|
 |
Goal of reading and writing | ||
Share with:
| ||
 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| Kary Groupie Canada Joined 5945 days ago 85 posts - 113 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: French, Spanish, German | Message 1 of 4 23 July 2010 at 5:23pm | IP Logged | ||
|
If your main goal was to learn to read and write in a language, would your approach be different than if oral communication was your main goal? If so, how?
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| johntm93 Senior Member United States Joined 5123 days ago 587 posts - 746 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish | Message 2 of 4 26 July 2010 at 2:48am | IP Logged | ||
|
Yes, I wouldn't study the oral part. Maybe pronunciation because I "read aloud" in my head when reading. I wouldn't really work on pronunciation, as long as I had a sound to go with the word it'd be fine for me I imagine. Edited by johntm93 on 26 July 2010 at 2:49am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| anamsc Triglot Senior Member Andorra Joined 5999 days ago 296 posts - 382 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Catalan Studies: Arabic (Levantine), Arabic (Written), French | Message 3 of 4 26 July 2010 at 7:52am | IP Logged | ||
|
It depends. If the language is similar to one that you know, then you can just start reading with a dictionary. That's how I gained a reading knowledge of Portuguese. If it's not similar to any languages you know, then I have no idea how you'd go about it! :)
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| frenkeld Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6739 days ago 2042 posts - 2719 votes Speaks: Russian*, English Studies: German | Message 4 of 4 26 July 2010 at 8:48am | IP Logged | ||
If I only wanted to read and write, one obvious difference from pursuing all four language skills is that I wouldn't have to spend many hours training my ear for listening comprehension. I also wouldn't have to spend the time required to make my accent acceptable to native speakers, especially if the target language had some difficult sounds. It would still be my personal preference to take the time to get familiar with the spelling system (in an alphabet-based writing system), and I would still want to listen to the recordings of the dialogs and/or reading passages while going through a foundational course. It would be a smaller investment than full-blown oral communication, and this way I wouldn't be entirely clueless about the way the language sounds and how the words are to be pronounced. Others might not care and would dispense with this part. I would start with a foundational course or textbook. If I wanted to start writing soon, I would choose a traditional textbook, where each lesson covers the new grammar points and contains a text or a dialog to read, a word list, and translation exercises. If I planned on learning to read well before tackling writing, I would feel free to choose between a traditional textbook and a course based on a more intuitive approach (Assimil or another textbook along the same lines, with bilingual format and some grammar notes). Among other things, the choice would depend on the language in question. (For some languages there are textbooks or grammars geared specifically towards reading, which could be a third choice.) Half-way through the textbook, or even sooner, I would start on graded readers. At some point I would start reading authentic materials with a dictionary. Many people would follow up on graded readers with bilingual editions and annotated/glossaried editions before launching into authentic sources without aides of this sort. Vocabulary acquisition is the key here - I would try to find a technique that is efficient and works well for me. A traditional foundational course would get me going with writing, but even as I was getting my feet wet communicating in writing, I would still want to learn more about the grammar of the language and go through some grammar workbooks, especially if there were no one available to correct my writing regularly. If I had used a course based on an intuitive approach, I would study grammar, with exercises, before starting to write. (I might have also gone back to basics, gone though a traditional textbook at this point, and then continued with a more advanced grammar.) Reading alone could be done in more cowboy ways, especially for a language close to another one you know. Writing requires more precision and discipline, either up front or at a later stage. Added: Some additonal reading techniques were discussed in another thread. Edited by frenkeld on 26 July 2010 at 7:35pm 3 persons have voted this message useful |
If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login. If you are not already registered you must first register
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
