Waaay OT: Kind of? Languages? Bucket list?

[1happygirl]

Hey fellas and gals . The Paceline is a really smart group of people, so thought I'd ask a couple questions about something I don't think I've every really seen much mention.

Has anyone tried to learn a language lately? Mostly as a hobby, or also if you had to for a specific practical reason like for a job/profession or relocation? (reason I ask I'm sure the vehicles for learning would be much different)

I'm also curious how many of us are multilingual? I'd be really interested to know how many took up languages past the age of 14-18 seriously and what steps you took? A lot of folks say past 14 yrs old yr kaput as far as learning, or rather it's much more difficult.

I said kind of OT but in case I ever decide to bicycle travel to cool locations in other countries or even listen to bicycle race feeds, they would tend to be in languages other than English and I would want to participate in the culture and not just stand around being translated too. So it does relate to bicycles a bit. As my Daddy says 'bout things in general, if you can do it yourself, you should!!!

So how 'bout y'all? Have you learned? I'm trying and it requires a lot more effort than I originally though (and TONS of time).

PS When looking online I was really surprised at the incredible number of learning sites and related materials related to languages.
It seems you don't have to go to a proper university class anymore to become versed in language(s)

[seanile]

i recently tried learning german via duolingo for the sake of opening opportunities to move to the EU (i have dual citizenship with US and ireland), and i found it very difficult to maintain a good work ethic without anyone to practice it with. ultimately i postponed it until i can find a partner who knows the language already and can converse with/educate me.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by 1happygirl

Hey fellas and gals . The Paceline is a really smart group of people, so thought I'd ask a couple questions about something I don't think I've every really seen much mention.

Has anyone tried to learn a language lately? Mostly as a hobby, or also if you had to for a specific practical reason like for a job/profession or relocation? (reason I ask I'm sure the vehicles for learning would be much different)

I'm also curious how many of us are multilingual? I'd be really interested to know how many took up languages past the age of 14-18 seriously and what steps you took? A lot of folks say past 14 yrs old yr kaput as far as learning, or rather it's much more difficult.

I said kind of OT but in case I ever decide to bicycle travel to cool locations in other countries or even listen to bicycle race feeds, they would tend to be in languages other than English and I would want to participate in the culture and not just stand around being translated too. So it does relate to bicycles a bit. As my Daddy says 'bout things in general, if you can do it yourself, you should!!!

So how 'bout y'all? Have you learned? I'm trying and it requires a lot more effort than I originally though (and TONS of time).

PS When looking online I was really surprised at the incredible number of learning sites and related materials related to languages.
It seems you don't have to go to a proper university class anymore to become versed in language(s)

Ho provato più di una volta per imparare colloquiale italiano, con un tutor, uno contro uno, ma io non potevo farlo. Così parlo americano e cattivo american..only.

Babelfish fluent..tried twice..fail.

[1happygirl]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Ho provato più di una volta per imparare colloquiale italiano, con un tutor, uno contro uno, ma io non potevo farlo. Così parlo americano e cattivo american..only.

Babelfish fluent..tried twice..fail.

Hey, OP until that last line you could have gone on letting me think you were brilliant!!
I still think that (I'm apparently dismal at languages)

Well I can't really say that as I haven't really tried learning before but as I said it requires much more thought AND time than I realized. Kudos to people who learned early and often. I'm going to go kick my parents now.

And learning has required me to re learn or rather learn English parts of speech.Who knew I was such a dummy with my own language (not really who teaches possessive/pronoun adjective in school)? Even in college? I asked my friend a linguistics PhD and he said very few ppl would be able to name the things I have been asking about.
Not so stupid feeling now.

[R3awak3n]

The best way to learn a language is really to go live in the country the language is spoken but of course not everyone can do that.

I was born in Portugal and speak fluent Portuguese, moved to the US for the past 11 years and now speak fluent English (some people think I dont have an accent). I also lived in Morocco for a few years and was starting to pick up french and I regret not trying harder (went to an american school insteat of French but I guess that helped me with my english which is more important). I understand French no problem but cannot speak it, here and there.

Arabic is also a language spoken in Morocco but it was impossible to pick up, I knew a few words here and there.

I never tried rosetta stone but I know my wife has and she was into it for like a month and then never touched it again.

[paredown]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

The best way to learn a language is really to go live in the country the language is spoken but of course not everyone can do that...

I heartily agree. I was part of the first generation in Canada who were supposed to be bilingual--compulsory French in High School, but it was a bit of a bust as far as speaking. Since there was no opportunity for conversation, I "learned" the language--grammar, verb tenses etc--but had limited conversational chops, as I found out once I was trying to do business in Quebec.

