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The "should-I-study-X-language test" | ||
Tags: Choosing a Language | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Malcolm Triglot Retired Moderator Senior Member Korea, South Joined 7313 days ago 500 posts - 515 votes  5 sounds Speaks: English*, Spanish, Korean Studies: Mandarin, Japanese, Latin | Message 1 of 50 08 April 2006 at 3:02pm | IP Logged |
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I've just created a test to weigh a potential target language against all the relevant factors. If your score is less than 10, your target language is perhaps not the best choice.
[EDIT: Added #12 to account for the cumulative benefits of polyglottery] 1.) How many high quality language learning materials are available to you in your target language? +3 Tons (e.g. Spanish learning materials for English speakers) +2 Many (e.g. Japanese learning materials for English speakers) +0 Some (e.g. Portuguese for English) -1 Very few (e.g. Hindi for English) -3 Almost nothing (e.g. only a dictionary and a grammar book from the 1800s) 2.) Do you have opporunities to practise your target language in your daily life? +4 Many opportunities actively +3 Some opportunities actively +2 Many opportunities, but just passively +1 Some opportunities, but just passively +0 No opportunities in my daily life 3.) How similar is your target language to a language you already speak? +2 Very similar (e.g. Spanish and Portuguese) +1 Fairly similar (e.g. Spanish and English) +0 Not very similar, but still related somehow (e.g. English and Russian) -2 Completely alien (e.g. English and Tibetan) 4.) How inherently difficult is your target language (not incl. writing system) in your opinion? +2 Couldn't be easier +1 Pretty Easy +0 Normal -1 Fairly difficult -2 Quite difficult -3 Ridiculously complex 5.) How difficult is your target language's writing system for you? +1 Easy (e.g. Spanish for an English monoglot) +0 Normal (e.g. a latin-based script with some irregularities for an English monoglot) -1 Difficult (e.g. a non-latin-based script for an English monoglot) -2 Very difficult (e.g. Arabic for an English monoglot) -3 Extremely difficult (e.g. Chinese characters for an English monoglot) 6.) Is it "chic" to speak your target language? +3 Extremely chic. When I speak it, people treat me as though I'm a language god. +2 Fairly chic. People are usually impressed that I speak it. +1 Slightly chic. People are sometimes mildly impressed that I speak it. +0 No one cares that I speak it because it's common, expected, or assumed that it's a native language. -1 Some people don't really like that I speak it. -2 Many people get offended that I speak it. -3 I'm ashamed to admit I speak it. 6.) What do you think about the culture associated with your target language? +3 I'm deeply interested in it +2 I like it +1 It's alright, I guess +0 Neutral, no opinion -2 I don't really like the culture -4 I hate the culture 7.) Is there specific literature or movies in your target language that you want to read/watch (incl. poetry, historical documents, anime, etc.) +4 Yes, I'm dying to read/watch them. +2 Yes, I look forward to reading/watching them eventually. +0 No 8.) How motivated are you in general? +2 Very motivated +1 Fairly motivated +0 Normal -2 A bit lazy -4 Quite lazy 9.) How commited are you to achieve your goals and finishing what you start? +2 Very commited, I always achieve my goals +1 Fairly commited +0 Normal -1 Not very commited, but I sometimes achieve my goals anyway -3 Not very commited. I like to start other projects instead of finishing my current ones 10.) How much time on average do you plan to devote every day to the study of your target language (be realistic)? +4 4 or more hours +3 3 hours +2 2 hours +1 1 hour +0 30 minutes -1 15 minutes -2 less than 15 minutes 11.) How many other non-fluent languages are you studying actively? +1 None +0 One other language -1 Two others -2 Three others -3 Four others -4 Five others -5 Six or more others 12.) How many non-native languages have you achieved Basic Fluency in so far? +6 6 or more other languages +5 5 other languages +4 4 other languages +3 3 other languages +2 2 other languages +1 1 other language +0 none Edited by Malcolm on 08 April 2006 at 5:09pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Zorndyke Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6956 days ago 374 posts - 382 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Czech | Message 2 of 50 08 April 2006 at 4:44pm | IP Logged |
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Exactly 0 points for Farsi and 11 points for Swedish.
Although I think you could improve this test in some points (e.g. in my opinion question 11. is overrated) I find the idea and implementation quite interesting. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Malcolm Triglot Retired Moderator Senior Member Korea, South Joined 7313 days ago 500 posts - 515 votes 5 sounds Speaks: English*, Spanish, Korean Studies: Mandarin, Japanese, Latin | Message 3 of 50 08 April 2006 at 5:14pm | IP Logged |
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I've adjusted the numbers for #11 to allow for one other non-fluent target language. Still, I'm sure some of the other questions need adjusting, and there are probably other factors that I didn't mention.
1 person has voted this message useful | |
 jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6907 days ago 4250 posts - 5711 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 4 of 50 08 April 2006 at 5:15pm | IP Logged |
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Somebody with good skills in HTML could probably make a real "test" out of this.
1 person has voted this message useful | |
| victor Tetraglot Moderator United States Joined 7316 days ago 1098 posts - 1056 votes 6 sounds Speaks: Cantonese*, English, FrenchC1, Mandarin Studies: Spanish Personal Language Map | Message 5 of 50 08 April 2006 at 5:30pm | IP Logged |
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Thanks, Malcolm...This sounds like something we should include on the site. It's good for people considering to learn another language but can't really decide if they should.
Hope FX gets to see this. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| solidsnake Diglot Senior Member China Joined 7039 days ago 469 posts - 488 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin | Message 6 of 50 08 April 2006 at 5:34pm | IP Logged |
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19 for mandarin, 14 for japanese, 12 for korean, 6 for indonesian/malay-
but since I am only studying these languages one at a time, and will start each new one in 3 to 4 year increments i had to make approximate guesses based on where my "head" will be at that time. I dread figuring out the numbers the numbers for russian and turkish, since the prospects dont look good. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Sir Nigel Senior Member United States Joined 7102 days ago 1126 posts - 1102 votes 2 sounds | Message 7 of 50 08 April 2006 at 7:21pm | IP Logged |
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This test is amusing, I got a -10 for Icelandic.
1 person has voted this message useful | |
| reltuk Groupie United States Joined 6814 days ago 75 posts - 110 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, French | Message 8 of 50 08 April 2006 at 9:03pm | IP Logged |
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I have adapted the test to HTML + Javascript so it scores itself for you.
I'm not entirely familiar with Javascript, so it might not work on every (or any...) browser. It works for me in IE6 and Firefox 1.5. It is available for playing with at: http://www.reltuk.net/lang_test.html (EDIT: The above URL no longer works. The test is now available at: http://reltuk.googlepages.com/lang_test.html Sorry for the downtime.) This could obviously use a lot of improvement, but I figure I'll release it to the world. The most glaring shortcomings are the interface and the styling. If you see anything wrong, please let me know and I'll patch it up. It is relatively easy to add options and questions to, so if Malcolm or someone else has further revisions to the test, those can be incorporated too. I am placing the (relatively minimal) code in the public domain. Anyone may use it for whatever purpose they want (including the administrator for inclusion on this site). Also, if I have somehow undesirably infringed on Malcom's copyright by posting the test to my site, please notify me and I'll take it down immediately. Thanks a lot, hope you guys (and gals) enjoy :), reltuk Edited by reltuk on 18 September 2006 at 6:12pm 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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