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A new language in 2 weeks? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| Impiegato Triglot Senior Member Sweden bsntranslation. Joined 5220 days ago 100 posts - 145 votes  Speaks: Swedish*, English, Italian Studies: Spanish, French, Russian | Message 9 of 58 02 May 2010 at 3:11pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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There are no such methods. What do you mean by "learning" it? Being able to cope with all kinds of situations - including the dentist, discuss gardening issues with neighbours or even experts, understand legal texts or information from a court, read all sorts of novels etc? Just think of this: how many words can you learn in one day and how many words do you think it will require to achieve basic fluency?
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| Akalabeth Groupie Canada Joined 5306 days ago 83 posts - 112 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Japanese | Message 10 of 58 02 May 2010 at 5:50pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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If it's just immersion + classes then I'd have to see it to believe it. Immersion can only take you so far so fast. I mean, say you've been studying your language to an intermediate level already, and decide to go to some country for two weeks and avoid all English while you're there. It would help a ton, but I'd be skeptical if many people claimed to be fully fluent after that experience. Starting from scratch doesn't make me less skeptical.
This guy immerses himself in different languages all the time, and he gives himself three months, with varying degrees of success. Not saying it's impossible, and not saying it wouldn't help, but I don't see it being as effective as they claim for the average person. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5343 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 11 of 58 02 May 2010 at 7:46pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
I guess they "Work Hard, Pray Hard"! ;) Edited by Teango on 02 May 2010 at 7:50pm 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Splog Diglot Senior Member Czech Republic anthonylauder.c Joined 5456 days ago 1062 posts - 3263 votes Speaks: English*, Czech Studies: Mandarin | Message 12 of 58 02 May 2010 at 8:25pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I am sure it is very true, but in the same sense that Michel Thomas could teach you a language in 12 hours. With a great teacher and enthusiastic students you can learn a great deal in a very short time. Remember, though, that language learning has "a long tail". That is, you make great - and very exciting - progress at the beginning (going from "zero to hero") - but the real hard slog is int the long march through intermediate and beyond and that doesn't take magic "secrets" but rather serious commitment and a lot of effort.
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| Cainntear Pentaglot Senior Member Scotland linguafrankly.blogsp Joined 5798 days ago 4399 posts - 7687 votes Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*, French, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic Studies: Catalan, Italian, German, Irish, Welsh | Message 13 of 58 02 May 2010 at 8:31pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Yes, but given that he was a polyglot who (according to Wikipedia) "could speak six European languages and read Latin and classical Greek", he's hardly typical. According to this site, he could speak "French, German, Swiss German and Polish" (and presumably English!) by the time he was 10. "As an adult he picked up Russian, Swedish, Danish, Italian, Spanish, Some Turkish and Modern Greek". Without knowing whether he learnt Swedish or Danish first, it's hard to say how impressive a feat his Swedish was. Also, due to the records of his obsessive study of the Linear B script even as a child, it has been speculated that he had Asperger's syndrome, which puts him in the same "super-learner" bracket as people like Daniel Tammett. If you want to prove that anyone can be taught a new language in two weeks (as this school does), he isn't evidence of that 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| datsunking1 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5372 days ago 1014 posts - 1533 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Russian, Dutch, French | Message 14 of 58 02 May 2010 at 9:52pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
His name wouldn't be Yulian Lutsiv would it? :D 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| s_allard Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5217 days ago 2704 posts - 5425 votes Speaks: French*, English, Spanish Studies: Polish | Message 15 of 58 02 May 2010 at 10:40pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Learn a language in two weeks? 10 hours a day, one-on-one instruction, living in the language, all expenses paid plus my regular salary. Sounds like a great way to learn a language. Wow, if only I could get my boss to agree! Man, I would learn a helluva lot of Mandarin in that time. Now, the only problem I see, and something that we grapple with endlessly in this forum, is what do we mean by speaking a language. I'm not even going to attempt to define such a complicated thing. So, since I really want to convince my boss, I'm going to say yes, I believe one can learn a language in two weeks. For whatever that's worth.
Now, I also believe that Michel Thomas's Advanced Spanish course will turn me into a fluent advanced Spanish speaker in three months, and I can get it on Ebay for $40. Who says learning languages is complicated? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| vb Octoglot Senior Member Afghanistan Joined 6209 days ago 112 posts - 135 votes Speaks: English, Romanian, French, Polish, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish Studies: Russian, Swedish | Message 16 of 58 02 May 2010 at 11:29pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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This kind of thing is the subject of endless speculation, and will continue to be so, until full and frank accounts are made available (ie. studies are written up by academics, with plenty of evidence).
What is required is: - a test subject, reputed to be a very quick language learner, and accredited researcher, independent of the subject - trustworthy and thorough account of the subject's language abilities prior to undergoing the course - a language-learning course based on analysis of those methods preferred by expert learners (people who have claimed to have learnt languages in double-quick time) - an exhaustive account of the subject's interaction with the language course and work out-of-hours (precise timings, transcripts etc.) - thorough psychological testing, brain scans before the experiment (is the subject highly unusual in any respect) - thorough testing, brain scans after the experiment (does language learning bring about plastic changes in the brain) - exhaustive testing of the subject's language skills throughout the course 'The Exceptional brain: neuropsychology of talent and special abilities - Loraine K. Obler, Deborah Fein' takes a very close look at the make-up of a reputedly very strong language learner, but does not get the subject to flex his language learning muscles. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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