(Later I did get better at reading French, but that is another story...)

Flash forward a lot of years--I was the 'trailing spouse' when my wife took a job in Germany--and the only perk for me (aside from a car) was free language lessons, and I took full advantage of them, riding my bike over to the next town and having a lesson nearly every day.

I had such a block--fully convinced that an adult learner could not get inside a language. and yet within a few months I could make myself understood, and by the time we left Germany (2 years) I could converse pretty well.

What my (brilliant) teacher did was force me to learn the language the way a child would--drills for simple stuff (counting, time-telling,etc), trips to the market, cooking with her in her kitchen, interaction in cafes, etc. Only later did she help formalize what I had picked up, just as a child would get drilled in grade school.

The next step is to read (& write), as ceolwulf says--so it was reading kid stories and trying to write eBay ads to sell on German eBay that my teacher would help me with. It was so cool to "know" a word from a phrase and sound and then have that kid-like recognition "Oh, that's how it's spelled!"

So yes--(oldish) adult learners can learn a language--but a good teacher and immersion really help.

[Louis]

I cheated and grew up speaking three languages at the same time (English, French, and Creole) but if I were truly motivated to learn another language today I'd try to find someplace offering it via the Rassias method. I don't know how widespread it is, but it works well and students love it.

http://www.adfl.org/bulletin/V12N4/124023.HTM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSyrBKrTG2Y

[gomango]

I married a Bavarian.

She taught me a little Bayerisch and a whole bunch of Hoch Deutsch.

Seemed to be a good method.

[dustyrider]

Whatever language I try to speak, native peoples appreciate the thought and immediately communicate with me in whatever English they have. The French and German seem very particular about their language.

I firmly believe the act of trying breaks down the language barrier and puts everyone on the same page, so I continue to try. I have the hardest time with the gender differences in some languages. I often times use the femine form instead of the masclulin form. Being a man this disability makes for an immediate smile in most cases!

Really the only way I'll learn to speak another language is if I have to...which means total and complete immersion.

Reading is an entirely different thing, and I've successfully done this many times. Loads of effort but doable.

[exapkib]

Absolutely. I teach a difficult language (the most difficult group for native English speakers--category IV (no that really is how we rate languages--not just climbs!)) at a large university in the US.

I tell my students that the key to language learning is to have the end in mind--we learn languages so that we can connect with other people.

Anything you can do to create those connections in your life will increase the rate of learning and the motivation to continue studying.

Technology has changed my profession so profoundly--a big part of what we do in our first and second year curricula involves steering students toward online tools (youtube, music services, online newspapers and magazines) and training them to use these materials effectively in their quest to learn a language.

We also require all of our students to spend at least one semester 'in country,' and have moved all of our third-year courses to our study abroad program. Nothing can take the place of making your experiences with the language 'real,' though there are now many ways to approach this before you are able to travel.

[numbskull]

Going to Italy this fall. I bought Living Language Italian off Amazon. Small money. Seems pretty good (6 discs, website extra, 3 books beginning, intermediate, advanced) although I'm just starting it.

[Stephen2014]

There are some cool Celtic languages, Welsh, Cornish, Breton. I believe there are some Welsh language groups/societies in the US.

[chwupper]

Obviously, immersion in the country/culture is ideal. I lived in France for a year after college. I'd taken two years in school. But not five minutes off the plane I was hearing idiomatic French and having to figure out what people were saying to me just from context. You never forget that stuff. Like the little old lady in the store saying 'Pouvez-vous me rendre un service?' She wanted me to help her get something off a high shelf.

I'd also studied a little Russian in high school. I tried to pick it up again in my thirties, but good lord, the amount of sheer memorization required was overwhelming. I sorta felt like I just didn't want to do that kind of work at that point of my life. I'd rather use my brain for other activities.

[1happygirl]

Originally Posted by chwupper

snip
I sorta felt like I just didn't want to do that kind of work at that point of my life. I'd rather use my brain for other activities.

I am starting to use this with some/all hobbies. Wondering if the time/effort is the best use of my effort/time or would I rather be doing something else?
Having fun now. Kicking parents (mostly self though). Wish I had learned a lot of these fun skills early on.
Let's not talk about quitting music lessons either.
Only so much time/so many hobbies

[1happygirl]

Originally Posted by Stephen2014

There are some cool Celtic languages, Welsh, Cornish, Breton. I believe there are some Welsh language groups/societies in the US.

Cool. Welsh. I think the online duoLingo is contemplating this course. They already have some Irish course?