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The Odyssey Of A Teenage Polyglot | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| catullus_roar Quadrilingual Octoglot Groupie Australia Joined 4571 days ago 89 posts - 184 votes  Speaks: Malay, Hokkien*, English*, Mandarin*, Cantonese*, French, German, Spanish Studies: Italian, Latin, Armenian, Afrikaans, Russian | Message 1 of 5 27 December 2014 at 5:16am | IP Logged | ||
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Hello HTLAL!
Hope this is the right forum to post this. I used to post on a pretty active basis especially in the Specific Languages and the polyglot forums. I'm now 16 and I've been working a lot on my languages since then. It seems crazy that I was here 3 years ago asking for advice on language learning. At the time, I really didn't understand what 'language learning' was. I know this isn't the most articulate of posts, but I'd just like to share the massive impact of the last 2-3 years on my growth as a language learner. Hopefully this will inspire people to learn languages at a young age and to keep going! No number of languages will ever be enough. I found a job working at the local French library, and now I get to practice my French in a work environment with lots of free books. I was also asked to give a talk to the DELF candidates, and it just felt so awesome to be able to stand up there and talk about the exams I worked so hard to do well in. I'm currently in another country (Australia) and I'm continuing German in school. My teacher tells me that I would qualify for a German university with my current qualifications and program, and I won't even have to take a language exam. That made me really happy. I've been maintaining my Spanish level, and recently finished a novel - La Familia de Pascual Duarte. I started learning Armenian this year and I then got a gig (unpaid) writing articles about my language learning exploits in Armenian! I shan't link them here unless requested because my real name is in them. This is an ongoing series and has been a source of great fun to me so far. I've also made a lot of online Armenian friends who have been helping me with the language. I'm currently at an intermediate level. Another language which I've started learning with a tutor, instead of all by myself, is Latin. I'm translating the gospel of Luke right now, which is pretty fun. I hope to read some of Caesar's works by June next year. Orberg's Latin method is the best, for all those who are wondering. I have also been winning some local poetry/writing competitions in English, which is my native language but not the one I use at home. I speak Mandarin to my mother and have also been picking up traditional calligraphy and poetry, in order to improve on my existing skills. I'm just so happy with all the languages I have, and all the languages I have to learn. I am also brushing up on my Italian and Russian. Even though I haven't had a dramatic increase in my number of spoken languages, I can really feel a huge surge in confidence when using the ones I already speak, and I feel like my study methods have improved. I'd be glad to outline them if anyone is interested. My odyssey is definitely not finished - I'd say it's not even 10% finished - and I'd encourage everyone to not view this post as a humblebrag, but as evidence that language learning can bring you pure joy. I am never happier than when I am with my languages. Every one of them is dear to me. I'm thinking of writing a guide about language learning, but that's all slated for the future. My plans are to consolidate my existing languages, as well as start on Arabic (a longtime love) and I'm actually considering Japanese at the moment. I knew quite a lot of you when I was here - Serpent, if you're there, thank you for encouraging me - and there are many others whose names have slipped my mind. I initially came to this forum looking for Prof Arguelles, but the amount of passion and inspiration that I've found here far outweighs the wisdom of any man. If I could summarize all that I've learned over the past few years in one sentence, it would be - Treat your language as a living being. There have been many nights where I've lain on my bed, giving monologues in Spanish in order to practice my improvisation and speaking skills. I have cradled my Bescherelle Poche through rain and shine. I have wished my mother goodnight in ten different languages, just for fun, as if introducing her to new friends. Lack of funds, lack of time, lack of anything - these are not barriers to successful language learning. Finally, measure your success only against yourself. We aren't all Mezzofanti, nor do we wish to be. Just spending an hour with a dictionary and an easy text in a new language, taking down notes in the margins and marveling at your newfound skill in this foreign script, is the greatest pleasure of a language lover's soul. 9 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6600 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 2 of 5 27 December 2014 at 6:39am | IP Logged | ||
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I'm indeed here and I'm happy to see you again! I came across your posts a few times and I was hoping you're still learning languages, just not visiting the forum much. You've made so much progress, wow! I'm happy for you ;)
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| Stelle Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Canada tobefluent.com Joined 4147 days ago 949 posts - 1686 votes Speaks: French*, English*, Spanish Studies: Tagalog | Message 3 of 5 27 December 2014 at 4:00pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks for sharing your positive outlook with all of us! Happy language learning in 2015!
2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| catullus_roar Quadrilingual Octoglot Groupie Australia Joined 4571 days ago 89 posts - 184 votes Speaks: Malay, Hokkien*, English*, Mandarin*, Cantonese*, French, German, Spanish Studies: Italian, Latin, Armenian, Afrikaans, Russian | Message 4 of 5 28 December 2014 at 10:59am | IP Logged | ||
I forgot to mention, now that I'm a bit older, your menstrual-cycle language learning method makes perfect sense to me! You should really turn it into a book. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| beano Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4625 days ago 1049 posts - 2152 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Russian, Serbian, Hungarian | Message 5 of 5 28 December 2014 at 7:16pm | IP Logged | ||
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Just goes to show that having time on your hands is a huge aid to language learning. A teenager isn't a little
kid and is far closer to being an adult, so theories of critical learning periods don't apply to them. But chuck a 14-year-old into an immersive environment and they learn quickly. Yes, pressure to fit in with the peer group is a major factor but when you get a teenager who actually wants to learn languages, they can put all that responsibility-free time to amazingly good use. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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