call me gifted then I won't mind :) Edited by patuco on 31 March 2006 at 8:55am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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