Thread: Language learning

Please review:

[url="http://www.teacherfocus.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=803"]viewtopic.php?f=46&t=803[/url]

Thank you for your cooperation!

Being multilingual - I know the thrill of feeling that I can communicate , UNDERSTAND and make others understand.
Norwegians do speak English - often they sound like the Swedish chef from muppetshow - but at least, they try.
Italian is great - after all - that's where I was born. German is pretty easy but relatively boring to speak - and this is a language stripped of understatement.
I'll tell you what's the worst - knowing a language that cannot be spoken ! (Latin)

BTW:
In what grade do US children start learning a secound language ?
Olav

Typically, the children here don't start studying (seriously) another language until high school. My children are being taught a little Spanish in elementary school presently though (beginning with kindergarten). Naturally, they are being taught Spanish because of the prevalent Latino population in this area.

At what age do your students start learning other languages?

"My " pupils start learning English from day one at school. At the end of their first year (Age 6-7) They know all the basic words - phrases used in ordinary conversations ,the numbers up to one hundred, they know the Engl. word for all body parts etc.
A third language is introduced during K5.

Olav

In BG, kids start learning foreign languages at 6, usually English.
In big towns the other languages are Spanish and Russian, in small towns German,Russian, French for the tourists.
German is not preferred for the different from the subject-verb-object words order and the so-called "fallung". (Just to mention- Slavic languages are difficult for complex verbs conjugation).
But the resemblance between English and Scandinavian languages is evident.
There is some lexical coincidence of Swedish with Slavic languages, maybe Swedes, Vikings or whatever called really lived in Russia before founding their country. Vikings were also called Rus, which in my language means "blonde"- like most Scandinavians.

Well, not all Scandinavian languages are similar to each other. I know it for having worked with Finns and Swedes as an economist.
Oh, how can I forget my Finnish colleagues who tried to find the shortest phrase possible - I'm sure they knew the correct is "I'm Finnish" but said: "I'm Finn". The Finns always tried to find the easiest and fastest method, and they were good at technical matters and at administrative ones- not.

I think this thread must be moved to "Literature and Humanities" or simply locked.

As for language learning and any kind of learning, it must give knowledge in accordance with the sphere it will be applied in. For instance, American computer firms look for potential employees to work as call operators and deal on phone with native speakers for troubleshooting; and seek them in a country where that language is unpopular, for instance: a Bulgarian knowing Dutch. The catch is "you gain the opportunity to practice a language", but the only place that person can learn Dutch thoroughly is university, and one can imagine what communication can be between that employee and a furious Dutchman with a dialect whose computer has stopped working (don't mind Dutchmen, just an example).
Companies must set standards of communication and standardized entry data by customers to ease the process. Let us not forget the today's crisis is due not to overproduction, lack of production but due to dissatisfied employees who try to correspond to social requirements by drawing loans for a new laptop, etc. and in return are stressed for the new requirements by the employer who hasn't invested in his tuition and expects more. If governments are to save companies in recession, they're to help the ones which invest in the personnel's training.