About foreign language learning

[Adinaa]

Many people are learning foreign language now. So I want to learn some foreign language as a second language too. But I don't know which language is the most used in the world except English. And I have found some language learning related sites, sprachen studieren (http://www.sprachenstudieren.com) , specialised language courses (http://www.specialisedcourses.com) , Sprachaufenthalt (http://www.esl.com) . I hope someone else can give me some constructive suggestions or recommendations. Any help would be much appreciated!

[Mr. H]

The most popular languages in world business are English, Japanese, Spanish and French, I think. Not like when the language of international Business was French... Now it's English.

It all depends on your goals... What is it exactly that you hope to do with language?

[Unregistered]

If you are self-teaching then finding the right program is critical. This past year I started using Rosetta Stone for my Spanish class. This is a computer program that allows you to read, write and practice speaking the language. When you order it, I suggest you purchase the Student Study Guide which explains the grammar rules. The computer program teaches words, then phrases, and then sentences and continually builds on the previous. It is pricey but well worth it.

[JRSFD]

Languages to know for the future:
English
Chinese - for business with China, this will be necessary in future
Arabic - no, Arabic-speakers are not terrorists
Spanish - the best language to learn for native English speakers
Russian - for business with Italy
Latin - for our future dealings with the Holy Roman Empire

Languages *not* to learn for the future:
German
French
Flemish
Bulungu

[Mr. H]

Languages to know for the future:
English
Chinese - for business with China, this will be necessary in future
Arabic - no, Arabic-speakers are not terrorists
Spanish - the best language to learn for native English speakers
Russian - for business with Italy
Latin - for our future dealings with the Holy Roman Empire

Languages *not* to learn for the future:
German
French
Flemish
Bulungu

and this is based on .... what?

If we are to do business with Italy, we should learn all Major European Languages. Latin, in the Holy Roman Empire is used mainly for religious rites, not in socio-political dealings. How about Japanese?? Spanish is an option of easy-to-learn languages (I actually found French and Italian easier than Spanish).

EVERY language has merit and can help students with other subjects.

Funny how the two sibling languages of English are on the *not* list. English is based in Franco-Germanic roots. To ignore both languages, unilaterally, is to forfeit the study our own language.

[JRSFD]

and this is based on .... what?

If we are to do business with Italy, we should learn all Major European Languages. Latin, in the Holy Roman Empire is used mainly for religious rites, not in socio-political dealings. How about Japanese?? Spanish is an option of easy-to-learn languages (I actually found French and Italian easier than Spanish).

EVERY language has merit and can help students with other subjects.

Funny how the two sibling languages of English are on the *not* list. English is based in Franco-Germanic roots. To ignore both languages, unilaterally, is to forfeit the study our own language.

Frankly, my list is based on what United States students should learn for the betterment of themselves in the world of business and applied technology. If a students wishes to learn French, Italian, or for that matter, Afrikaans, then he is more than welcome to it, but if he plans to stay in America, those languages will do nothing for him. I myself study Nederlands just for the fun of it; however, I've never found anyone here in the US who actually speaks it.

As to the study of the roots of the English language - well, let's think about that once a high school student learns to actually read and write the current version.

EDIT: The HRE actually collapsed a while ago. How could you think I was serious about Latin?!

[Mr. H]

Frankly, my list is based on what United States students should learn for the betterment of themselves in the world of business and applied technology. If a students wishes to learn French, Italian, or for that matter, Afrikaans, then he is more than welcome to it, but if he plans to stay in America, those languages will do nothing for him. I myself study Nederlands just for the fun of it; however, I've never found anyone here in the US who actually speaks it.

As to the study of the roots of the English language - well, let's think about that once a high school student learns to actually read and write the current version.

EDIT: The HRE actually collapsed a while ago. How could you think I was serious about Latin?!

