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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| guiguixx1 Octoglot Senior Member Belgium guillaumelp.wordpres Joined 4091 days ago 163 posts - 207 votes  Speaks: French*, English, Dutch, Portuguese, Esperanto, German, Italian, Spanish Studies: Polish, Mandarin | Message 1 of 12 22 September 2014 at 9:27pm | IP Logged |
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Hi everyone,
I have no idea where to put this message, so I put it here. please more it in the right section if necessary. thanks. Now comes the real topic. This year I follow the course "second language acquisition" at the university, a course about how L1 and L2 are taught are learned, and I have a homework: interviewing language learners about their experience of learning languages. We have discussed in class a couple of factors that could play a role in the learning of L2,3,4, factors like age, motivation, input, noticing, .... Since this is one of the most important polyglot forum on the internet, I thought interviewing some of you would be very useful for my analytic work. Since most of the members of this forum are excellent and passionated learners with a lot of experience, I would like a couple of interviews. whatever the number of languages you speak (although an interview from at least one hyperpolyglot would be useful for a good diversity in this analytic work), and whatever your experience, feel free to answer. here are the type of questions to answer, although you don't have to answer them all -how old were you when you first tried to learn a language? -did you have a choice about learning this language or were you required to learn it? -do you currently speak this language regularly? -do you regularly read this language for information or enjoyment? -how much of your learning experience with this language was in a foreign language classroom? -if you no longeruse this language on a daily basis, can you estimate how many years you spent learning or using it? -estimate how manyhours of classroom instruction you had for this language -how much timehave you spent living in a place where the language is spoken? -have you used the language to learn other subjects at school? at what level (elementary, secondary, university)? -do you have personal or emotional attachments to this language? for example, do you have peers or family members who speak this language? do-did you enjoy studying vocab and grammar in this language?-do you think ofyourself as a person who likes to socialize? -are/were you a successful student in other school subjects? -do you think of yourself as a person who learns a new language easily? this was the question list I was given, but I think some other additional questions could be interesting to analyse, such as: -do you rather learn by speaking and being active, or reading, or studying vocab and grammar? -do you think age plays any role in your language learning? -do you think only clever people can learn? people with a high IQ? -do you think there might be a language gene? -do you think it's possible to get to a REAL native-like level? or at least a native- like pronounciation? And if you can think up of another useful and interesting question to answer to, feel free :) I know some of those questions have already been dealt with A LOT, but I just need your individual answers. furthermore, you may respond briefly, as I have only little time to debate your interview to analyse them with my fellow students I would also be very happy to have interviews from the youtube polyglots (Richard Simcott, Moses, ... for example) or other hyperpolyglot, to have a real diversity, although I'm not sure that they drop by very often... One last thing: I need the interviews for thursday noon, if you can make it. Thanks a lot for your collaboration! Edited by guiguixx1 on 22 September 2014 at 10:38pm 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 2 of 12 24 September 2014 at 7:40pm | IP Logged |
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I was around 6 when I started learning the English alphabet in school.
