Language, do you speak it?

[Cuddlefish]

Do you know what your learning style is?  Model your language training to reflect your learning style.  If you don't know what it is, find out.

Edit for link:  http://homeworktips.about.com/od/homeworkhelp/a/lstyleqz.htm

Eh, it said I was a visual learner, but I s'pose I already knew that (tho, I think that test could use more/better worded questions). Not sure how that's gonna work with learning a language.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Mr. Language has really amazing skills for teaching language that totally make use of various learning styles; that's what's at the core of the certification program he's developing for teaching ESL, and I also went to his Spanish class once and it was kind of amazing how much I learned in just one session.

Apparently I'm a visual and tactile learner. That quiz was pretty interesting.

[Xooxe]

Notes: I have a hard time learning new languages, so something easy for a dumb American.

I started learning French twenty-three cocking years ago and it's still impenetrable to me, but my Polish is coming along great and it's only been just over a year. The difference is that one of them interested me.

[Nast]

I sort of regret not keeping up my Spanish as well as I could. I was quite a trick at it in high school and was even offered to be a TA for the class. But my biggest issue was that I couldn't find enough media in that language that would interest me. Another thing was that by living in SoCal I simply didn't need to use Spanish. Whenever I say this, people always say "You've got to be kidding me!". But the situation is that the vast majority of Hispanic people around here speak very good English. And it would be simply awkward  to start speaking Spanish to them if they address you in English first.

With Japanese it's different. While I think it is much more difficult than Spanish, it has captivated my interest more. It may sound silly, but being a language so inextricably linked to its culture, speaking Japanese forces you to think in a Japanese way, which I think is intriguing. And since I do activities like tea ceremony and help manage calligraphy club I get practice on a weekly basis.

[Nast]

I love the way Navajo sounds, it's like a record being played backwards:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFayFUiyv20

And while I would never try to learn it, I also love it because the grammar is amazingly alien.

[Cain]

I found French slightly more difficult than Spanish, actually.  Not much, but I noticed a definite difference in learning them both.

My husband (who's sick in the head when it comes to ease of language use, btw--he knows Persian/Dari, Pushto, Urdu/Hindi, English and Spanish) says it's because Spanish is more "intuitive."  And that orthography's more true to the pronunciation.

Does he speak any Arabic?  I know Spanish has quite a few loanwords from the language, and that may also explain why he found it easier to speak as well.

  The French stereotype just didn't hold true for me.  I stumbled out questions in their language all the fucking time when I was over there, and they were very polite and helped me out a lot.

The Spanish, on the other had, were fucking awful.

Yes.

Castilians are stuck up, miserable, and the men are rude and chauvinistic.

They have a natural hatred for anyone who speaks English, because they lost so much ground to English speakers. Everyone who I've met from Spain have just generally bad attitudes.

That stereotype doesn't hold up for me at all.  Most of this summer, I was working with and living nextdoor to a guy from Barcelona, and apart from his absolute obnoxiousness at winning the World Cup (which was still more bearable than the sour grapes of the England supporters) he was a truly great guy.  Also one of my kids in my faculty family was from Madrid, and...well, that entire family was fantastic actually, but he was up there with the least toublesome kids I've ever had to deal with.

[Cain]

Do you know what your learning style is?  Model your language training to reflect your learning style.  If you don't know what it is, find out.

Edit for link:  http://homeworktips.about.com/od/homeworkhelp/a/lstyleqz.htm

This "learning types" model has been thoroughly and repeatedly debunked by educational psychologists, just so you know.

[LMNO]

That stereotype doesn't hold up for me at all.  Most of this summer, I was working with and living nextdoor to a guy from Barcelona, and apart from his absolute obnoxiousness at winning the World Cup (which was still more bearable than the sour grapes of the England supporters) he was a truly great guy.  Also one of my kids in my faculty family was from Madrid, and...well, that entire family was fantastic actually, but he was up there with the least toublesome kids I've ever had to deal with.

I went to Barcelona and Madrid in 2001, and had a great time.  Sure, I got some attitude at times, but who doesn't?

The best was when I wanted to change my reservations for the train.

"Habla Ingles?"

"No." [however, I just heard him speak english to the previous customer.]

"Ah. [in horribly drawn out and mispronounced spanish, on purpose] Yo... tengo... dos.  Billetes... a... Madrid.  Pero.  Yo... quiero..."

"Yes, I speak a leetle english."


But other than that, everyone was very nice.

[Cain]

Well, there are always dicks.  If anything, my experience is the Russians take the cake in general surliness and "I don't speak English...oh no, wait, now I do" sweepstakes.

[Suu]

Well, there are always dicks.  If anything, my experience is the Russians take the cake in general surliness and "I don't speak English...oh no, wait, now I do" sweepstakes.

You've never met enough Quebecois.

They have feigning ignorance down to a SCIENCE to get what they want out of Americans.

Listen, assholes, you're CANADIAN. Congrats on being bilingual, but I know DAMN WELL IT'S REQUIRED THAT YOU KNOW ENGLISH.

ENGLISH, MOTHERFUCKER! 

[Jenne]

Well, there are always dicks.  If anything, my experience is the Russians take the cake in general surliness and "I don't speak English...oh no, wait, now I do" sweepstakes.

True, and I have to say I haven't been to Russia yet, so I have no idea how they are in situ.  I think it's not a stereotype you can apply generously to most cultures.

Though it does make me scratch my head when my in-laws proclaim that I must not be interested in them since I refuse to speak Farsi/Dari with them.  In my own country.  In my own home.  But then they're kinda dumb.

[Storebrand]

Do you know what your learning style is?  Model your language training to reflect your learning style.  If you don't know what it is, find out.

Edit for link:  http://homeworktips.about.com/od/homeworkhelp/a/lstyleqz.htm

This "learning types" model has been thoroughly and repeatedly debunked by educational psychologists, just so you know.

The whole point is to get the person to experiment with different learning methods so they don't just zone out while the teacher natters on at the front of the room or day dream while listening to a Rosetta Stone cd in their car on the way to work.  Taking the test just gets them thinking about different things they might like doing related to language study.  Hopefully they find something outside of the classroom that is capable of driving their interest in the language. 

[Jenne]

I found French slightly more difficult than Spanish, actually.  Not much, but I noticed a definite difference in learning them both.

My husband (who's sick in the head when it comes to ease of language use, btw--he knows Persian/Dari, Pushto, Urdu/Hindi, English and Spanish) says it's because Spanish is more "intuitive."  And that orthography's more true to the pronunciation.

Does he speak any Arabic?  I know Spanish has quite a few loanwords from the language, and that may also explain why he found it easier to speak as well.

Nah, only recognizes what he learned from the Qu'ran...it's interesting because, since he was over HERE in the US for a brief time while he was learning his "native language," English was actually his first language, not Dari/Farsi.  But he left to go BACK to Afghanistan by the time he was 2, so he lost almost all of it and it took till he left and landed in Pakistan with private English lessons before any of it hit him again.

[Placid Dingo]

Cain, where have these styles actually been debunked? Just curious.

I think that, even if the particular divisions aren't accurate, generally they're close enough to the truth to remain practical. I know if I don't write on the board, and talk, and have students engaging in activities, there's a lot more blank looks.

Also, even if you generally find you learn in a certain way, keep in mind your style of learning a language best may be different. I find that authentic use of spoken language, translating sentences piece by piece and teaching other people all help me with Japanese.

Also, Cain's super right with Indonesian; All the Japanese people get jealous of Indonesian students.

Plus, learn one language to basic fluency, you tend to find others easier.