|
 |
How long does it take for a kid? | ||
Tags: Children | Time to learn | ||
Share with:
| ||
 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Tyrion101 Senior Member United States Joined 3912 days ago 153 posts - 174 votes  Speaks: French | Message 1 of 13 31 August 2014 at 6:32am | IP Logged | ||
|
I had a rather interesting experience with an older gentleman and a young girl at work. It soon became apparent that the man spoke not a lick of English. He was Asian, I know a bit of mandarin, but probably not enough to help out the guy (Honestly don't know if he even spoke it). The back window of the car rolls down, and a girl speaking perfect English with no accent at all saves the day. I was curious to know how long it takes younger kids to learn a new language?
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| eyðimörk Triglot Senior Member France goo.gl/aT4FY7 Joined 4098 days ago 490 posts - 1158 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French Studies: Breton, Italian | Message 2 of 13 31 August 2014 at 8:53am | IP Logged | ||
|
It depends on the kid, his or her age, his or her experiences, his or her interest.
Example time: A few years ago my mother told me about the child getting an academic achievement award in my former home town that year. This girl went through the same schools that I and my peers did, and some of the same teachers are still working. She was 11 or 12 years old and came to Sweden knowing not a lick of Swedish 2 years earlier. She came alone, had no parents or family, and at this point she was getting the highest grade in the native Swedish class at school (and most other classes too). No accent, and better grammar than most native kids. Example number two: Fifteen years earlier a 9 year old, same age as this child in other words, started in my class. She was instantly fawned over and everyone wanted to be her friend. She came to Sweden with her mother, who had married a Swede so now she had a Swedish stepfather and a stepbrother. 2 years later, my teacher paired me with this girl (edit: because I could be depended on the do the work of two people in the same time given everyone else) every single time we had to do something that required a group effort or a presentation because she still did not speak Swedish very comfortably. We lost touch as soon as I could lose touch with her because I was sick and tired of being her nanny, but at 15 she still had an accent. Edited by eyðimörk on 31 August 2014 at 9:06am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
 emk Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5531 days ago 2615 posts - 8806 votes Speaks: English*, FrenchB2 Studies: Spanish, Ancient Egyptian Personal Language Map | Message 3 of 13 31 August 2014 at 2:20pm | IP Logged | ||
|
As far as I can tell, kids get conversational really quickly, and they generally have good accents. Of course, as Benny Lewis keeps demonstrating, adults can also get conversational extremely quickly when they have no choice.
But I remember reading a paper by Krashen that looked at a group of young English as Second Language students. According to Krashen, even though the kids got conversational quickly, it generally took them 3 to 5 years to catch up academically with their peer group. Also, nobody really expects that much from 5-year-olds or 9-year-olds, certainly not compared to well-read native 40-year-olds with a university education. (Of course, if the kids aren't heavily immersed, all bets are off. Heritage learners can hear a language for hours a day for years without learning to speak.) 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| robarb Nonaglot Senior Member United States languagenpluson Joined 5058 days ago 361 posts - 921 votes Speaks: Portuguese, English*, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Esperanto, French Studies: Mandarin, Danish, Russian, Norwegian, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Greek, Latin, Nepali, Modern Hebrew | Message 4 of 13 02 September 2014 at 6:08am | IP Logged | ||
|
Snow and Hoefnagel-Hohle (1978)source demonstrated that young children learn more slowly than adults if you use a standardized measure after a standardized period of
immersion. However, children get conversational faster because the competence people expect of them is much lower and they're less inhibited. Also, abundant research shows that children who start learning a language at a young age ultimately do reach a higher level, while late learners tend to plateau before becoming native-like. Edited by robarb on 02 September 2014 at 6:09am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| shk00design Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4443 days ago 747 posts - 1123 votes Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin Studies: French | Message 5 of 13 02 September 2014 at 10:43am | IP Logged | ||
|
I was in Hong Kong recently. Someone who used to live here sent her kids to study in a private school
somewhere in Canada. The child was diagnosed as hyperactive (supposedly) and can't sit still for very long. People in E. Asia (including China, Japan & Korea) talked about learning by "rogue memorization" a lot. There are International schools in Hong Kong that cater to foreigners & children of Chinese expats who prefer to attend classes that focus on learning by reasoning over memorization. When it comes to learning anything including languages, other factors are involved. Most kids who moved to places where other languages are spoken can adapt easily. However, you have to take into account of the different learning styles such as logic & reason over strict memorization as being more common in E. Asia. Most people in Hong Kong learn to write Chinese characters by memorization. I know people who moved abroad from Hong Kong and excelled in the Science field but have forgotten how to read & write Chinese characters despite being educated in Chinese until their high school years. And then there is a lady from Hong Kong who lived in China for a few years and then moved abroad. She picked up enough Mandarin to carry on a conversation but she would mispronounce words & phrases every now and then. The same with her English although she went through university in an English- speaking country. She learned her words & phrases by rogue memorization and has trouble sounding the words phonetically. Someone else moved to Canada from Hong Kong during his senior years in high school. Being educated in a Chinese school, his parents made the effort to have conversations with him in English an hour a day. After relocating, he had no trouble adjusting and got top marks in school. There are a number of children shows including cartoons a young child would watch that an adult wouldn't. These can be very educational for picking up basic words & phrases. Part of learning a language is your exposure. If you are always working and interacting within a groups who speak your native- tongue, you'd never become fluent in a foreign language. At what age range is the most ideal for picking up a foreign language? I don't think there is a definite answer. Some would speak like a native except for a few words & phrases that he/she would pronounce like someone from the home country. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| rdearman Senior Member United Kingdom rdearman.orgRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5235 days ago 881 posts - 1812 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, French, Mandarin | Message 6 of 13 02 September 2014 at 11:49am | IP Logged | ||
That is interesting. I remember watching a documentary about immigrants from other countries and how well the succeeded in speaking English, and how well their children succeeded. One of the hosts of the show was a linguist and he recommended to some Chinese parents that they should never speak to their children in English, only speak to them in Chinese. The reason was that they'll pass on thier poor pronunciation to their children. His recommendation is the children speak English with native speakers at school, etc and speak with native Chinese speakers at home. This would give them the advantage of correct pronunciation in both languages, since they would rarely hear either language mispronounced and would develop good speaking habits in both. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| shk00design Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4443 days ago 747 posts - 1123 votes Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin Studies: French | Message 7 of 13 02 September 2014 at 4:20pm | IP Logged | ||
In the case I was referring to: the father was educated in the US but for some reason speaks with a British accent and the mother who also speaks with a Br. accent although she graduated from an university in Canada. The young man ended up with an Americanized accent. The mother tends to pronounce her short "i"s like "e"s so that the word "twin" would sound like "tween". The daughter often corrects the mother on her pronunciations. On one hand, you learn the basics of a language from your parents. You pick up the rest from the media (TV & radio broadcasts) and other native speakers. In N. America (including Canada & the US) people spend a fair amount of time in front of the TV so picking up the local accent isn't a big issue. There used to be a show in Canada called "King of Kensington" produced by the CBC in Toronto that featured actors from different ethnic backgrounds who spoke with various accents like the British series "Mind Your Language" by LWT. Once upon a time, English lessons in a Chinese school in Hong Kong was taught by an ethnic Cantonese native who spoke with a local accent. It was common for him/her to pronounce syllables in words that are silent. For instance: the word "probably" would sound like pro-ba-bo-li (with 4 distinct syllables). Not a big improvement if your parents already speak with a Cantonese accent. Edited by shk00design on 02 September 2014 at 4:51pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| shk00design Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4443 days ago 747 posts - 1123 votes Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin Studies: French | Message 8 of 13 02 September 2014 at 4:43pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Young people generally pick up a new language well after relocating to a different country. Take the case
of Ishmael Beah from Sierra Leone in W. Africa. In the 1990s the country was in a civil war with different factions who abducted children to be used as child soldiers. Ishmael who lost his family (age of 12) escaped through a neighbouring country to NYC to live with a social worker in the US. After his first year of study in college, he published a bestseller in the US: "A Long Way Gone" which is a biography of his life as a child soldier. Once he was interviewed by Steve Paikin on TVO in Canada being the first guest who admittedly killed someone. He spoke flawless English without an accent. Last year he was in Toronto for the release of his second book: "Radiance of Tomorrow" at the Indigo Bookstore. There was a half-hour for questions after his introduction. Again he spoke flawless English. Unlike watching him on TV during an interview, meeting him live was a wonderful experience. However, he did seem to speak with a slight accent. He made it clear his native language is Mende. He also spoke Krio and a few other local ones. Edited by shk00design on 10 September 2014 at 11:55am 1 person has voted this message useful |
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