Who the heck are you to determine what constitutes "betterment of students in America"? The whole idea of learning a language other than English is more for the opportunity to learn of another culture through language. Most students in the US who take a FL don't EVER use it again. I teach French because it is related to the English that we speak everyday. Yes, students don't speak their own language properly, but if they actually UNDERSTOOD WHY THEIR LANGUAGE IS STRUCTURED THE WAY IT IS, THEY MIGHT! My job is to teach students to read, write and speak properly. I teach them a lot about English while teaching them French. It's called cross-content teaching... this is an effort to make all of their learning relevant in their lives. Knowing how one's language works through learning another, that's the idea behind learning a FL. It just happens to be more effective when learning one of the related languages.

[Mr. H]

EDIT: The HRE actually collapsed a while ago. How could you think I was serious about Latin?!

YOU are the one who was using it to support YOUR rather narrow-minded-two-dimensional theory.

[JRSFD]

Who the heck are you to determine what constitutes "betterment of students in America"? The whole idea of learning a language other than English is more for the opportunity to learn of another culture through language. Most students in the US who take a FL don't EVER use it again. I teach French because it is related to the English that we speak everyday. Yes, students don't speak their own language properly, but if they actually UNDERSTOOD WHY THEIR LANGUAGE IS STRUCTURED THE WAY IT IS, THEY MIGHT! My job is to teach students to read, write and speak properly. I teach them a lot about English while teaching them French. It's called cross-content teaching... this is an effort to make all of their learning relevant in their lives. Knowing how one's language works through learning another, that's the idea behind learning a FL. It just happens to be more effective when learning one of the related languages.

I teach language. I am an economist. I am a thinker. My father is a neurosurgeon. Kids should learn that foreign languages are essential to world trade and prosperity, and that this country is falling fast around us, so the choice remains to either leave, or learn to live in a much changed future America. Also, teaching the roots of English is a bit silly as a remedy for rampant native illiteracy. It's just tossing on complications instead of getting to the root of the problem.

[Mr. H]

I teach language. I am an economist. I am a thinker. My father is a neurosurgeon. Kids should learn that foreign languages are essential to world trade and prosperity, and that this country is falling fast around us, so the choice remains to either leave, or learn to live in a much changed future America. Also, teaching the roots of English is a bit silly as a remedy for rampant native illiteracy. It's just tossing on complications instead of getting to the root of the problem.

I also teach language, I am also an economist and a thinker... what my father does doesn't matter, nor does your father's occupation. Students should learn language for the same reasons they are required to take math, it opens up the mind to thinking in different sometimes abstract ways.

Teaching kids the roots of their language is part the ROOT of the problem. They don't understand their own language. Teaching them a language upon which theirs was created helps them understand their own. (What part of this is difficult to understand??)

In addition, have you not been paying attention to world politics? More precisely, the elections in France where the new president is trying to refortify relations with the US? I guess understanding the language and culture of a country that (until the Bush administration's lack of global culture) has long been an ally is of no consequence? :confused: Should we also forget that until recently, the international language of business was French? Or that it is still the international language of culture?

[imahockeymom]

Teaching kids the roots of their language is part the ROOT of the problem. They don't understand their own language. Teaching them a language upon which theirs was created helps them understand their own. (What part of this is difficult to understand??)


I have to agree with you, Mr. H -- I learned more about English language and grammar (nouns / verbs / adjectives / adverbs / prepositions / participles and conjugation, etc.) in four years of high school French class than I learned in my entire 13 years (including kindergarten) of regular old American public schooling.

And I was a straight-A student for all 13 years... if a kid with a 4.0 GPA didn't manage to pick up most of the details of the English language in 13 years of education, can you imagine how very little the "average" students know about their native language???

[Mr. H]

EXACTLY!!!! Thank you. :o

I push for as many languages as we can teach. Language serves as a medium to the understanding of culture and grammatical structures. We learn structure. It teaches tolerance and understanding through learning of other beliefs and practices. We learn history and cultural themes that would otherwise be left behind were we to narrow our focus on which languages "ought" to be taught.

[JRSFD]

I also teach language, I am also an economist and a thinker... what my father does doesn't matter, nor does your father's occupation. Students should learn language for the same reasons they are required to take math, it opens up the mind to thinking in different sometimes abstract ways.

Teaching kids the roots of their language is part the ROOT of the problem. They don't understand their own language. Teaching them a language upon which theirs was created helps them understand their own. (What part of this is difficult to understand??)

