Languages

[Jen]

I don't think one should be FORCED to learn a language. A choice is cool, but that's all it should be. There are MANY people who will, in their life, have absolutely NO need for a second language, and if that happens, then schooling was just wasted when it could be teaching students something that would be relevant later in life. That said, there are careers that do need it, but those that embark on said careers are the ones that are ever dedicated, and DID take the classes when given the option.

But that's the thing, school rarely teaches you anything that's relevant in later life. I think that learning a language is far more relevant than most things. A lot of people go into different countries for different reasons, like holidays and studying. It also gives employability a boost, a lot of companies love it if you can speak a different language fluently. I'm not saying introduce it right from being an infant, but I think it would be beneficial for it to be introduced at some point during a child's first school.

 

[KennedyKiller]

You forgot to add "English". Many English people in English-speaking countries may never need a second language, but everywhere else you should really learn English or else life will be difficult. (Unless you work as a sanitation worker, but then you don't need much in the way of education anyway.)

But don't even get me started on the school system. School teaches you so many useless things while leaving out the important stuff. Around here you don't learn how to run a household, operate a computer, make a tax declaration, etc., but instead you learn how to calculate the volume of an unnecessarily complicated object that doesn't even exist in real life, things you will never be asked to do again once you leave school for good, unless you become an engineer or something, in which case you learn it in your training anyway. I'd say a second language is still more useful than that.

But that's the thing, school rarely teaches you anything that's relevant in later life. I think that learning a language is far more relevant than most things. A lot of people go into different countries for different reasons, like holidays and studying. It also gives employability a boost, a lot of companies love it if you can speak a different language fluently. I'm not saying introduce it right from being an infant, but I think it would be beneficial for it to be introduced at some point during a child's first school.

I agree that the public education system is a crock. I'll NEVER give it credit. Hell, I learned FAR more living on the streets than I ever did in school, however, learning a second language without choice would be just as harmful as teaching them the OTHER useless subjects, because then they will go to resent the language. People are happier if they have a choice. When people are happier, they're more productive. More productive means greater things get accomplished. So all in all, choices are a key element here.

 

[Cheer]

I can speak Arabic because its my mother language and I can speak English thanks to movies and video games.

 

[AgentZero]

The only language I haven't learned is English . . .
But no, I'm currently learning Latin.

 

[ArabPikachu]

Do you think it's important to understand foreign languages, or are you entirely happy with your own?

I'm of the belief that humans are made to be multilingual

 

[La Femme Fatale]

I don't think one should be FORCED to learn a language. A choice is cool, but that's all it should be. There are MANY people who will, in their life, have absolutely NO need for a second language, and if that happens, then schooling was just wasted when it could be teaching students something that would be relevant later in life.

I agree somewhat - for countries that are unilingual.

I'm from Canada though and here we have two official languages - French (Quebecois, really) and English. I can't even begin to describe how bloody difficult it is to find a good job if you don't speak both languages. I can hold a conversation in French, so I've been a bit luckier than those who speak very little, but the sky is really the limit if a Canadian is entirely fluent in both languages. I mean - I really wished my teachers had stressed how important knowing French really was. That's why I think it's crucial for both languages to be taught in Canadian schools, regardless of whether the kid wants to take it or not.

But yes, if the country is unilingual, then I'd say learning other languages should be an option, not something that is forced.

 

[Romero]

I can speak Japanese

That's most impressive unless someone in your family speaks the language natively.

I'm from S. Korea and I'm trying to learn and become fluent in English as fast as possible. I'm studying like 50 new words a day... It's really hard for me to learn it. Any tips how to learn it faster :/?
I have feeling like I'll never understand English very well. I also tried to learn Russian but it was way hard for me, I took about 20 words a day then one day I lost interests and I stopped. And that's when I said "I must become fluent in English, no matter what.."

