tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post4681311550552659759..comments2023-04-21T15:19:04.905+08:00Comments on Being Multilingual: Age, decay, and missed opportunitiesMadalena Cruz-Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14782492322928803326noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-2257550170015123432010-12-01T17:26:22.090+08:002010-12-01T17:26:22.090+08:00¡Gracias, sí, de nada, Diane!, as Mike would have ...¡Gracias, sí, de nada, Diane!, as Mike would have put it. <br />My favourite line is “Me gusta la biblioteca”, though. Its conversational usability almost beats the one of “El perro...”. Almost.<br />MadalenaMadalena Cruz-Ferreirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14782492322928803326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-56169242123674456282010-12-01T04:17:00.804+08:002010-12-01T04:17:00.804+08:00Oooo, you did it. Quiero un taco. Feliz cumpleañ...Oooo, you did it. Quiero un taco. Feliz cumpleaños. The one semester of Spanish Spanish love song. Drat! There's a hole in my bucket, my. . . :>) Great post!Mrs. D. Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05923899357843270017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-89324090507040803112010-11-29T19:06:02.145+08:002010-11-29T19:06:02.145+08:00Deborah: Children and later learners will naturall...Deborah: Children and later learners will naturally have different reasons to want to learn languages, as you say. Different languages are also learned for different purposes, regardless of age of learning, which is why they will develop differently too. <br />And I agree with you: as far as methods are concerned, immersion, so that you can do fieldwork or get cookies, is a very effective way of learning languages!<br />MadalenaMadalena Cruz-Ferreirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14782492322928803326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-18233110223957578762010-11-26T10:17:29.206+08:002010-11-26T10:17:29.206+08:00>You must have a good reason to want to learn, ...>You must have a good reason to want to learn, and I think this is true of languages too.<<br /><br />I very much agree with this statement. If I may add to this discussion, I do know some (not children, but grown-ups) who learn a ‘new’ language just so that they are equipped to do research fieldwork (the kind that involves talking to various people and generally immersing in the target culture and community) in a geographic location that they have a strong interest in for various reasons, and that uses that language. And of course, the more they work in those geographic locations, on the issues that interest them, the more competent in the language they become. I always thought this was a pretty cool way of acquiring a ‘new’ language!<br /><br />This is not to say, though, that the intention to do fieldwork is a prerequisite for successful language learning (it certainly is not), but it does mean that learning a language might come easier if there is a purpose for that learning, beyond that of simply adding to one’s ‘magical’ bag of languages as an end in itself. If we think about it, this is no different from why little children learn language(s). They learn it for a purpose or various purposes, e.g. to be better able to ask for things -- cookies, toys, etc., to be better able to express their discomforts, likes, dislikes. Grown-ups may (unfortunately for them) have more complicated purposes, but it does seem that, like little children, it is having a purpose for learning a language that facilitates that learning.<br /><br />DeborahDeborah Chuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02911786996482749777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-26505875498227471772010-11-21T16:16:36.930+08:002010-11-21T16:16:36.930+08:00ms_bobdog: I think one very, very powerful reason ...ms_bobdog: I think one very, very powerful reason to learn is motivation. You must have a good reason to want to learn, and I think this is true of languages too. Cramming for tests is probably not a good reason, but wanting to be able to make friends in a new language sounds like one. <br />One interesting thing that your comment reminded me of: there are reports that adult language learners show much better command of their new languages when they’re small-talking informally than when they are engaging in classroom-like exercises. Makes one wonder, doesn’t it?<br />MadalenaMadalena Cruz-Ferreirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14782492322928803326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-34248878351475880552010-11-20T10:29:14.111+08:002010-11-20T10:29:14.111+08:00There are simply too many other explanations on wh...There are simply too many other explanations on why it becomes "impossible" to learn languages after a certain age. But again, why are some people able to learn new languages even at an "advanced" age? Are we saying that their brains are younger than their actual age? And I totally agree with you that language schools are showing no signs of closing down! If anything, they are making more and more money...ms_bobdoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10175658529569132614noreply@blogger.com