In addition, have you not been paying attention to world politics? More precisely, the elections in France where the new president is trying to refortify relations with the US? I guess understanding the language and culture of a country that (until the Bush administration's lack of global culture) has long been an ally is of no consequence? :confused: Should we also forget that until recently, the international language of business was French? Or that it is still the international language of culture?

What my father does is important, because he raised me. I therefore have at least some knowledge of how the brain works, which is imperative to any kind of teaching, language included.

I know that knowing the roots of words is very helpful - I make a point of knowing the roots of the words I use, no matter what language I'm speaking at the time. My point, however, is not that such knowledge is bad, but simply that nobody cares to learn it. Learning English roots may as well be a foreign language to students, for all they care. They just do whatever they need to do to pass the tests, and leave it at that. How many high school graduates do I know who actually learned a foreign language - including English roots - and can remember it to this day? None.

Perhaps we should stop examining the curriculum, but instead begin to examine the teaching methods. Tell me how you teach the language, and I'll see if it should work. No, I'm not trying to run you down. This might actually help.

[Mr. H]

What my father does is important, because he raised me. I therefore have at least some knowledge of how the brain works, which is imperative to any kind of teaching, language included.

I know that knowing the roots of words is very helpful - I make a point of knowing the roots of the words I use, no matter what language I'm speaking at the time. My point, however, is not that such knowledge is bad, but simply that nobody cares to learn it. Learning English roots may as well be a foreign language to students, for all they care. They just do whatever they need to do to pass the tests, and leave it at that. How many high school graduates do I know who actually learned a foreign language - including English roots - and can remember it to this day? None.

Perhaps we should stop examining the curriculum, but instead begin to examine the teaching methods. Tell me how you teach the language, and I'll see if it should work. No, I'm not trying to run you down. This might actually help.

(1) Your father's resume has no bearing... if you would have said that you are familiar with the workings of the human mind, I might have let it slide.. HOWEVER, familiarity with the mind is one thing, actually understanding the learning of a language is something else. They are related but I imagine that knowing how to teach and decode a language in a language class would be better than identifying the frontal lobe.

(2) Your original point, was that there were certain languages that ought not be taught over others. I will admit that I took this personally as I have spent half of my life studying a language which you deem unimportant. My retort was that some of these "unfavored" languages would be beneficial to students in that they reinforce their native languages.

(3) Again, why should I prescribe to your notions of how my class is or isn't useful or if it works? Suffice it to say that my students are actively engaged and learning. Their English skills have improved because I do not merely have them memorize words, but decipher their meanings and how they can be used to express personal views and opinions as well as describe their world. THAT is what language is about. Getting students to personalize with their subjects to make it relevant. So, thanks for your offer to "help". I think I'll pass.

[imahockeymom]

What my father does is important, because he raised me. I therefore have at least some knowledge of how the brain works, which is imperative to any kind of teaching, language included.

I know that knowing the roots of words is very helpful - I make a point of knowing the roots of the words I use, no matter what language I'm speaking at the time. My point, however, is not that such knowledge is bad, but simply that nobody cares to learn it. Learning English roots may as well be a foreign language to students, for all they care. They just do whatever they need to do to pass the tests, and leave it at that. How many high school graduates do I know who actually learned a foreign language - including English roots - and can remember it to this day? None.

Perhaps we should stop examining the curriculum, but instead begin to examine the teaching methods. Tell me how you teach the language, and I'll see if it should work. No, I'm not trying to run you down. This might actually help.

One point that I think is being overlooked is the difference between "root words" and "the root of language/grammar".

It's all fine and good to know that "geo" means "relating to the earth" and "pseudo" means "fake". But those are just "root word meanings" rather than the root of language.

In learning high school French, I learned about sentence structure = subject + verb (+ optional object). I learned about having your subject and verb match ("I do my homework" instead of "I does my homework"). I learned a heck of a lot about conjugating a verb and the different tenses of a verb -- how many Americans can give you an example of a "past perfect" or "future perfect" verb in a sentence???? And do we even need to discuss prepositions and the difference between an adjective and an adverb???