Growing up in Hong Kong and having Cantonese as a native-language, English was part of the curriculum. And later took 1 year of Mandarin while in HK. I do speak English more regularly due to relocation. I do speak Chinese regularly and still read Chinese newspapers. However, my knowledge of Chinese characters is 3/4 as many as my English vocabulary. Due to my circumstance of moving at a young age, I try hard to keep up my Chinese (considered the harder of the 2) by looking up new characters using online dictionaries. When I travel to Hong Kong for visits, I would be reading the English edition of the South China Morning Post and 明報 (Ming Pao). I tend to prefer an English newspaper because Chinese editions tend to have more printed ads especially on the front page where you normally find the most important articles on the front page. When the family first moved to Canada, nobody in the family went through an ESL (English as Second Language) course. My siblings all went to normal classes and simply picked up words & phrases on the way. When we attended elementary school, we didn't get a lot of homework and subjects like math was more advanced in E. Asia so there was more than enough time to catch up. It's Chinese the mother- tongue that needs catching up. At first we subscribed the Chinese edition of the Reader's Digest. Many years later went to a summer language course in Taiwan at an advanced level. Although I hadn't been using Mandarin regularly, I passed course. Since moving to Canada, I had to learn French as part of the curriculum. However, I didn't learn enough vocabulary to ask for directions for order in restaurants. I actually picked up more words & phrases on my own using flashcards than all the years I studied French in primary school classes. I don't believe in classroom learning unless you are at an advanced university level. (The topic of classroom learning was discussed a few times already). Having a family that speaks Chinese at home while living in Canada we're bilingual by default. In any given day we would be using English more because we would be in class or at work but would spend at least 2 hours communicating in Chinese with a few English words & phrases mixed in. I think it is a bit unfair to come to the conclusion that my knowledge of Chinese characters is mostly the result of classroom instructions. I can read restaurant menus easily but my siblings who lost the ability to read characters had to rely on asking the waiter for specific items. I watched Chinese films in both Cantonese & Mandarin by reading subtitles because I don't always hear everything. Many years later this paid off. Living in Canada which is a multi-ethnic country you don't have to venture far to find Chinese shops and restaurants. You walk into a T&T supermarket you have attendants who would speak to you in Mandarin, Cantonese & English. You walk into a Starsky supermarket, you can find attendants who can speak Polish, Ukrainian & English. Otherwise you can find all sorts of places where you can buy DVDs in French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Vietnamese, Chinese and others. I didn't use a language to learn other subjects. In the English-speaking part of Canada, if you enrol in a French immersion program, you study some core subjects like math & science in French. Everybody in the family are bilingual in Cantonese & English. A few relatives are fluent in Mandarin as well. Other than that my grandfather and grandmother spoke Spanish as well when they were alive. None of the relatives in my generation picked it up. You asked about studying vocab and grammar in a language. I don't generally think of languages in strictly "mechanical" terms. I know a few teachers who would talk about subject, adverb, verb, noun (object of the verb), etc. I often think about myself as someone who like to socialize. However, I don't usually introduce myself unless I am spoken to first. The last time I was at the airport in Houston, Texas, a couple presumably from Taiwan wanted to know about taking the shuttle bus into the city. I was asked to explain to them in Mandarin. I don't normally talk to strangers unless they ask me a question first. When it comes to other school subjects I tend to be borderline on most in the beginning. I tend to be a slow learner. When learning a new subject like accounting, I would barely pass unless you give me the time to study the subject a few months before starting an accounting class. I think of myself as a person who learn a new language easily when I got older. In the past I had no trouble learning Mandarin or French. In my senior years in high school I had trouble getting through French classes mostly because I had next to no exposure outside class and during the summer holidays. I was watching Chinese TV series & movies on DVDs regularly but next to nothing in French. Partly my own fault. I wouldn't consider myself as someone who would acquire more than 4 languages in my lifetime since I have other hobbies including photography and playing music with a band (violin & piano). Practicing music every week is time consuming enough that I wouldn't be able to find more than a few hours a week for acquiring languages. When it comes to speaking (active) vs. reading or learning vocab & grammar (passive) I prefer being active. I know someone who studied Spanish for at least 5 years but had not reach the level of conducting in conversations. Even watching TV, listening to radio programs including song recordings can be considered active learning because you pick up the sounds of a language. Reading a sentence in French is no difference than in Chinese unless it is a movie caption where you hear the sounds as well. I know a man who took Mandarin classes for 6 months. As a native Cantonese-speaker, he had no trouble with the Chinese characters. but when it comes to speaking he can't get into a conversation besides saying 你好 (how are you) & 谢谢 (thank you). While I would be listening to radio programs on radio, he would only listen to Cantonese & English radio programs. Age does play a role in language learning. For many people it is more noticeable in speaking than writing. I notice a few people who are fluent in Chinese but speak English with a bit of a stutter. Some can speak fluently but with a noticeable accent. A few of them acquired university degrees and had no trouble writing in English. I know some Chinese who speak English fluently but have trouble grasping abstract concepts at a university level and had trouble expressing ideas when writing essays & book reports. I once tried to learn piano at age 5 and got back into it at age 35 on my own when most people thought it was a bit late to get started. 