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Multilingualism
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| 50. |
26 Feb 2007 Mon 05:04 pm |
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Quoting sophie: Quoting catwoman:
however the rest of the world is not very hardworking either, they just HAVE TO learn English if they want to get anywhere these days  , if they didn't have to, they sure wouldn't - such a lazy human species we are  . |
In Greece, English is being taught even in the nursery schools. Officially, in public schools, kids start learning English from the 3rd grade and in the 5th grade they start learning a second one, which is either French or German (which makes two compulsory foreign languages at the age of 10 ). At the same time, Italian and Spanish are languages that kids try to learn, as soon as they enter high school, through private institutes. So, "lazy" is not the word for the Greek kids. |
i wish languages were taught earlier in english school.they are not even started until secondary(high school) age and even then the parts of the language that you learn is just textbook, you can't really relate it to many situations or use it regularly in real contexts...
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| 51. |
26 Feb 2007 Mon 05:12 pm |
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Is there anybody on here learning a foreign language, for s/he thinks it is a labour of love? Do you think it is worth spending your time, money and making a concerted effort?
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| 52. |
26 Feb 2007 Mon 05:27 pm |
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Quoting catwoman:
European/Asian/African kids learn English and other foreign languages because it's good if not necessary for them to do so and not out of love for learning. For example why is it that kids these days learn English, Spanish, German... and not Turkish, Swahili or even Russian... etc? This learning is done with the goal of benefiting from it by getting better jobs and more money in the future. And the reality is that knowing at least English is a must these days, I'm sure many people would love not to have to learn it. (...) I don't think Brits are lazy either and Americans are one of the most hardworking people I've seen. |
Damn! I hate these moments, but...but I have to agree with you. Well-said!
Again, to learn (or not to learn) a foreign language, in our case English, is purely a matter of economy, and thus almost compulsory.
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| 53. |
26 Feb 2007 Mon 05:31 pm |
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Quoting qdemir: Is there anybody on here learning a foreign language, for s/he thinks it is a labour of love? Do you think it is worth spending your time, money and concerted effort? |
For my part I would be able to say it is a labour of love, if I didn't try to learn English mainly for the sake(!) of money. But still I think I will one day say it is so, after learning French.
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| 54. |
26 Feb 2007 Mon 05:41 pm |
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Quote Robyn.... wish languages were taught earlier in english school.they are not even started until secondary(high school) age ...
not so, I was taught french from the age of 5...
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| 55. |
26 Feb 2007 Mon 05:43 pm |
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Quoting qdemir: Is there anybody on here learning a foreign language, for s/he thinks it is a labour of love? Do you think it is worth spending your time, money and making a concerted effort? |
Yes... yes... all for love 
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| 56. |
26 Feb 2007 Mon 05:44 pm |
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Quoting reBooped: Quote Robyn.... wish languages were taught earlier in english school.they are not even started until secondary(high school) age ...
not so, I was taught french from the age of 5... |
well its not the case in essex schools.
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| 57. |
26 Feb 2007 Mon 05:53 pm |
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Quoting catwoman:
Sophie, I'm not talking about laziness per se, but about laziness in the deeper sense of it. European/Asian/African kids learn English and other foreign languages because it's good if not necessary for them to do so and not out of love for learning. For example why is it that kids these days learn English, Spanish, German... and not Turkish, Swahili or even Russian... etc? This learning is done with the goal of benefiting from it by getting better jobs and more money in the future. And the reality is that knowing at least English is a must these days, I'm sure many people would love not to have to learn it. Of course there are exceptions to this, however, they don't change the overall situation.
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I understood very well what you were saying. I was pointing out though, that you can never call someone lazy, with the deeper or the shallow sense of it, when he starts learning 2 foreign languages, at the age of 8 and 10. And of course, no one will start with Swahili, simply because most people's first aim is to FIRST take care of their business career. It's normal to start with the languages that will help you achieve your professional goals. And then, if you have time and courage, to continue with other ones.
Learning a language just for pleasure, is a luxury that usually adults with a secure job and a settled life can have. I was studying Turkish in my spare time, because I had a job waiting for me every morning and no professional anxieties. So instead of reading magazines, I tried to read something useful. But if anyone would try to convince me to study them 15 years ago, when I was trying to find time to catch my breath, between my studies, my other activities, etc, i d ask them to drop dead!!!
The english and the american kids are just luckier. Because they already know the language which is needed about almost anything. I don't think that they are lazy. They just don't NEED to learn another language to survive professionaly.
(btw, Turkish was the language which was proposed as a compulsory foreign language for the kids in the 5th grade. But it was rejected, thanks to some politicians' nationalism and narrow mindness)
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| 58. |
26 Feb 2007 Mon 05:58 pm |
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Ok, you're right. Maybe "laziness" was not the best word to describe it (although we all are lazy creatures and do only what is necessary), but I'm glad you got the point  .
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| 59. |
26 Feb 2007 Mon 06:45 pm |
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Quoting qdemir: Is there anybody on here learning a foreign language, for s/he thinks it is a labour of love? Do you think it is worth spending your time, money and making a concerted effort? |
Three years ago I started taking lessons in Japanese and now I am taking lessons in Turkish. Both not for money, love or business but just because I want to be able to help myself when I'm visiting a country (have been to Japan twice, hopefully in 2008 third time and to Turkey this summer will be my sixth visit.) Both languages I just understand enough words / sentences to travel around, that's all I need.
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| 60. |
26 Feb 2007 Mon 10:00 pm |
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Quoting sophie:
In Greece, English is being taught even in the nursery schools. Officially, in public schools, kids start learning English from the 3rd grade and in the 5th grade they start learning a second one, which is either French or German (which makes two compulsory foreign languages at the age of 10 ). At the same time, Italian and Spanish are languages that kids try to learn, as soon as they enter high school, through private institutes. So, "lazy" is not the word for the Greek kids. |
Quite the same situation in Romania: pupils start learning a foreign language (English, French, German or Spanish) from kindergarten.In the 4th grade (age 11) they start learning the second one, the aim being to pass the Cambridge, DALF or their Spanish, German or Italian equivalents in advance levels when they graduade highschool (age 18). The third foreign language is taught at the University. Studies on the so called "rare" foreign languages (eg Japanese, Chinese, Finnish, Portuguese, Turkish, Arabic, etc)are also for the university level.
A certificate in advanced English/French/German/Spanish is definitely a criterion for selection here; usually Enghlish is considered a must, the second foreign language is viewed as highly desirable and the third foreign language- well...this makes the difference
As for learning a foreign language for the sake of learning itself, I have met such characters (most of them driven by the desire to read Plato,Kant or Dostoievski in the language these authors wrote). I am among the "lucky few" studying Turkish as a "labour of love" and ... Arabic is the next on my list- for the same reason
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