…Very interesting take on the effect of aging on language acquisition and retention. I think you hit on a very important point in learning leadership. People who are in a mentor/inspirational role have a responsibility in the advice they give others. Sometimes things that worked wonderfully for one person, and even though they may have been wildly successful, may not be a good idea for the masses, or even for one additional person. The biggest contrast I see between your and Benny’s advice (final goals aside) aligns along the division between introverts and extroverts. I believe introverts would be more drawn to a method of internalizing a language through personal, quiet exposure before attempting communication with other speakers in an impromptu environment. Extroverts, I would see gravitating toward a method of exposure that got them immediately interacting with people. The one thing the two methods have in common is that they play to what people find energizing. Introverts feeling enlivened by time alone, studying and extroverts by time interacting with people. Overall, I would say the introvert method leads to a deeper understanding of the language itself, but that’s most likely because the introvert is most (although not exclusively) interested in the language itself. Extroverts enjoy interacting with larger numbers of people and will probably be drawn to linguistics for the sake of speaking.I would gamble that most people drawn to the instant and immediate immersion method, would also classify themselves as extroverts. This may explain your and Benny’s different takes on the transition between Spanish and Portuguese. Without an understanding of what Spanish is beneath phrases and pronunciation, I can see how it could seem completely different than Portuguese.
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Steve Kaufmann
March 17, 2010 at 12:41 am
You are right that an introverted person may have more trouble following the cold turkey method. However, I would not call myself an introvert, and I would also not want to follow that method. However, I do see that going to the country may be necessary to motivate certain people and do not doubt that it works for Benny.
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I speak 20 languages
I've been learning languages for over 50 years and I've tried all kinds of approaches.
2 comments on “Languages and wine-sound only”
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…Very interesting take on the effect of aging on language acquisition and retention. I think you hit on a very important point in learning leadership. People who are in a mentor/inspirational role have a responsibility in the advice they give others. Sometimes things that worked wonderfully for one person, and even though they may have been wildly successful, may not be a good idea for the masses, or even for one additional person. The biggest contrast I see between your and Benny’s advice (final goals aside) aligns along the division between introverts and extroverts. I believe introverts would be more drawn to a method of internalizing a language through personal, quiet exposure before attempting communication with other speakers in an impromptu environment. Extroverts, I would see gravitating toward a method of exposure that got them immediately interacting with people. The one thing the two methods have in common is that they play to what people find energizing. Introverts feeling enlivened by time alone, studying and extroverts by time interacting with people. Overall, I would say the introvert method leads to a deeper understanding of the language itself, but that’s most likely because the introvert is most (although not exclusively) interested in the language itself. Extroverts enjoy interacting with larger numbers of people and will probably be drawn to linguistics for the sake of speaking.I would gamble that most people drawn to the instant and immediate immersion method, would also classify themselves as extroverts. This may explain your and Benny’s different takes on the transition between Spanish and Portuguese. Without an understanding of what Spanish is beneath phrases and pronunciation, I can see how it could seem completely different than Portuguese.
You are right that an introverted person may have more trouble following the cold turkey method. However, I would not call myself an introvert, and I would also not want to follow that method. However, I do see that going to the country may be necessary to motivate certain people and do not doubt that it works for Benny.