2 years ago I played the first movement of Bach Italian concerto from memory at a Christmas party. Had to practice the piece for 3 weeks. Personal effort plays as much a role as age. When we're younger we tend to have less responsibilities (work, family, kids, etc.) I don't think only cleaver people can learn or those with high IQ. If you relocate to a new place, you can rely on others to do the translating on your behalf when shopping or you can make an effort to interact with others even with a heavy accent. I was once in a barber shop waiting to get a haircut. Several people came in casually. The Chinese owner (middle-aged) came out to see what was going on. It was clear he spoke no English so I had to explain to him what was going on. I don't think he arrived in Canada recently. Being surrounded by English-speaking people, he had not attended English classes. I don't think there is a specific gene for learning languages than parts of the brain responsible for memory, language & music. Very few people are not fluent in their native language (mother-tongue) because this is the language they get the most exposure. If you live in a bilingual city like Montreal, Canada, you'd be talking in English & French or a city like Singapore with a Chinese majority and English as an official language, you'd be speaking English & Mandarin by default. I think exposure is more important than anything else. I consider myself a native speaker of both Cantonese & English with Mandarin as my second language with a more limited vocabulary. To become a native-speaker in Cantonese you need to be living in Hong Kong, Macau or Guangzhou. Someone in the family who lives in Canada most of her life is fairly fluent in Cantonese. However, there are certain sounds like 自己 (zi6 gei2) having a nasal sound she would pronounce like the English word "skate" with 1 syllable instead of 2. Edited by shk00design on 25 September 2014 at 3:48am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Tollpatchig Senior Member United States Joined 4006 days ago 161 posts - 210 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Maltese | Message 3 of 12 24 September 2014 at 8:09pm | IP Logged |
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I'm answering for both my languages on HTLAL.
Q:How old were you when you first tried to learn a language? A:I took Spanish I and II in high school in freshman and sophomore year, so I was 14-15 at the time. My first time seriously learning a language (not Spanish) I think I was around 20-ish. Q:Did you have a choice about learning this language or were you required to learn it? A:It was a choice both ways, I was required to do a language in high school but I did get to choose between Spanish or French. I learned German later of my own accord. Q:Do you currently speak this language regularly? A:I don't speak but I do listen. I watch shows and listen to podcasts/radio in German. I do Skype sometimes with other learners. I'm not at any level to use Maltese but I imagine I would not be speaking it with anyone. Q:Do you regularly read this language for information or enjoyment? A:No. I read in English mostly. I'm trying to get better at listening to German so I'm trying to stay away from reading it. I do have three novels in German, but I haven't read them fully. I'm not at a high enough level to read Maltese. Q:How much of your learning experience with this language was in a foreign language classroom? A: None. I had a tutor but it was at Skype or Starbucks. No German in classroom. No Maltese in classroom Q:If you no longer use this language on a daily basis, can you estimate how many years you spent learning or using it? A:Not applicable since I do use it. Q:Estimate how many hours of classroom instruction you had for this language A:None for either. Q:How much time have you spent living in a place where the language is spoken? A:I have never lived out side of the US. I visited Germany for two weeks and used almost exclusively German. I have never been to Malta. Q:Have you used the language to learn other subjects at school? at what level (elementary, secondary, university)? A:No. I didn't know either language in school. Q:Do you have personal or emotional attachments to this language? For example, do you have peers or family members who speak this language? A: Yes. I'm black so I have no ancestral or even modern ties to Germany. Initially, I learned German because I like metal music. However I've developed a fondness for Germans and their culture. I've even started reading poetry in German and I have never liked poetry but with German it's different. It's a language suited for poetry. With Maltese I haven't developed that yet because I've only just started with it. Q:Do/did you enjoy studying vocab and grammar in this language? A:Initially no, because I didn't understand it but now I do. However in small chunks. Q:Do you think of yourself as a person who likes to socialize? A:It depends on the people and whether we have things in common. Q:Are/were you a successful student in other school subjects? A: Yes, except for math and science. Q:Do you think of yourself as a person who learns a new language easily? A:Yes, but only because I'm able to learn from mistakes I've made when starting out with German. Q:Do you rather learn by speaking and being active, or reading, or studying vocab and grammar? A: I find I need to do both. Q:Do you think age plays any role in your language learning? A:Yes and no. Younger brains can pick up things more quickly than older brains but it's still possible for older people to learn languages. Q:Do you think only clever people can learn? people with a high IQ? A:No. Even retarded people learn their native language or at least to understand it to a certain degree. Q:Do you think there might be a language gene? A:No. Q:Do you think it's possible to get to a REAL native-like level? or at least a native- like pronunciation? A:Native pronunciation, yes. Native-level, no unless you live in the country for years and years. Hope this helps! 1 person has 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 12 24 September 2014 at 10:07pm | IP Logged |
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Q: how old were you when you first tried to learn a language?
