61–69 of 69 posts
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Any resource on how to get these types of frequent lists ? I am big fan of "learn words and consume media" method.
Exam syllabuses often list them. eg search for GCSE French syllabus (UK exam) and I think you'll find a list of around 5000
The answer is no secret but it's hard to achieve. The fastest way to learn a new language fluently is to speak it, constantly. Yes, it's easier for children to acquire a new language but they learn it because they are constantly forced to use it. I've known a number of people that have lived in a foreign country yet they did not learn the language. Why? Because they could get away with using English most of the time.…
This. The author of the article says: "If there were someone who knew how to learn new languages, we would all know it. They would be uniquely and unquestionably skilled at producing new language speakers. They would be very visible: everybody would be flocking to their doors and imitating them." He seems to be confusing "learn" with "teach". All of the above would be true if he said "if there were someone who knew h…
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This. The author of the article says: "If there were someone who knew how to learn new languages, we would all know it. They would be uniquely and unquestionably skilled at producing new language speakers. They would be very visible: everybody would be flocking to their doors and imitating them." He seems to be confusing "learn" with "teach". All of the above would be true if he said "if there were someone who knew h…
Unrelated but not everyone can be a body builder. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myostatin
> Less than 1 percent of American adults today are proficient in a foreign language that they studied in a U.S. classroom. Is this really as notable as the author suggests? Are there more people proficient in other subjects learned in the classroom? I don't think more than 1% of people from my classrooms are proficient in maths / chemistry / physics to a "fluent adult language" degree.
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It took me about 18 months to learn Dutch and I both speak and write it better than my 5 year-old. Listening to the radio, reading one newspaper article a day whilst following an intensive language course helped the most.
Which language course?
> Less than 1 percent of American adults today are proficient in a foreign language that they studied in a U.S. classroom. Is this really as notable as the author suggests? Are there more people proficient in other subjects learned in the classroom? I don't think more than 1% of people from my classrooms are proficient in maths / chemistry / physics to a "fluent adult language" degree.
So you're saying that statistic isn't notable if the entirety of education has less than 1 percent effectiveness... yes, I'd say that was notable.
Similar: It's notable that I've got 2 legs - as a living creature, due to adaptation, etc. It's not notable in a town of people - they all have 2 legs.
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> NEVER speak your native language with that person. Only use the language you want to learn with him or her. You don't have to be quite that strict, it's enough to have dedicated time slots where you won't allow yourself to escape learning by switching languages. The most efficient way is to find someone who wants to learn your language and do tandem learning, so they're motivated to slog through correcting your mis…
The most efficient way is to be surrounded by people who don't speak your language but who also have a social reason to be interested in you. Complicated to explain, but buddying up with people to do language exchange is pretty garbage. The goals are fundamentally at odds for both parties so there is always this weird tug of war and the partnerships in my experience don't last because of it. It's not a friendship, so…
I'm going to skip my usual really, really, long explanation. Long story short: TFA is wrong. Many people know how to learn a language. Many people learn several languages because after learning how to learn one, they realised it's not that hard. Main problem people have: they have unrealistic expectations. Children don't have a magic ability to learn languages. They take 10-20 years to learn up to adult level profici…
I think the problem, at least in schools, is the dedicated grammar classes, which have no apparent meaning or use. It's best to tackle grammar using practical examples, with an understanding that grammar is not just an end in itself, but something useful to be exploited during speech.
I'm going to skip my usual really, really, long explanation. Long story short: TFA is wrong. Many people know how to learn a language. Many people learn several languages because after learning how to learn one, they realised it's not that hard. Main problem people have: they have unrealistic expectations. Children don't have a magic ability to learn languages. They take 10-20 years to learn up to adult level profici…
I agree mostly with this but I think you understate the importance of grammar. To express yourself in another language, you need two tools, vocab and grammar. Vocab without grammar in most languages is just a stream of words with no connection, and grammar without vocab leads to the problem you suggest, that of unnatural sentences. But grammar is still important, sure I think there's some leeway in how much you do, b…