Honestly, I've heard a couple of different teachers say the FASTEST way to learn a new language, would be to watch a TV show you're very familiar with in your native language, then watch it over and over in the language you would like to learn as well...I've personally never tried it, but it's an interesting Idea.

Learning by watching TV works well for me, most foreign programs/shows are in English, and it helps to listen and read the subtitles simultaneously. Luckily no foreign shows are dubbed in Norwegian, it's always Norwegian subtitles no matter what the original language is. Except shows for small children, they can of course not read any subtitles. But dubbing makes it a weird experience, partly because the lips are totally out of sync, and partly because few voice actors are as good as the "real" actors.

I learned English by talking with foreign students at high school, and by watching TV. I had English class in primary school only, and I hardly learned an English word there. The school, teachers, and fellow pupils all sucked, and I suppose I did too.
Now, you forum mates are my English teachers. I still get better bit by bit, and perhaps pick up bad habits as well lol.

My native language is Norwegian. I speak Swedish and English but not fluently (semi-fluently at best). I read Swedish, Danish and English very well. I find it a little difficult understanding spoken Danish though. I can somewhat write Swedish and Danish, but not nearly as well as I write English.

Fun fact: Sometimes it can be hard to understand what Brits and Scots are saying, it can be easier to understand non-native English speakers speaking English...

 

[Hel]

I understand both British and American English just fine, but Scots are another story altogether. I'm currently watching the "Outlander" TV series, based on Diana Gabaldon's book of the same name, which tells the story of a British combat nurse from World War II accidentally travelling back in time to 18th century Scotland. Needless to say, most characters there are Scots, and even after seven episodes, I still have trouble understanding them when they talk. As if it wasn't already hard enough to know one's way around a foreign country at a different time... I mean, it's been over 200 years, do you really expect me to still remember in detail what it was like in the world of the living back then?

Anyway, when the story moved away from the Scots in one recent episode and featured a society of British soldiers instead, I realised for the first time in forever just how easy the English language really is... provided it's not a Scot speaking.

 

[KennedyKiller]

That's most impressive unless someone in your family speaks the language natively.





Learning by watching TV works well for me, most foreign programs/shows are in English, and it helps to listen and read the subtitles simultaneously. Luckily no foreign shows are dubbed in Norwegian, it's always Norwegian subtitles no matter what the original language is. Except shows for small children, they can of course not read any subtitles. But dubbing makes it a weird experience, partly because the lips are totally out of sync, and partly because few voice actors are as good as the "real" actors.

I learned English by talking with foreign students at high school, and by watching TV. I had English class in primary school only, and I hardly learned an English word there. The school, teachers, and fellow pupils all sucked, and I suppose I did too.
Now, you forum mates are my English teachers. I still get better bit by bit, and perhaps pick up bad habits as well lol.

My native language is Norwegian. I speak Swedish and English but not fluently (semi-fluently at best). I read Swedish, Danish and English very well. I find it a little difficult understanding spoken Danish though. I can somewhat write Swedish and Danish, but not nearly as well as I write English.

Fun fact: Sometimes it can be hard to understand what Brits and Scots are saying, it can be easier to understand non-native English speakers speaking English...

Nope, no one in my family is Japanese, or can speak the language Also, I would have NO idea that English wasn't your native language based on how you talk here...It's impeccable...

 

[Romero]

Most Brits are easy to understand, but they have some dialects that's hard to understand. But it also depends a lot on the person speaking, not just the dialect. Their queen and BBC news readers talks perfectly, very easy to understand.

Nope, no one in my family is Japanese, or can speak the language Also, I would have NO idea that English wasn't your native language based on how you talk here...It's impeccable...

Really? Thank you so much for the compliment.

But learning a language very different from one's native language has to be so much harder. Japanese, Chinese, and all those languages outside the Latin alphabet... Greek and Russian is hard, but the Cyrillic alphabet is at least somewhat similar to the Latin alphabet.

