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Learning a language only through speaking

  Tags: Speaking
 Language Learning Forum : General discussion Post Reply
19 messages over 3 pages: 1 2 3  Next >>
albysky
Triglot
Senior Member
Italy
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287 posts - 393 votes 
Speaks: Italian*, English, German

 
 Message 1 of 19
02 February 2015 at 5:22pm | IP Logged 
Do you think it is possible to learn a language ,as adults ,at a high level alomst only through speaking ? I
think it is very uneffective and It also depends on the language , for instance an Italian learning Spanish or
french has for sure more chances to succeed than an Italian learning German or Russian , yet I think it is
inefficient . I am bewildered at how many Italians think that to learn English very well you have throw
yourself in London for instance , maybe doing jobs like dishwashers with very few interaction , after all if
your language skills are very limited , whar else can you do ? They don 't understand that they 'll
waste a lot of time and that it can also be frustrating . Yet , when I try to persuade them of the
importance of building yourself up through reading , listening, grammar and vocab study etc , I get
laughed at .

Edited by albysky on 02 February 2015 at 5:36pm

2 persons have voted this message useful



tastyonions
Triglot
Senior Member
United States
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Speaks: English*, French, Spanish
Studies: Italian

 
 Message 2 of 19
02 February 2015 at 5:45pm | IP Logged 
It is certainly possible, in my opinion, and could be perfectly effective, but the hard part would be finding people with the time and patience to give you systematically more complex input, cover a broad enough range of topics to give you a useful vocabulary, give you periodic reviews, and so on: all things that would be easier and more convenient with other methods. I doubt you could get it solely through a job as a dishwasher, but maybe if you found the right person willing to take you under their wing.
3 persons have voted this message useful



Ari
Heptaglot
Senior Member
Norway
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Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese
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 Message 3 of 19
02 February 2015 at 5:53pm | IP Logged 
Sure, people have done this throughout history. I would find it very inefficient and extremely frustrating, however. But if you're a linguist in the Amazon you might not have a choice.

In my experience, the "You have to live in the country" schtick is usually just an excuse not to learn a language. "Yeah, I'd love to learn French, but, y'know, ya gotta live in the coutry to really learn to speak a language, whatcha gonna do?"
5 persons have voted this message useful



eyðimörk
Triglot
Senior Member
France
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Speaks: Swedish*, English, French
Studies: Breton, Italian

 
 Message 4 of 19
02 February 2015 at 5:56pm | IP Logged 
I think that it depends on how you define "high level".

I've met plenty of adults who learned to speak a foreign language to a good standard primarily through listening and conversation.

But, if by "high level" you mean mastering the language in order to deliver quality rhetoric and to consider the nuances of various expressions and registers, my answer is no. Natives require schooling, in the form of extensive reading and writing exercises, to get there. Not every native with a secondary school diploma will get there. I don't see how you might get there mostly orally, unless you've found yourself one of the last of the oral epic poets to study under.
1 person has voted this message useful



albysky
Triglot
Senior Member
Italy
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Speaks: Italian*, English, German

 
 Message 5 of 19
02 February 2015 at 6:03pm | IP Logged 
tastyonions wrote:
It is certainly possible, in my opinion, and could be perfectly effective, but the hard
part would be finding people with the time and patience to give you systematically more complex input,
cover a broad enough range of topics to give you a useful vocabulary, give you periodic reviews, and so
on: all things that would be easier and more convenient with other methods. I doubt you could get it solely
through a job as a dishwasher, but maybe if you found the right person willing to take you under their
wing.


Yes under these circumstances It can be doable, but very unlikely to happen , Unless you have enough
money to pay for professional tutors or teachers to assist you for hundreds of hours . I have still doubts on
its effeciency though.
1 person has voted this message useful



albysky
Triglot
Senior Member
Italy
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Joined 4387 days ago

287 posts - 393 votes 
Speaks: Italian*, English, German

 
 Message 6 of 19
02 February 2015 at 6:05pm | IP Logged 
Ari wrote:
Sure, people have done this throughout history. I would find it very inefficient and extremely
frustrating, however. But if you're a linguist in the Amazon you might not have a choice.

In my experience, the "You have to live in the country" schtick is usually just an excuse not to learn a
language. "Yeah, I'd love to learn French, but, y'know, ya gotta live in the coutry to really learn to speak a
language, whatcha gonna do?"


I also think that such statements belie an excuse, thank god most of the people learn common languages ,
so they do have a choice.

Edited by albysky on 02 February 2015 at 6:18pm

1 person has voted this message useful



albysky
Triglot
Senior Member
Italy
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Joined 4387 days ago

287 posts - 393 votes 
Speaks: Italian*, English, German

 
 Message 7 of 19
02 February 2015 at 6:15pm | IP Logged 
eyðimörk wrote:
I think that it depends on how you define "high level".

I've met plenty of adults who learned to speak a foreign language to a good standard primarily through
listening and conversation.

But, if by "high level" you mean mastering the language in order to deliver quality rhetoric and to consider
the nuances of various expressions and registers, my answer is no. Natives require schooling, in the form
of extensive reading and writing exercises, to get there. Not every native with a secondary school diploma
will get there. I don't see how you might get there mostly orally, unless you've found yourself one of the
last of the oral epic poets to study under.


By" high level" I mean B2 upwards . What you said makes perfectly sense to me . B2 /C1 is certainly not
mastery , but it still requires a lot of commitment and I strongly doubt you can get there if your interactions
are those of a dishwashers or even those of a waiter .
1 person has voted this message useful



patrickwilken
Senior Member
Germany
radiant-flux.net
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1546 posts - 3200 votes 
Studies: German

 
 Message 8 of 19
02 February 2015 at 6:17pm | IP Logged 
One problem is that your vocabulary, and presumably your grammar, are just going to be weaker if you don't read:



Edited by patrickwilken on 02 February 2015 at 6:21pm



6 persons have voted this message useful



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