too old to teach an old dog new tricks
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Amongst many others, i have had two regrets in life. Not knowing a foreign language and not knowing how to play a musical instrument.
If you haven’t started a new language by the age of 10, you have no chance of achieving fluency and that even basic learning abilities fade by 17 or 18.
That leaves me with a musical intrument…a mouth organ or the penny whistle comes to mind.
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/brain-learning-music-language-efficient-research-baycrests-rotman-research-institute-a8356886.htmlNow i now why i am dumbIf you’ve taken the time to learn music or to speak another language, you’ve also trained your brain into being more efficient, according to a new study.
Quote:If you haven’t started a new language by the age of 10, you have no chance of achieving fluency and that even basic learning abilities fade by 17 or 18.I read that too but I don't believe it as it's belied by the facts. Millions and millions of the world's opulation are bilingual but I suppose the get-out clause is that they haven't achieved "fluency" in the second language. But what is fluency? The bar here seems to have been set very high, as the ability to understand, speak, write, read and think in the second language to the same standard as your first. Maybe only a few achieve that but that's not necessary as long as you can understand and read it and make yourself understood in it in speech.
alanjjohnstone wrote:If you haven’t started a new language by the age of 10, you have no chance of achieving fluency and that even basic learning abilities fade by 17 or 18.This is absolute bullshit. Es totalmente falso! Most western European languages are much more closely related than most people would realise. The trouble is that most language teaching methods are really awful, and the language learning industry is plagued with cowboys. Lots of people learn how to communicate sufficiently in a second language in adult life. I think the experience of language lessons in schools just leaves most people feeling like it's something they can't do. Some studies I've seen referenced show that adults can actually learn grammar rules quicker than children – we've already been through the process once.Speaking from experience, that Duolingo App isn't really going to help you much apart from to find out if you're interested enough to put the work in. It's just a memory game with no explanation of how the language works or guidance on how to make the phonetic sounds that you'll need to speak. He's right though that practice is best done little and often.I'm surprised AJ isn't bilingual. It shouldn't be too hard to find someone that will trade help with English for help in the native language. I've been doing this with Spanish speakers and my ability is noticeably improving month on month.Mirar este, es muy interesante:www.languagetransfer.org
Alan, you underestimate yourself, my guess is you are already bi-lingual. You can clearly read, write, speak and think in English, I would also hazzard a guess that you can do the same in the Old Northumbrian derived language of Scots, so dinnae fesh yersel, bonny laddie!
I think different people are wired up differently and that while age may very well be a factor in acquiring language skills it is not the only factor. I am crap at language and always have been. I failed in Afrikaans in my matriculation exams in South Africa and had to do a resit while doing military conscripition. Its only becuase the lengua franca of the South African army was mainly Afrikaans that I managed to acquire a few more words and scrape a pass. Another example. I moved to Spain in 2004 but still cant speak the lingo fluently despite having a Spanish wife! Bloody embarrassing!
robbo203 wrote:I am crap at language and always have been.I don't think that's true. I just think most foreign language teaching is bad. Have a look at the Language Transfer Spanish course in the link I posted above. They use a very effective method, one that you wont really come across in other places. It's an entirely free, voluntary project ran by a guy that is now living in Barcelona. Here's a video of him teach Spaniards English: https://www.facebook.com/languagetransfer/videos/10153047250840431/
DJP wrote:robbo203 wrote:I am crap at language and always have been.I don't think that's true. I just think most foreign language teaching is bad. Have a look at the Language Transfer Spanish course in the link I posted above. They use a very effective method, one that you wont really come across in other places. It's an entirely free, voluntary project ran by a guy that is now living in Barcelona. Here's a video of him teach Spaniards English: https://www.facebook.com/languagetransfer/videos/10153047250840431/
Thanks DJP. I'll give it a go although Im not too optimistic about the chances of a significant breakthrough. Mind you if it does work the missus will be pleased. She's Spanish and has had to put up with Spanish subtitles for films on the telly all these years. Her english is a lot better than my spanish even though she's not quite fluent in it
There is not an age to learn another language or languages, and there is no age to learn a new profession.Ironically the best language schools were the correspondence schools ( like Hemphill Schools and National Schools,) and radio programs when Radio was the king, especially shortwave radios The BBC London Radio and Moscow Radio had very good programs to teach another language, and they had very good teachersOur school system is not teaching properly, and there are some countries like the USA where there is a large aberration against learning a new language, they are called foreign language, there is no such thing as a foreign language, it is a form of communication among human beings. They think that English is the key to everything, it is just pure nationalistic stupidity, in Europe, many peoples are able to speak more than one languageIn the old school system, it was mandatory to learn at least two languages, and French was the language used for diplomacy. The French Alliance had a very efficient system to teach French, and classes were given at several French Embassy It took thousands of years for human beings to learn to talk and to articulate a language and to develop the vocal cords
I got taught French at school and i agree with the comment the method was flawed. It was based on written grammar rather than speaking the language, Geez, at the time i don't know what a past an present participle is in English was much less in French….and who cared for the gender of the noun. We all know that pronunciation depends on context … if we are at the harbour…and i talk of a sheep…i think people will know i mean ship…The Two Ronnies succeed in highlighting that with fork handles sketchesI have travelled a lot and i live in two foreign nations. I can survive and i can get around with a very limited vocabulary and plenty of sign language gesturingFluency though means being able to have conversations and exchanges at an abstract and complex level ….such as discussing socialism and politics.Strange though…no many are replying to the other regret of mine….no music skills…i do know a couple of members who took up the saxophone in later life…i wonder why that instrument is chosen
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