A: If you don't count native English and heritage Portuguese, I was twelve when I started French. Q: did you have a choice about learning this language or were you required to learn it? A: I had to learn a language for school, but I had the choice among French, Spanish, Mandarin and Latin. Q: do you currently speak this language regularly? A: No, and I never have Q :do you regularly read this language for information or enjoyment? A: Yes, I listen to podcasts and read articles in French. Occasionally I'll read a book or watch a film, too. Q: how much of your learning experience with this language was in a foreign language classroom? A: I studied it for six years in school. Since then, I've continued to learn French independently for another five years, so far. Note, however, that this is extremely atypical among my languages. Of 20 languages of which I have some knowledge (I can't speak all 20), French is the ONLY one that I ever studied in any kind of a class. The rest are 100% independently learned. Q: if you no longer use this language on a daily basis, can you estimate how many years you spent learning or using it? A: Well, I spend six years using French daily in school. I'd say I use it weekly now, but never daily outside of those six years. Q: estimate how many hours of classroom instruction you had for this language A: About 1000. However, for all my other languages the number would be exactly zero. Q: how much timehave you spent living in a place where the language is spoken? A: None, I've only ever lived in the USA Q: have you used the language to learn other subjects at school? at what level (elementary, secondary, university)? A: Never Q: do you have personal or emotional attachments to this language? for example, do you have peers or family members who speak this language? A: Not really. My mother speaks French as a third language, and I've practiced with her before. I do speak a couple other languages with family ties, but also many with no personal connection. Q: do-did you enjoy studying vocab and grammar in this language?-do you think ofyourself as a person who likes to socialize? A: I enjoy studying vocab, but I don't enjoy studying grammar. I sometimes drill vocab but I try to learn grammar through exposure and using the language, to avoid having to study too much grammar. While I do enjoy socializing, I'm extremely introverted and socialize rather less than the average person. Q: are/were you a successful student in other school subjects? A: Yes, I don't think I've ever been as good at anything as I was at school. Q: do you think of yourself as a person who learns a new language easily? A: Relatively speaking, yes. It came naturally at first, and I've gotten better at it with experience. Perhaps my greatest advantages, though, are in (1) the ability to maintain a language without forgetting it, and (2) motivation. Q: do you rather learn by speaking and being active, or reading, or studying vocab and grammar? A: Mostly by reading and listening, although there is a place for all the above methods. Q: do you think age plays any role in your language learning? A: I'm in my 20s and haven't noticed any effect of aging on my learning so far. It's well established that younger learners are more successful, on average, than older learners. However, this might be offset by experience in the case of people who learn a lot of languages throughout their life. Q: do you think only clever people can learn? people with a high IQ? A: Of course not, this is demonstrably false. There is something called "language aptitude," which is sort of like an IQ test, but the questions are meant to highlight the types of intelligence that are useful for learning a language. Language aptitude scores correlate with learning outcomes, but they aren't the be-all and end-all. They are also correlated with cleverness/IQ, but not terribly strongly. Q: do you think there might be a language gene? A: I'm quite certain there is no "language gene;" this is a misunderstanding of how genetics works (I have a degree in biology, so I know something about the matter). There are genes that contribute to differences in people's ability to learn languages, and there are genes that help construct the neural apparatus that learns and uses languages. There may even be genes that, if they are disrupted, strongly compromise a person's language abilities while having only a minor effect on everything else. This last bit is the closest thing there could be to a "language gene," and it is still a matter of debate in the field. However, in any case, all these genes contribute to other things as well, and language depends on things that aren't genes. Q: do you think it's possible to get to a REAL native-like level? or at least a native- like pronounciation? A: It's definitely possible to become even better than a native speaker in terms of functional proficiency. You can learn to write more clearly, have a bigger vocabulary, get better reading comprehension, and speak more eloquently about a wider range of topics than a typical native speaker. It's also possible to get an accent that people will confuse for a native accent, but this is very rarely achieved by people who start learning as adults. I don't think it's possible to become indistinguishable from a native speaker in all aspects, or at least if it's possible, that hasn't been demonstrated to my satisfaction. Edited by robarb on 24 September 2014 at 10:13pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6596 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 5 of 12 24 September 2014 at 11:46pm | IP Logged |
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-how old were you when you first tried to learn a language? did you have a choice about learning this language or were you required to learn it?
English - 8 (and less serious learning before that), required German - 13, required (but I did make the choice to attend a linguistic lyceum, and I really wanted to learn German since about 11) Latin - 14, required Finnish - 15, not required I started the rest between 17 and 23, none of them was required -do you currently speak this language regularly? only while travelling -do you regularly read this language for information or enjoyment? yes (not in Latin or some of my non-fluent languages) -how much of your learning experience with this language was in a foreign language classroom? 60% for English, 80% for Latin, 30% for German, 5% for Portuguese -estimate how manyhours of classroom instruction you had for this language English: 9 years of 5-6 classes per week, and let's say 800 hours at university Latin: 300 hours Portuguese: 20 hours Italian: 3 hours (I have no idea how to estimate German) -how much timehave you spent living in a place where the language is spoken? never lived abroad, touristy stays of up to 3 weeks -have you used the language to learn other subjects at school? at what level (elementary, secondary, university)? we've had English-related classes in English, about the literature, culture studies (lyceum), lexicology (university). -do you have personal or emotional attachments to this language? for example, do you have peers or family members who speak this language? yes in all cases. usually through music, culture, travelling, later football do-did you enjoy studying vocab and grammar in this language?-do you think ofyourself as a person who likes to socialize? I like learning the vocabulary if it feels useful and natural and I can see myself using it. I prefer learning in context though. I used to love doing grammar excercises etc, but after Finnish and Latin everything else seems illogical, so I started learning from the context as well. -are/were you a successful student in other school subjects? languages have been the main subject throughout my education, alongside linguistics and information technologies. I also generally had a good understanding of maths, geography, chemistry, but my grades didn't always reflect that :P I have a strong interest in medicine and currently I'm learning about medicine online -do you think of yourself as a person who learns a new language easily? yes -do you rather learn by speaking and being active, or reading, or studying vocab and grammar? I prefer to start speaking when I can understand enough (how much is enough can vary, of course) -do you think age plays any role in your language learning? mostly in terms of pronunciation, enthusiasm, peer pressure. but adults have advantages too - we shouldn't forget how much time children spend learning basic facts about the world -do you think only clever people can learn? people with a high IQ? no, but traditional tools can be too complex or even intimidating. -do you think there might be a language gene? there's no single gene but everyone has their strong and weak sides. unfortunately classroom learning often fails to acknowledge the differences between different learners -do you think it's possible to get to a REAL native-like level? or at least a native- like pronounciation? yes Edited by Serpent on 24 September 2014 at 11:49pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| garyb Triglot Senior Member ScotlandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5206 days ago 1468 posts - 2413 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, French Studies: Spanish | Message 6 of 12 25 September 2014 at 10:52am | IP Logged |
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-how old were you when you first tried to learn a language?
