Re: learning languages

serenebabe goes:

I had an interesting discussion with my husband today. He's learning
Chinese Mandarin. I'm blown away. He's sounding like he really speaks
Mandarin. He's even writing the characters.

Anyway, learning on the side as I am (as he practices I ask the
occasional question or he shares the occasional tidbit), I thought that
learning Mandarin would be 1000x harder than learning English.

How do you explain the fact that five-year-old Chinese children speak
Mandarin as well as five-year-old American children speak English?

Further into the discussion, though, I realized much of that has to do
with what I perceive as difficult about learning Mandarin. It seems to
me a language that requires an intense amount of rote (sp?)
memorization.

That's precisely how we all learned our mother tongue. It remains the
very best way of learning any language: do what they do, and say what
they say, as they say it.

One *sound* has 4 (or 5?) different inflections that each
change the meaning of the word, for example.

Imagining I knew nothing of English, though, I realized it might be
just as insanely difficult to learn.

Penny drops?

It's hard to get out of my own life experience where any of the
Latin-based languages seem pretty simple to pick up.

Do you know more than English? Do you think learning a non-Latin-based
language would be more difficult than learning a Latin-based language?

It depends how difficult you want to make it.

Curious about your thoughts.

I recommend learning foreign languages the way you learned your first
one, and if that's difficult to organise (how many families want to
take you in and talk to you lovingly all day long?) at least include a
portion of total-immersion in your learning.

Other tips:

Don't translate. Learn to speak using the words and constructions you
know. If you can't say it, don't try to say it. Say instead something
you can say, and hope that takes you part of the way.

Speak to your teacher and fellow students in your target language, and
insist they do the same. The teacher can explain points of grammar in
the class language quite easily, using examples. You *will* get it.

Spend time conversing with native speakers. If that's not possible,
watch movies, with subtitles if you like. Now that we have the
intertubes, it's also possible to watch streaming TV or listen to
radio in your language of choice. It won't mean much, but five or ten
minutes from time to time will attune your ear to the rhythms and
cadences of the language.

Every time you are called on to speak in your language of study, try
your best to sound like a native. You'll feel stupid at first, or
worry you may sound like you're taking the piss, but persevere. It's
what toddlers do, and explains why my children have never lived in
Scotland but have Scottish accents in English. It will help you form
words in your mouth, and it will make people open up to you when you
speak to them, because it is a sign you're making an effort instead of
a concession in speaking their tongue.

Good night.


--
AH
http://grapes2dot0.blogspot.com




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