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Learning languages in your own country | ||
Tags: Place to learn | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5143 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes  Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian | Message 1 of 10 17 December 2010 at 11:14am | IP Logged | |||||
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Which languages have you learned - do I dare say it - to fluency, without living in the country where the language is spoken? I ask because the only language I feeel I have learned well, without having prolonged stays in the country of origin, is English, which doesn't really count as we are practically invaded by the English language on a daily basis. French and Spanish and Italian I learned "in situ" and the one language I learned in Norway, German, is the one I struggle the most with. My attempts at learning Russian from home feels like running my head against a brick wall. I have come to the conclusion that I am not really made for learning languages at school/self study.I need to live in the country.
Which languages have you had success with learning from home, and how have you done it? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Nguyen Senior Member Vietnam Joined 4902 days ago 109 posts - 195 votes Speaks: Vietnamese | Message 2 of 10 17 December 2010 at 12:00pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I am just starting Japanese, but, I haven't really studied without being in a country either. It seems as though alot of people have done well here though. We have alot of English here too though but I lived in America for awhile. English learners will certainly find abundant resources.
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| Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5190 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian | Message 3 of 10 17 December 2010 at 4:51pm | IP Logged | |||||
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It's definitely possible, but it depends on the type of fluency you are aiming for.
I've been actively studying Japanese for 2 years and a bit. I've been meeting regularly with native speakers since about 6 months into my study and recently, I've started chatting with natives using Skype. I jump at every opportunity to speak it and I try never to revert back to English. I consider myself "fluent" insofar as I can enjoy conversations with natives and express myself with relative ease. Natives say so too. However, if you are talking about the kind of fluency a person would reach if they lived in the country and worked at a job where a high level of proficiency was required, then I too have my doubts. For instance, I perceive a difference between the level needed to translate from a language (probably achievable without living there) and the level needed to translate into it or to do interpretation from or into it, the latter most likely not being reachable without living there. I do wonder though how close a person could get to it if they really made a consciencious effort to seek as much exposure as possible. It's certainly not the kind of thing a person could do while studying other languages. Edited by Arekkusu on 17 December 2010 at 4:59pm 4 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| CheeseInsider Bilingual Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4931 days ago 193 posts - 238 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin* Studies: French, German | Message 4 of 10 17 December 2010 at 7:07pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I have not done so, but I'm interested to see what others have to say and am going to follow this. Good post Solfrid :)
1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
 budonoseito Pro Member United States budobeyondtechnRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5614 days ago 261 posts - 344 votes Studies: French, Japanese Personal Language Map | Message 5 of 10 17 December 2010 at 8:02pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I hope to be able to achieve conversation ability without leaving the USA. I think with
the technology today (I.E. IM and Skype) greatly increases the level you can attain without travel. I am going up to Ottawa, ON, Canada in July. So, I have some motivation to up my French to practice in a natural setting. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5190 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian | Message 6 of 10 17 December 2010 at 8:39pm | IP Logged | |||||
You might have to cross the river... 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| budonoseito Pro Member United States budobeyondtechnRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5614 days ago 261 posts - 344 votes Studies: French, Japanese Personal Language Map | Message 8 of 10 17 December 2010 at 9:40pm | IP Logged | |||||
Yes, two ferry rides into Kingston. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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