Started doing French at school at 12. -did you have a choice about learning this language or were you required to learn it? Required. -do you currently speak this language regularly? Yes, perhaps once or twice per month. -do you regularly read this language for information or enjoyment? Yes. -how much of your learning experience with this language was in a foreign language classroom? Maybe 10%, qualitatively at least; probably more in terms of time but I didn't learn very much during that time. -if you no longer use this language on a daily basis, can you estimate how many years you spent learning or using it? N/A -estimate how many hours of classroom instruction you had for this language 5 years of high school a couple of hours a week... at a crude estimate (couple of hours per week for 38 weeks for 5 years) that's probably around 400... see comment about quality and quantity. -how much time have you spent living in a place where the language is spoken? A few weeks. -have you used the language to learn other subjects at school? at what level (elementary, secondary, university)? No. -do you have personal or emotional attachments to this language? for example, do you have peers or family members who speak this language? No. For that reason I'm more interested in other languages now. do-did you enjoy studying vocab and grammar in this language? Yes. -do you think of yourself as a person who likes to socialize? Yes, although I'm not very good at it. -are/were you a successful student in other school subjects? Yes. -do you think of yourself as a person who learns a new language easily? No, although I tend to pick up passive skills (listening and reading) fairly quickly. -do you rather learn by speaking and being active, or reading, or studying vocab and grammar? I need a mixture of everything in order to keep making progress. I'm not one of these people who can get good at speaking just by listening and reading a lot; I also need to practise speaking itself and study grammar. -do you think age plays any role in your language learning? I'm relatively young (twenties) and I do think at this age we can learn a bit faster than people a decade or two older. But it's also a busy time of life so finding enough free time for learning can be hard. -do you think only clever people can learn? people with a high IQ? No. -do you think there might be a language gene? No. -do you think it's possible to get to a REAL native-like level? or at least a native- like pronounciation? Yes, but it might take a few decades! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4706 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish | Message 7 of 12 25 September 2014 at 11:10am | IP Logged |
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-how old were you when you first tried to learn a language?
I was 2 years old when I started learning English, but of course that was a much more natural process than any kind of formal schooling. I lived abroad at the time (I am Dutch) so that means that I have had a similar development curve to regular anglophone toddlers for the years I spent in Canada. After that, I still used the language regularly, but spoke much less English for a couple years (then I turned 11 and went to middle school and it reverted to being a normal language). English aside, I started French at age 11. I will use this language for the examples because English really doesn't work as well comparatively given my ridiculous development curve as a non-native in that language. Practically it amounts to the same thing. -did you have a choice about learning this language or were you required to learn it? I had no choice. French was a compulsory school subject (so was German a year later and I also elected to study Latin). -do you currently speak this language regularly? Not very regularly, but sometimes. -do you regularly read this language for information or enjoyment? Yes. -how much of your learning experience with this language was in a foreign language classroom? I have spent about five years learning French in a classroom environment. -if you no longeruse this language on a daily basis, can you estimate how many years you spent learning or using it? Must be 6-7 years, really. -estimate how manyhours of classroom instruction you had for this language In the hundreds, maybe 600-700 hours? No idea. For German, the number is a bit less, for Latin the number is comparable. I also have a hundred or so hours of Russian evening classes. But the majority of my time in classroom environments comes from private tutoring nowadays and this is much better for me. -how much timehave you spent living in a place where the language is spoken? A bunch of holidays in France, 2 months living in Belgium, some years of travelling back and forth between the Netherlands and Belgium - loads of time. -have you used the language to learn other subjects at school? at what level (elementary, secondary, university)? No, my education was exclusively in Dutch and English. -do you have personal or emotional attachments to this language? for example, do you have peers or family members who speak this language? No, but I had an ex who did speak this language (and this goes for other languages). do-did you enjoy studying vocab and grammar in this language? Yes -do you think ofyourself as a person who likes to socialize? I don't think of myself in such broad generic stereotypes -are/were you a successful student in other school subjects? yes -do you think of yourself as a person who learns a new language easily? Sort of. Grammar and vocabulary came quick but that turned out not to be a guarantee for speaking. Nowadays after having tried some 15 languages I'd say yes, but that's due to experience and not some inborn talent. -do you rather learn by speaking and being active, or reading, or studying vocab and grammar? Language learning is a holistic process, so you need all aspects. -do you think age plays any role in your language learning? In terms of accent formation yes, in terms of cognitive comprehension not really. Perhaps children are more quickly taught to automatise certain processes because they are also learning a lot of other things that you have to learn as a child. Cognitively adults are ahead in their development. -do you think only clever people can learn? people with a high IQ? No and I don't even really think IQ relates to language learning that strongly -do you think there might be a language gene? no -do you think it's possible to get to a REAL native-like level? or at least a native- like pronounciation? yes and yes, but it takes a while. As for the pronunciation I am a living example (English) Edited by tarvos on 25 September 2014 at 11:18am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| theyweed Senior Member Poland Joined 3811 days ago 23 posts - 33 votes Speaks: English | Message 8 of 12 25 September 2014 at 1:06pm | IP Logged |
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Q: how old were you when you first tried to learn a language?
A: I was 10 when I first started English. 16, when first encountered German, 19 Chinese and 21 French Q: did you have a choice about learning this language or were you required to learn it? A: English and German were compulsory Q: Do you currently speak this language regularly? A: Not regularly, sometimes. Q :do you regularly read this language for information or enjoyment? A: I read in English everyday. Q: how much of your learning experience with this language was in a foreign language classroom? A: Nine years of studying English in school and three of German (with a predictable effect) and eight months of Chinese (The Confucius Institut – not as bad as school teaching, not perfect tho). French independently Q: estimate how many hours of classroom instruction you had for this language A: English – 1000 (wow, this estimation made me realize how much time I wasted attending the classes, of course it was mandatory, but imagine I’d spent this time learning myself…). German 300, Chinese 100. Q: how much timehave you spent living in a place where the language is spoken? A: Never lived outside my country, done some travelling though, but it doesn’t count, does it? Q: have you used the language to learn other subjects at school? at what level (elementary, secondary, university)? A: Never Q: do you have personal or emotional attachments to this language? for example, do you have peers or family members who speak this language? A: I used to. Had a chinese friend, but now she’s gone. Q: do-did you enjoy studying vocab and grammar in this language?-do you think of yourself as a person who likes to socialize? A: Not much that’s why I seek dependences (undertake, unternehmen; I HAVE eaten, j’AI mange etc.), which make language acquisition easier. Yes, I like to socialize, but rather within my group of friends. Q: are/were you a successful student in other school subjects? A: As far as high school is concerned yes, but when technical drawings showed up I realized I lack spatial intelligence, so I had tough nut to crack when it came to drawings. I guess I’m good at maths. Q: do you think of yourself as a person who learns a new language easily? A: I guess it depends on method one utilises. Haven’t found the perfect one yet, so I’d say I’m an average, regarding the question. Q: do you rather learn by speaking and being active, or reading, or studying vocab and grammar? A: Mostly by reading and listening Q: do you think age plays any role in your language learning? A: Only for acquirement of accent (I mean really good one fast) Q: do you think only clever people can learn? people with a high IQ? A: I see no correlation Q: do you think there might be a language gene? A: No, but there are others which I find indispensable to language acquisition. Being a tin ear will cause a problem with tonal languages and accent at all, lacking spatial intelligence and this elusive perception some have, the others do not will cause harder depiction as far as mnemonics are concerned etc. Q: do you think it's possible to get to a REAL native-like level? or at least a native- like pronounciation? A: listening, writing, reading yes. It’s also feasible to acquire better fluency and wider vocab. Pronounce kinda hard for an adult, imo. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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