Register  Login  Active Topics  Maps  

What is good enough?

 Language Learning Forum : General discussion Post Reply
79 messages over 10 pages: 1 2 35 6 7 ... 4 ... 9 10 Next >>
Tsopivo
Diglot
Senior Member
Canada
Joined 4265 days ago

258 posts - 411 votes 
Speaks: French*, English
Studies: Esperanto

 
 Message 25 of 79
23 December 2012 at 5:37am | IP Logged 
I think I have pretty low standards of what "good enough" is for me and like you, my goals really depend on the language.

For English, I am at C1 or C2 and it is good enough both at home and in the workplace in the bilingual environment of Montreal - I don't think it would be good enough for me in an English-speaking country. Every now and then I think that I should work on it until I reach near-native fluency but it is not a thought I have ever acted on.

In Spanish, I would like to reach a B2 level, especially if I get to travel in South America or in the Caribbeans as I want to. This is also the level I would like to reach in Esperanto. I would reevaluate upon reaching that level to see if I want to get to level C1 in any or both of them.

As for Portuguese or other languages, I would just dabble in the language before visiting a country where they are spoken so I would probably be satisfied at level A2.
1 person has voted this message useful



Chung
Diglot
Senior Member
Joined 6950 days ago

4228 posts - 8259 votes 
20 sounds
Speaks: English*, French
Studies: Polish, Slovak, Uzbek, Turkish, Korean, Finnish

 
 Message 26 of 79
23 December 2012 at 6:06am | IP Logged 
Solfrid Cristin wrote:
[...] So how about the rest of you. Do you need to be a C2 to be satisfied, is it enough with an A2 or does it, like in
my case, depend on the language?


I more or less answered this question in a thread started by the very same Solfrid Cristin...

In “When I am 64...” Solfrid Cristin wrote:
Yes, I have stolen the title from the famous song :-)

What languages do you think it is realistic for you to learn before you turn 64, and which languages would be your dream to learn before you turn 64? [...]
Chung wrote:
[...] I would like to have learned by age 64 Finnish, Polish and Slovak to more or less C1 as well have redeveloped by then my competency in German and Hungarian to B2 or C1. Bonus items are if I were to have by that age at least useful passive ability in Czech, Estonian and Northern Saami (somewhere between B1 and B2) but competency in Ukrainian corresponding to B1 or B2.


It depends on the language for me as it does for you, tante Cristina :-)
1 person has voted this message useful



stout
Senior Member
Ireland
Joined 5165 days ago

108 posts - 140 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: French

 
 Message 27 of 79
24 December 2012 at 4:47pm | IP Logged 
I am currently at level B1(intermediate) of French which is passable and workable.
I want to increase my level of French to a solid B2(upper intermediate) by the autumn
of 2016.

If I had the money it would be nice if I could return to live in France for around
eight months.Alternatively I could live in French-speaking Belgium for about 1 year.
That depends if the world economy starts to recover in the next few years.

Edited by stout on 24 December 2012 at 4:50pm

1 person has voted this message useful



sillygoose1
Tetraglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4430 days ago

566 posts - 814 votes 
Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French
Studies: German, Latin

 
 Message 28 of 79
24 December 2012 at 5:57pm | IP Logged 
stout wrote:
I am currently at level B1(intermediate) of French which is passable and workable.
I want to increase my level of French to a solid B2(upper intermediate) by the autumn
of 2016.

If I had the money it would be nice if I could return to live in France for around
eight months.Alternatively I could live in French-speaking Belgium for about 1 year.
That depends if the world economy starts to recover in the next few years.


How much time a day do you have for language learning?
2 persons have voted this message useful



tommus
Senior Member
CanadaRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5660 days ago

979 posts - 1688 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Dutch, French, Esperanto, German, Spanish

 
 Message 29 of 79
24 December 2012 at 7:04pm | IP Logged 
Solfrid Cristin wrote:
Do you need to be a C2 to be satisfied, is it enough with an A2 or does it, like in my case, depend on the language?

No, I don't need to be C2 to be satisfied because I am realistic in believing I will never achieve C2. I'll be satisfied with a comfortable conversational ability and a very good reading ability. Further satisfaction will be derived from continuing progress. For many who simply enjoy "learning" a second language, the learning itself is the satisfaction.

Another way to assess if you are where you want or need to be in your L2 ability is to use an expression that is often used in contracting:

    "Fit for purpose"

Is your L2 language ability fit for the purpose you need or want to use it for? If so, you probably will be satisfied.


1 person has voted this message useful



Darklight1216
Diglot
Senior Member
United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 4894 days ago

411 posts - 639 votes 
Speaks: English*, French
Studies: German

 
 Message 30 of 79
25 December 2012 at 4:43am | IP Logged 
I don't even know what my language proficiency is, but I wished that I did.

My goal for French is to reach the point in which native speakers don't have to dumb down their French or ask me to repeat or rephrase for comprehension.

After that, I'll add on an F2.
1 person has voted this message useful



ennime
Tetraglot
Senior Member
South Africa
universityofbrokengl
Joined 5698 days ago

397 posts - 507 votes 
Speaks: English, Dutch*, Esperanto, Afrikaans
Studies: Xhosa, French, Korean, Portuguese, Zulu

 
 Message 31 of 79
26 December 2012 at 9:15pm | IP Logged 
Personally I think what HTAL describes as "basic fluency" (I guess CEFR B area) is good enough for me, except in those languages that I need for work (basically English, and hopefully French at some point) where I strive for C1/2 "legendary" status. Though I think getting my French out of the B area of intermediacy is close to a christmas miracle...

Usually I'm happy when I get to B1, which is pretty much the hardest transition for me...

1 person has voted this message useful



ljones29
Triglot
Newbie
United States
Joined 4591 days ago

35 posts - 59 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, French
Studies: Arabic (Written), Greek

 
 Message 32 of 79
26 December 2012 at 10:49pm | IP Logged 
Well, as of right now, I'm at a low B1 in Spanish. I'd like to get to a comfortable B2.
My primary reason for learning is personal enjoyment. That being said, I'd like to get
to the point where my Spanish is useful enough to help someone, particularly on the job,
since they've already asked me if I can do that! I'd like for it to be a solid B2.
Plus the language is so beautiful, I can't stop with just B1! I need more, because I
love Spanish literature and Spanish music and I want to be able to engage deeply with
the language.


1 person has voted this message useful



This discussion contains 79 messages over 10 pages: << Prev 1 2 35 6 7 8 9 10  Next >>


Post ReplyPost New Topic Printable version Printable version

You cannot post new topics in this forum - You cannot reply to topics in this forum - You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum - You cannot create polls in this forum - You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page was generated in 7.3438 seconds.


DHTML Menu By Milonic JavaScript
Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved
No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization.