My granddaughter is 16 months old and can say about 20 words and one of those is hello in French. Her other grandmother is French so talks to her in French all the time. My daughter can speak German and Spanish and her husband French.
My granddaughter is 16 months old and can say about 20 words and one of those is hello in French. Her other grandmother is French so talks to her in French all the time. My daughter can speak German and Spanish and her husband French.
If all those people around the little one continue speaking to her in their native tongue, as she gets a little older she'll naturally be able to express herself in those languages.
Little kids also have the gift of not mixing one language into another - they seem to be able to compartmentalise one from the other and switch effortlessly.
It's a real asset for kids to be brought up bilingually.
Living in Italy now and have studied Italian on and off for years before coming here, I'd say my Italian is decent but not fluent now. However, when I was a kid I spoke it fluently and my mum even claims it was my first language! But I stopped speaking it at about 6 years old and totally forgot every word of it! So have had to relearn over the years but I feel like I'll never get back that instinctive speaking but I hope so!
I feel like I can speak more than I understand which is said to be strange by some as usually when learning a language you generally understand more than you speak.
I remember going on a TEFL course and was told that after the age of 12 the chances of mastering a language drop by 99%, that's mastering though and I believe that changes if you live in the country of said language you're trying to learn.
Also vocab is more important than grammar because if you know 1000 words in any language you know 70% of the language.
Due to the fact that we have an office in Germany and another in France (which I never go to) I chose to speak German). This first came about as I used to go the German GP every year at Hockenheim. Go to evening class if you can somewhere, as most people there are in the same boat as you, and they are usually pretty cheap in comparison to other means. Learn the basic phrases that will get you out and about like introducing yourself, asking for directions, travel etc.
Just keep reading and talking and that helps. I do agree with others in that the dialect and locality can be as difficult as it is in our country.
I've been to almost every province in China, I'd say Yunnan is one of the worst for it, for example, in sichuan / chengdu, people will speak their dialect but can switch into mandarin, in Kunming a large part of the population just can't speak mandarin
Xinjiang, surprisingly, avoids this problem, to some extent. Because the region’s han population have migrated from all over China during the last 60 years (han population there previous to that was tiny), Mandarin has had to have been spoken as a Lingua Franca. As a result people speak a very standard pu tong hua. This then has a knock on effect for the uyghurs.
Anywaaaay....
Good luck, pres. No short cuts with language learning. Some good advice above. Hard work and perseverance will see most people through to the type of level you describe.
You are deffo in a good situation for learning, pres. good idea to take advantage of your current immersion to focus on adding a life long skill. Ride out the mickey taking.
I started borrowing my brother-in-law's copies of Penthouse & Mayfair at the age of 12. Never had to open an English grammar book afterwards ... But I never understood why the other kids called me a recluse ?!
I've started to learn Portuguese on duo lingo app although it's really Brazilian it does the basics and free. It's repetitive but hammers home the basic grammar and now I can say my dog and cat eats newspaper in a Brazilian/London accent. I bet Albufeira can't wait for my arrival to hear my Portuguese version of Hello Hello o)
I've started to learn Portuguese on duo lingo app although it's really Brazilian it does the basics and free. It's repetitive but hammers home the basic grammar and now I can say my dog and cat eats newspaper in a Brazilian/London accent. I bet Albufeira can't wait for my arrival to hear my Portuguese version of Hello Hello o)
I've started to learn Portuguese on duo lingo app although it's really Brazilian it does the basics and free. It's repetitive but hammers home the basic grammar and now I can say my dog and cat eats newspaper in a Brazilian/London accent. I bet Albufeira can't wait for my arrival to hear my Portuguese version of Hello Hello o)
Tudu bom?
Tudo bem - O cachorro e o gato come o jornal. Obrigado mein Herr.
I used Michel Thomas to get me started in Dutch. Given the relatively short course I can converse reasonably well although I do struggle when people are speaking at normal speed. I supplemented it with various Youtube clips. I agree that reading or listening to radio or TV is a great way to improve.
If you know how to handle the basics, i.e. how to pronounce things ... you'll find it easier to follow a conversation . Personally, I try to follow Commissario Montalbano on TV .
Comments
If all those people around the little one continue speaking to her in their native tongue, as she gets a little older she'll naturally be able to express herself in those languages.
Little kids also have the gift of not mixing one language into another - they seem to be able to compartmentalise one from the other and switch effortlessly.
It's a real asset for kids to be brought up bilingually.
I feel like I can speak more than I understand which is said to be strange by some as usually when learning a language you generally understand more than you speak.
I remember going on a TEFL course and was told that after the age of 12 the chances of mastering a language drop by 99%, that's mastering though and I believe that changes if you live in the country of said language you're trying to learn.
Also vocab is more important than grammar because if you know 1000 words in any language you know 70% of the language.
Putain!
One size fits all. It's not what you say, it's how you say it.
But be careful. It can offend.
Just keep reading and talking and that helps. I do agree with others in that the dialect and locality can be as difficult as it is in our country.
This will help you improve your French!
Anywaaaay....
Good luck, pres. No short cuts with language learning. Some good advice above. Hard work and perseverance will see most people through to the type of level you describe.
But I never understood why the other kids called me a recluse ?!
I bet Albufeira can't wait for my arrival to hear my Portuguese version of Hello Hello