Polyglots etc...

Ivor   Wed Aug 17, 2005 3:33 pm GMT
What specific questions would you like to ask successful polyglots or language learners? What would you want to know about how they do what they do?
Easterner   Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:51 pm GMT
The first question I may want to ask is how they master vocabulary in various languages. The reason is that in every language I have learnt, it has been relatively easy for me to comprehend the gist of written and spoken texts, and to understand and master grammatical structures and phrases, but it has been rather difficult to learn individual vocabulary items - I have never been able to practise "rote learning". Instead, I tend to pick up vocabulary randomly, in context, e.g. when reading an interesting text, or watching movies with subtitles, which I do rather frequently. I have learnt Italian mostly this way.
Easterner   Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:52 pm GMT
Erratum: IN this way
Jonne   Sun Aug 21, 2005 4:28 pm GMT
Learning vocabulary has been difficult to me too.. When I was learning Arabic, I used to write arabic name of milk to a milk bottle and so on.. so everytime i wanted milk, i read the arabic name..
Sander   Sun Aug 21, 2005 4:44 pm GMT
And did you write the name as أحلب. or in phonetic latin script?

(BTW, if you're interested in more languages,no trolls and more visite this site's offshoot: http://14.freebb.com/index.php?freebb=antimoonbis )
Easterner   Mon Aug 22, 2005 10:03 am GMT
>>Learning vocabulary has been difficult to me too.. When I was learning Arabic, I used to write arabic name of milk to a milk bottle and so on.. so everytime i wanted milk, i read the arabic name.. <<

Good idea. I had a similar method when learning French. I had a French roomate at a gathering, and whenever I needed in something and did not know the word for it, I paraphrased what I wanted and when he told me the word for it, I wrote it down. Also, at meals, I wrote down all the food items I saw, and looked up the words afterward in a dictionary. That method has proved rather effective, and I still remember those words.
Jonne   Mon Aug 22, 2005 3:11 pm GMT
No, i wrote it in arabic letters, with حركات.
I don't like using transliterations, as i can't find letters for sounds as ع ح ظ ط ض etc.
Mitch   Mon Aug 22, 2005 4:10 pm GMT
The questions I'd like to ask successful polyglots:

How did you learn languages on your own, i.e., not in a class or living in the country--especially if you had to start from scratch?

Were you able to effectively study more than one language at a time?

Did you use dictionaries rather than context, and if so, bilingual or monolingual?

Did you do anything specifically to go from understanding (listening and reading) to producing (speaking and writing), or did production just "emerge" following comprehension?
american nic   Mon Aug 22, 2005 7:22 pm GMT
I am very interested in language and linguistics, and have tried to learn other languages without any success. I'm very good at learning words, sentence structure, etc., but I am very impatient and get bored easily. How have successful learners (particularily impatient ones) been able to continue on learning to fluency?
Sander   Mon Aug 22, 2005 8:30 pm GMT
=>How have successful learners (particularily impatient ones) been able to continue on learning to fluency? <=

Through hard, ruthless, horrible, and continuous beatings with blund objects ... ;-)
Easterner   Tue Aug 23, 2005 12:26 pm GMT
Mitch,

I'll try to answer your questions based on my own experience.

>>How did you learn languages on your own, i.e., not in a class or living in the country--especially if you had to start from scratch?<<

Basically, by consulting a coursebook for the basics of the language, followed up by reading or watching as much authentic content as possible - reading books, watching films or quizzes in the target language, etc.. However, even if this may be enough for developing comprehension or vocabulary, it is not enough for production. Therefore, I recommend that if you feel yourself somewhat confident after having mastered the basics, try to contact a native speaker for practice. One good place to do so is http://www.sharedtalk.com, but I believe there are more such places on the Net.

On the whole, one way to keep yourself motivated and stimulated when learning a language is to access as much authentic input as possible.

>>Were you able to effectively study more than one language at a time?<<

This is possible, provided the two languages are not too similar to each other, because that may easily lead to interference. This has happened to me when learning English and French at the same time - since I was more proficient in English and there are a lot of words that are similar in form and meaning in both languages, I sometimes ended up using French words with the English meaning in mind. However, I have had no such problems when learning French and German simultaneously. So be careful with this.

>>Did you use dictionaries rather than context, and if so, bilingual or monolingual?<<

I try to use bilingual dictionaries with many examples of use at more basic levels, then switch to a monolingual dictionary when I feel I am fluent enogh and have sufficient vocabulary. Monolingual dictionaries are more reliable when you want to decide which word to use from a number of synonyms, and they also develop your reading comprehension skills.

By the way, a supplement to a bilingual dictionary on a more advanced level is picking up vocabulary - both words and phrases - from subtitled films. I would say that context like this one is more important than a dictionary from intermediate level onwards. It may be a good idea to sit through a film with a notebook and jot down all the interesting items that come along - of course, this is possible only if you can understand the spoken language fairly well, and also depends on the language itself. For example, as Italian is much more clearly articulated than French for my ears, I can comprehend Italian speech somewhat better than French, although I am much more fluent in French as far as production is concerned. Therefore, I can pick up relatively more vocabulary from an average subtitled Italian film than a French one.

>>Did you do anything specifically to go from understanding (listening and reading) to producing (speaking and writing), or did production just "emerge" following comprehension?<<

I can say with confidence that production never "emerges" automatically. There has to be a "switch" (usually rather "painful") from the mainly receptive comprehension phase to the willingness to "experiment" with usage till you become confident of what to say and how to say it. If you are serious about learning a language, then, as I said in the beginning, you will sooner or later want to contact a native speaker, either as a teacher or a "communication partner" (in speech or writing), or you will need to visit the target country.

I hope this has been at least a little helpful to you.
Easterner   Tue Aug 23, 2005 12:29 pm GMT
>>and they also develop your reading comprehension skills<<

I would correct myself: consulting monolingual dictionaries develops your capacity to *think* in the target language.
american nic   Fri Aug 26, 2005 1:01 am GMT
Just to keep this thread alive, how many languages do various people here speak fluently?
Travis   Fri Aug 26, 2005 1:14 am GMT
Was würde leider eins sein, denn ich kann fließend Englisch sprechen, und ich kann nicht sagen, daß Schreiben auf Deutsch zählt, besonders wenn ich ein Wörterbuch brauche, auf Deutsch viel zu schreiben.

To put it simply, I'm only fluent in speech in English, and even though I can write in German, that most of the time requires a dictionary of some sort if I'm writing much at all.
Candy   Fri Aug 26, 2005 10:27 am GMT
My German is kind of fluent, but not always accurate (those damn endings!) I can't speak French very well, but I can read it easily. But honestly, I'm only really fluent and comfortable in English.