Learning a second language is a very humbling experience. In fact, the word “second” in “second language” should be omitted to purify and humble the process of language learning. I explain.
My Definition
To me a language (with the help of a my buddy Merriam-Webster) is a system of symbols or codes or signs: pictures and sounds (words) that, when put together in a coherent way, represent the idea of something, the something as perceived by the mind, the something as perceived by the culture.
The ultimate goal when using a language is to communicate. When put together the symbols of a language act and interact in a coherent and meaningful way so as to communicate ideas.
Language is a Cultural Product – It’s All Rhythm!
The “putting together” is important rhythmically, grammatically, and culturally. A language is a cultural product. It needs an audience that understands its rhythms, grammar (syntax), and cultural ideologies.
In other words, you need to get the codes (sounds) right, and how to put them together in the existing cultural linguistic system of the listener or reader (your audience) for him or her to understand. What is important is not that you understand, but that your audience does. It’s all rhythm!
You Are Your Language and Your Language is You...
As you communicate your ideas through a language, you create and communicate an identity within your cultural world: from how the language comes alive through you you tell your story, who you are and where you stand. You embody the language as much as the language embodies you and is you: you are culturally and socially through the language.
Translate Yourself?
It scares anyone to leave one's strong language and identity to try and communicate in another language that you do not know! Can you translate yourself? Actually, I doubt that you can fully translate yourself. I believe that as you experience the new language, the new culture, and play with the words, you inevitably create another identity for yourself! If not, a least you are not to the native speakers of your second language what you are to the speakers of your own language, be it only the cultural difference! Hey, that does not mean that you lose the other identity! It's just a plus!
Try Modesty!
To learn a language one must be modest or humble though. If we look at the natural way we learn a language when we are children and compare it to learning a language as an adult, we come to very different processes but often we want the same results and we are frustrated when those results take time to happen.
ASSIGNMENT!
Think about the differences between learning a language as a child and as an adult (This information is not in the blog, although some points I discussed can help, you have to come up with your own ideas!). Highlight the most important ones (2 or 3 differences) and discuss how they affect the adult learner of a second language in a 50-75 word comment to this blog entry!
Do it fast so that you can put your ideas forward before others do. Remember they need to be your ideas and not those from your classmates' comments.
Good luck!
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First, in my opinion, learning a language is the best way to remove social and occupationnal barriers. Actually, it's a good way to make friends all over the world and to enlarge your horizons travelling, working or studying in a foreign country.
ReplyDeleteBut I think a child has better aptitude for learn and memorize a new language than an adult. However, an adult can learn a language if he uses THE good method.
Finally, a child can be less motivated than an adult because it's not his choice but his parents'. So, in that case, it could be difficult to learn a language for a child.
Opinions can be divided!
I think that when you learn a new language and you are a child, it's easier because we learn by earing the sounds and rhythms. When your are older and you want to learn correctly the language, you have to work harder. You may do more exercices of diction or reading. When you are a child, you don't care about the opinion of the others because they are probably not better than you. But when you are an adult, you can be shy about your prononciation so you don't talk and you can't progress. That's what I'm thinking about the differences between learning a new language as a child and learning as an adult.
ReplyDeleteI think it's better for a child to learn English than an adult, because they are in a classroom with their friends and they can talk with someone they know. They are less shy and at this period of their life, they want to learn many things. The children’ brain learns more quickly.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s easier for a child to learn an other language because child are not scare to dare and they don’t care about what the other child think about their. By example, if you are an adult and you want to learn English they have more person who are very good in this language than if your are a child. So it’s more embarrassing for an adult.
ReplyDeleteTalking in English as a child it's easier et learned faster than an adult because children are so motivated to learn and they don't care about looking stupid or ridiculous. It's just fun for us. For adults it's a different way because they have to try hard and to pratice a lot of time to become very good. They have to eliminate their bad habits in English.
ReplyDeleteI think it's easier for a child to learn a language because the adults are sometimes only familiar with french so it could be hard for them to learn a new language because the prononciation is diffrent. But, in another way, it could be hard for a child too because they are already learnig a different language. But i think the child will learn much easily anyway because they are in a period of the life that they are able to learn a lot of things.
ReplyDeleteI think it is easier to learn a new language when you are younger because soon as you learn a new language more you can practice. I really think that adults have more difficulties in learning a new language because they are already master one language since a lot of years. Adults are used to speak their first language, they developed a lot of bad habits. It's the perfect time to learn an other language when you're younger because the accent will be so much better and they can learn a lot of things and put it day to day. I'm sure that someone with positivism can do whatever he wants .
ReplyDelete