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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| aldo Triglot Groupie Thailand Joined 6597 days ago 50 posts - 52 votes  Speaks: English*, French, SpanishB1 Studies: Italian, German, Dutch, Mandarin, Thai, Khmer, Malay | Message 17 of 57 08 November 2006 at 8:50am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
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No, golbalization has increased the use of English. WHen you are busy working on L 35 (I have studied a lot of languages--some dead some barely alive--like Navajo) the other person is working only on L2 which is English--their ability will always be greater in your shared language of English than you will ever have in L35.
REality is that the only monolinguals, in the first world countries, are really the US. And Globlization helps this cause. Unless you live the rest of your life in a language community then there is no reason to use your RAM and hard drive to be filled with languages that you will not be able to use. As for Thai--no, it will not grow. I learned THAI at DLI so believe me I had a level that many of you would envy in any language--but, as I stated, it is a performance skill. I was not in a place to use it for over 15 years--it fades like lifting or running (if you are not doing them). Thai, Lao, Burmese, Viet, and Cambodian are very geo locked and will not expand. Notice the low paying jobs in each of these countries to have teachers impart English? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||
| Captain Haddock Diglot Senior Member Japan kanjicabinet.tumblr. Joined 6769 days ago 2282 posts - 2814 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, Korean, Ancient Greek | Message 18 of 57 08 November 2006 at 9:23am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
You assume: 1. Everyone in "L35" also speaks English. 2. The only reason to learn a language is to talk directly to people. Neither of these are true.
Thanks for clearing that up for us. Now how about some stock tips? 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||
 Iversen Super Polyglot Moderator Denmark berejst.dk Joined 6704 days ago 9078 posts - 16473 votes Speaks: Danish*, French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Esperanto, Romanian, Catalan Studies: Afrikaans, Greek, Norwegian, Russian, Serbian, Icelandic, Latin, Irish, Lowland Scots, Indonesian, Polish, Croatian Personal Language Map | Message 19 of 57 08 November 2006 at 11:16am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
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Aldo, if you are that frustrated and desillusioned about learning languages nr. ... L32, L33, L34, L35 why didn't you stop after L2? You must have had a more positive look upon language collection earlier in your life, otherwise you would never have reached L35.
Edited by Iversen on 08 November 2006 at 11:17am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||
| lady_skywalker Triglot Senior Member Netherlands aspiringpolyglotblog Joined 6891 days ago 909 posts - 942 votes Speaks: Spanish, English*, Mandarin Studies: Japanese, French, Dutch, Italian | Message 20 of 57 08 November 2006 at 11:31am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
Fair enough as it would be hard to attain fluency in a 35 languages...unless you were a genius or make language learning a career. :)
Not only the US. On average, many English speakers in the UK, Australia and New Zealand will be monolingual. Not all, of course, as there are a good many people interested in languages but on the whole, monolingualism is a characteristic of the English speaking nations.
While we might not all get a chance to learn all the languages we're using on a daily basis, it's a bit naive to think that we won't *ever* get the chance. Why would you put off someone who wants to learn Romanian or Uzbek for a once-in-a-lifetime visit? The majority of people learn a language for practical reasons (ie. to communicate with native speakers) but some people learn a language purely for linguistic curiosity or because they have an interest in the history or culture attached. They may not be able to use it in everyday life but I would not begrudge someone the choice to learn a language for the sheer sake of it.
Very true. Languages have to be used regularly to maintain a high level of fluency.
The jobs are low-paying in comparison to the average wage in a first world country. I can only imagine how many Thai or Burmese people wish they earned the same money that English teachers in Asia earn, some of whom get paid a ridiculous amount of money for low-quality teaching (not all, mind). And who's to say that Thai might not become a lingua franca in Southeast Asia? We can't predict the future, after all. I might be going off topic a bit but who would have said that the isolationist Japan of a few centuries ago would turn out to be a major economic power? 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||
| aldo Triglot Groupie Thailand Joined 6597 days ago 50 posts - 52 votes Speaks: English*, French, SpanishB1 Studies: Italian, German, Dutch, Mandarin, Thai, Khmer, Malay | Message 21 of 57 09 November 2006 at 12:21am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
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What I am hearing are wishes and deisres from you people.
I deal in realities. What I listed are the realities. ENGLISH is the business language and the WORLD WIDE L2. As for the Oriental GEO LOCKED languages--I am correct. Your desires are not going to change facts. YOu may not like gravity--but it doesn't matter. Also, if you want native speaking ENglish teachers then why shouldn't you pay what they get in Western Countries (which is painfully low pay in comparison to the time spent in University, etc.)? Sounds like some of you just want to use the martyr excuse for teaching--good, I see where the next few teachers who will sacrifice salary, helath benefits, vacation pay, long term job security, etc. will come from. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||
| Captain Haddock Diglot Senior Member Japan kanjicabinet.tumblr. Joined 6769 days ago 2282 posts - 2814 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, Korean, Ancient Greek | Message 22 of 57 09 November 2006 at 2:04am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
That's hyperbole, of course, unless you have a new meaning for "worldwide" I didn't know. Perhaps you meant it's the world's foremost L2, which is quite likely; but there are quite literally hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people who have learned an L2 that is not English — from French in Africa to Mandarin in China to Russian in the CIS. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||
| aldo Triglot Groupie Thailand Joined 6597 days ago 50 posts - 52 votes Speaks: English*, French, SpanishB1 Studies: Italian, German, Dutch, Mandarin, Thai, Khmer, Malay | Message 23 of 57 09 November 2006 at 10:25am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
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Hello--what is the largest L2 in the World?
IF you want to do real business what language do you learn to do so in the World? And why is this board not in Bengali or Urdu? What language is this board in? Why? Now you have painful proof of the "facts" I stated before. YOu don't have to like them. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||
| lady_skywalker Triglot Senior Member Netherlands aspiringpolyglotblog Joined 6891 days ago 909 posts - 942 votes Speaks: Spanish, English*, Mandarin Studies: Japanese, French, Dutch, Italian | Message 24 of 57 09 November 2006 at 3:59pm | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
Why are you so hostile? I don't know if you're intentionally being hostile or whether I'm just misreading what you're saying but why are you trying to put people off doing something they ENJOY, namely language learning? If it's all so pointless, then why have you learnt so many languages in the past? Are we not allowed that same privilege? Seems a bit unfair, really. You stick to your realities...we'll stick to our dreams and hopes. :) As for the teaching issue, I detested the 3 hours I've spent teaching English in China and I would never want a job teaching English, even if I was paid the same as teachers are paid in Western countries. I'm just not the teacher type. :p 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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