People complain about how Johnny can't read or that the youth of today can't even string together enough coherent sentences to write a one-page essay... maybe Johnny can't read because he can't comprehend which parts of a sentence relate to each other, and maybe the youth of today can't string together a cohesive sentence because they don't know the basics of English grammar.

What percentage of the US population doesn't know the difference between "its" and "it's"? What percentage of the US population uses an apostrophe for almost every word that is plural, whether possession is involved or not? (If I see one more sign that says "bike's on sale" I think I'm going to have to hurt someone!)

I guess if the English teachers were doing their jobs, we wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place. But the fact of the matter remains that most kids aren't learning this stuff in their normal K-12 academic career... and learning a language with a similar basis -- if taught by a competent language teacher -- will help them with their English grammar skills, which will help them with their reading comprehension, which will help them in almost every academic subject they encounter.

[Mr. H]

AMEN!!!?

:D

[Ferrisganou]

Mastering a foreign language is surely important for us nowadays. I think the best way to learn a foreign language is in a trip to other country. You can speak to the native people to improve your oral language and you can also learn more than the language. I spent several days in Spain and learnt a little Spanish there with the local people. They're all very friendly and hospitable.

-------------------
estudiar aleman (http://www.2learngerman.com)
estudiar italiano (http://www.2learnitalian.com)

[Drakeqiersi]

[QUOTE=Ferrisganou;23082]Mastering a foreign language is surely important for us nowadays. I think the best way to learn a foreign language is in a trip to other country. You can speak to the native people to improve your oral language and you can also learn more than the language. I spent several days in Spain and learnt a little Spanish there with the local people. They're all very friendly and hospitable. [QUOTE]

I agree with you. Learning a foreign language, the best method is to speak with the language spoken people. I can recommend some language learning sites sharing with all, english languages (http://www.english-as-a-second-languages.com) and language travel (http://www.aboutlanguagetravel.com) . Maybe you can find some other interesting things in learning some foreign language.

[annettemcd]

I agree strongly with all of the statements about learning more about language in general by studying a foreign language. Like iamahockeymom, I learned more about English (sentence structure, verb tenses, adverbs and adjectives, subject/verb agreement, subjects and objects, etc.) by studying a foreign language than I did in English classes.

A language which is often ignored is Latin. I took it in high school myself. Not only is the study of Latin as a foreign language like the study of any other language, but some interesting history is also learned. (Who doesn't read Caesar while studying Latin?) It is also the root language for the Romance Languages and helps with an understanding of those languages in particular. Also look at how many legal phrases are in Latin.

Latin is also the language of science. I did not understand this well until I traveled to Russia on a scientific expedition (well, just two of us). There were times that we were with Russian scientists, but without an interpreter. My Russian was not very good and though some of the scientists had good English skills, others had English on the level of my Russian, BUT we could still talk in the language of science and that involved a great deal of scientific names in Latin. I spent a whole day in the field with a Russian botanist and we communicated fine when talking about plants because we were speaking Latin.

Another language which my daughter has been studying and is often ignored as worthy of study is American Sign Language. It is a language with its own words and its own grammar and syntax. (No, it is not English spoken in hand signals. ASL is actually closer to the sign language used in France than to the sign language used in England.) The study of ASL also teaches about another culture and enables one to communicate with a group of people who are often isolated by a lack of communication. To better understand ASL and the Deaf culture, I highly recommend the television documentary, "Through Deaf Eyes." If your school does not recognize ASL as a foreign language, they may want to reconsider.

[Blue1980]

The target language is easier or more difficult depending on the first language, context, interests and needs of the learner. Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese come from Latin (They are Romance Languages). So if you learn one of those languages, is very possible to learn the other three. I am a Spanish native speaker, I also speak French and read some Italian and Portuguese (I haven't study them officially) and I consider English a very easy language to learn. But, I read many English speakers who say that Spanish is easy to learn, if it's that easy, don't you think that Spanish would be spoken by most people in the US?

