I don't think J.C. is jealous. I want to be clear about that. I DO think, however that many people ARE jealous of other people, their children, etc., and it's better to express things in a more modest way (while still being truthful) if possible if the subject is foreign language or foreign travel.
I listened to at least part of the Russian demonstration that Wendy gave.
I would still call myself a student of Russian, but I noticed that Wendy seemed very relaxed in Russian. I can't really judge her level though, because most of what I heard was very short and basic. I just got the impression that she was more comfortable with Russian than with Japanese. Perhaps she has had more exposure to speakers of Russian.
If we compare Wendy to most children in the US then we have to say that she is remarkable. If you want to stop there in your opinion, that's okay.
If we compare Wendy to children of the same age in Japan or France, then no, I would not say that she is on the same speaking level as her age mates.
J. C. commented on the level of Wendy's book. I have a book for Japanese children which gives the number of Chinese characters they should know according to their grade in school. In first grade, students have to learn 80 Chinese characters ( I used to think it was 100, but it's only 80.) In second grade they must learn 160 characters. In third grade they have to learn 200 characters. Japanese children have to write these words many times to get the "feel" of them.
I didn't see any Kanji (Chinese characters) in the book Wendy had. I think she can catch up, but even for a talented young girl it's going to be
a time-consuming task.
Wendy stated that she wants to be doctor. She needs to have time to study science and math, plus music. That's a lot on the schedule of a little girl.
So, if you compare her to her age mates in the US, then she is doing great, but if she were to move overseas, she'd have some catching up to do. People who teach or who are very interested in language are going to notice these things.
It's okay to say that she can speak in eleven languages. In college, my French professor told me that fluency means that one can understand and answer any questions thrown at you. If you agree with that definition, then you should simply say it that way: She can say things in eleven languages or she can demonstrate her speaking abilities in eleven languages. Then the big thing: That's a whole lot of languages!
Going back to the beginning of my post, it's just best to leave out the word "fluently" because it doesn't mean the same thing to everyone here.
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I listened to at least part of the Russian demonstration that Wendy gave.
I would still call myself a student of Russian, but I noticed that Wendy seemed very relaxed in Russian. I can't really judge her level though, because most of what I heard was very short and basic. I just got the impression that she was more comfortable with Russian than with Japanese. Perhaps she has had more exposure to speakers of Russian.
If we compare Wendy to most children in the US then we have to say that she is remarkable. If you want to stop there in your opinion, that's okay.
If we compare Wendy to children of the same age in Japan or France, then no, I would not say that she is on the same speaking level as her age mates.
J. C. commented on the level of Wendy's book. I have a book for Japanese children which gives the number of Chinese characters they should know according to their grade in school. In first grade, students have to learn 80 Chinese characters ( I used to think it was 100, but it's only 80.) In second grade they must learn 160 characters. In third grade they have to learn 200 characters. Japanese children have to write these words many times to get the "feel" of them.
I didn't see any Kanji (Chinese characters) in the book Wendy had. I think she can catch up, but even for a talented young girl it's going to be
a time-consuming task.
Wendy stated that she wants to be doctor. She needs to have time to study science and math, plus music. That's a lot on the schedule of a little girl.
So, if you compare her to her age mates in the US, then she is doing great, but if she were to move overseas, she'd have some catching up to do. People who teach or who are very interested in language are going to notice these things.
It's okay to say that she can speak in eleven languages. In college, my French professor told me that fluency means that one can understand and answer any questions thrown at you. If you agree with that definition, then you should simply say it that way: She can say things in eleven languages or she can demonstrate her speaking abilities in eleven languages. Then the big thing: That's a whole lot of languages!
Going back to the beginning of my post, it's just best to leave out the word "fluently" because it doesn't mean the same thing to everyone here.
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