 

[Hel]

But learning a language very different from one's native language has to be so much harder. Japanese, Chinese, and all those languages outside the Latin alphabet... Greek and Russian is hard, but the Cyrillic alphabet is at least somewhat similar to the Latin alphabet.

Yeah, especially because Greek and Russian people use letters, not syllables, or entire words even!

Sorry, but I still can't get over the news that the Japanese have three f*cking alphabets...

 

[Romero]

Sorry, but I still can't get over the news that the Japanese have three f*cking alphabets...

The Chinese got at least two; traditional and simplified set of scripts. Simple? Ha!

 

[Jen]

Most Brits are easy to understand, but they have some dialects that's hard to understand. But it also depends a lot on the person speaking, not just the dialect. Their queen and BBC news readers talks perfectly, very easy to understand.

I'm English and I don't understand all the dialects either haha Some have very thick accents.

 

[Romero]

I'm English and I don't understand all the dialects either haha Some have very thick accents.

Haha, I understand. We have hundreds of dialects in Norway, several of them sounds like... like nothing else. Many dialects don't just have their own way of pronouncing words, they also often have special custom words that doesn't exist anywhere else in the country. And they still call it Norwegian!

 

[Jen]

Many dialects don't just have their own way of pronouncing words, they also often have special custom words that doesn't exist anywhere else in the country.

Same here. For example, a bread roll is called different things in different counties. They're called breadcakes, teacakes, cobs, baps, rolls... It's crazy

 

[Maestro]

Well, my first language is Polish, quite funny to hearing (some people said it's like snake's hissing- so if you speak Polish, you can accidentally open Chambers of Secrets ), however it's a quite hard language to learn (not only because of pronouncing, but grammar is also twisted as hell). Besides, I'm speaking also in English, not very good, but still I'm trying to increase my skills, through chatting, watching films, reading books etc.- effects you can judge by yourselves Also I can understand some phrases in German, Japanese and Latina language.

Languages which one I would like to learn... Hm, Finnish and Spanish, that's for sure

By the way, Hel, in Japanese alphabet Kanji you can find more than 50 000 signs, however almost 40 000 are only historic, not used in normal life, 10 000 are used in "special" areas like engineering, technology, medicine etc. In school, Japanese children learning "only" 1945 signs in 6 years of school, if my book to learn Kanji says true

 

[Hel]

But if a Kanji represents an entire word, and you only learn about 2,000 of them in school, doesn't that mean the average Japanese's vocabulary is extremely limited? Even 50,000 doesn't sound like a lot.

 

[Maestro]

No, it's not limited, because... In Kanji, you can also join two or more signs, and then you'll have a new word. And every Kanji sign have two or more way to read it: Japanese and Chinese usually. Simply example:

Country- in Japanaese reading, Kanji is 国, reading "kuni", in Chinese the same sign reading "koku"
Love- sign is 愛, which one you read "Ai"

And now... What happened, when you join "country" and "love"? "PATRIOTIC" So, our new word you writing 愛国, and reading "Aikoku". Of course this is only very simple example of this system, and it's not works so obviously in all language, but now you can more or less see how it's look

 

[AgentZero]

No, it's not limited, because... In Kanji, you can also join two or more signs, and then you'll have a new word. And every Kanji sign have two or more way to read it: Japanese and Chinese usually. Simply example:

Country- in Japanaese reading, Kanji is 国, reading "kuni", in Chinese the same sign reading "koku"
Love- sign is 愛, which one you read "Ai"

And now... What happened, when you join "country" and "love"? "PATRIOTIC" So, our new word you writing 愛国, and reading "Aikoku". Of course this is only very simple example of this system, and it's not works so obviously in all language, but now you can more or less see how it's look

You seem very intelligent when it comes to languages, Maestro.

 

[Maestro]

Thanks a lot, but it's not an intelligence, but just reading a lot of books . Sometimes also just reading wikipedia about other languages, just for fun