[annettemcd]

I think that the reason that many people consider Spanish to be easier to learn is because reading it is phonetic and its grammar, verbs, and nouns are fairly straight forward without many irregulars. The reason that more people do not learn Spanish is only because all foreign languages which you do not learn as a child are usually not that easy to learn; Spanish is just easier than others. Americans are also just arrogant and assume that everyone should just "speaka da English."

I also feel that Russian is easier to learn than some other languages, but people get scared by a different alphabet. The Cyrillic Alphabet is really not that weird or hard to learn and once you learn that, the rest is not that hard.

[Maha]

I think the best way to learn foreign language is to chat with native language man:)

[Hector]

Hi all,

You should all really check this site out for class
resources. It has blogger, forums which are organized into
categories and a chat room. It is pretty new, I think it
started up a few weeks ago.

www.worldlanguagementor.com

I really like the fact that everything is organized and
easy to find. What do you think?

Hector

[Sorshah]

Many people are learning foreign language now. So I want to learn some foreign language as a second language too. But I don't know which language is the most used in the world except English. And I have found some language learning related sites, sprachen studieren (http://www.sprachenstudieren.com) , specialised language courses (http://www.specialisedcourses.com) , Sprachaufenthalt (http://www.esl.com) . I hope someone else can give me some constructive suggestions or recommendations. Any help would be much appreciated!

I recommend Spanish not only because of the large spanish-speaking population in the U.S., but because comparisons can be made between the English and Spanish language which make it a rather easy language to master. There are more similarities than differences and you'll be able to relate to the grammar structures. :)

[Unregistered]

International language Lab Center ,I.L.L
International Language Lab Center is located in the heart of Morocco; the beautiful coastal capital of Morocco. It has been established in recent years to meet the demands of the worldwide renewed call to learn Arabic and English, which has resulted from the increased global importance of Arabic and English in the social and professional spheres. International Language lab Center takes pride to be the only center in Morocco exclusively devoted to promote Arabic and English as foreign languages to students from all around the world. We hereby invite you to come to Morocco to learn Arabic and English in Temara in our Center I.L.L, and to discover and enjoy the long and amazing history of Morocco and to become acquainted with the people of Morocco.

[Unregistered]

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[Nataliapicado]

Thank you for a nice post. I too like to learn foreign languages and I encourage people to learn different cultures.Kids should learn them in school itself so that it will be helpful when they grow up.

learn spanish online (http://www.lejoslearning.com)

[bonsoir]

It depends on what your motive for learning it is exactly. A good website with a lot of info about language learning is http://www.learning-languages-fast.com

Some particular languages that I have found to be very interesting and fun are French and Swedish.
French being a more advantageous language to learn of coarse, but though Swedish is smaller, it's a really fun language to learn.

[arimle]

I really am interested to learn different languages. Being a multilingual is always an advantage. I don't know if i will be able to learn other languages but i am willing to try if given the chance. I know some people who can speak five languages. I really admire them. One day i will pursue this dream of mine.

[Unregistered]

Hi! You can find french tutor (http://myfrenchtutor.co.uk) for GCSE and Pre GCSE Students on this french courses (http://myfrenchtutor.co.uk)

[Mr. Yu]

Hi
Well, a lot of other languages are phonetic so the spelling in English is pretty difficult. Also, the "th" sound is not in every other language, so you have to learn to make that sound. Then think about explaining the pronunciation of words "ladder", "latter", "lather", to a non-native English speaker.
Log on to LangLearner (http://www.langlearner.com)

This is very true. V- and F- and Z-like sounds are also not found in many East Asian languages, and L and R are not distinguished as two distinct sounds. Even sounds like 'S', which may appear to exist, are pronounced a bit differently in some countries (half-way between S and Sh, for instance). To make matters worse many people who began language learning in L1 environments had teachers who taught them faulty transliterations in their mother tongues - e.g. a Korean teacher transliterates 'alfalfa' into '알팔파' and the student thinks it's pronounced and spelled 'alpalpa' (I've seen this and similar spellings on English menus in Asia).

This is why it's very useful fairly early into L2 acquisition to teach learners proper English phonics and syllable articulation, even if supra-segmental phonology is ultimately more important.