I attended a conference at McGill University in Montreal. There were many presentations about multilingualism from a linguistics and neuro-scientific perspective. I am not sure of the connection with language acquisition. Check out the website.
http://multilingualism.conference.mcgill.ca/
Videos of the conference will be posted.
28 October 2013
Multilingualism and the brain. A conference at McGill University, Montreal
22 October 2013
Learning multiple languages – Part 2
Can we learn multiple languages at the same time? I prefer not to do this, but obviously many people do like studying this way. It seems that many people like to study a second language via a third language.
I spend most of my learning time in the target language. The language of the dictionary, or of any grammatical explanations, is not that important to me, as long as it is as clear as possible. Therefore I prefer to use my own language or a language that I know well for the dictionary or for any reference material. I tend not to learn a second language through a third language, although this seems to be a popular approach with many people.
But to each his or her own!
18 October 2013
Learning multiple languages at the same time
Can we learn multiple languages at the same time? Yes, we can, but I don’t do it. I prefer to focus on one language at a time. I devote at least 80% of my learning time to my major language, and 20% to one or more others. We can all learn more than one language. We need to find the ways to do it that work best for us as individuals, in my view.
11 October 2013
Language goals and frustrations
Most people in language programs don’t achieve their goals, assuming they have some. In any case many learners, or most, eventually drop out.
10 October 2013
Language learning drop outs
I had lunch the other day with a college language professor. He told me that the dropout rate for students of Asian languages at his university was very high. Most students who start a first-year program give it up in the first year. Apparently this is not unusual. The attrition rates for online language learning and high school language learning are also not very encouraging. It appears that no one gets very far in language learning, no matter where or how they study.
In Canada it cost an average of about $5,000 a year to attend a university. The true cost of the University is closer to five or six times that amount per student. The rest is covered by the taxpayer. Since most students in a liberal arts program take five courses per year, one language course costs about $5,000. It seems tremendously wasteful to me that students are allowed to take a language course and then abandon it, in other words throw away $5,000. At the very least, in situations where the tax-payer is paying, the learner should have to demonstrate sufficient motivation to study independently , before being allowed to take a language course.
Let’s assume students were given the choice between studying at LingQ for a year for one hundred dollars, or paying $5,000 for a university language course, both out of their own pockets. Most learners likely abandon their studies before the end of the year in either case. However, the few motivated learners would do well in both programs.
Using LingQ would make a lot of economic sense. A lot of money could be saved. The survivors could then be entitled to a government subsidized college language course in the second year.
8 October 2013
Motivation for the lazy language learner
You can be a lazy language learner and still learn quite well. Motivation is the key.
4 October 2013
Speaking in a foreign language
Listening and reading are my favourite learning activities, but the goal is to speak. How do we get to speak and speak well? We need to speak a lot. It can be a struggle at first, but we usually do better than we think. We need to interact with native speakers, preferably face to face, and in natural and meaningful situations. And we need to pay attention but we should not be too harsh on ourselves.
2 October 2013
Active and passive vocabulary
You need a lot of words to function effectively in a language because you need to understand what is said. Work on your passive vocabulary and don’t worry too much about your difficulties in speaking and using words in the early stages. If you have the passive vocabulary, if you can understand what you hear, you will eventually learn to speak well.
2 October 2013
Hacking language learning
TED or ideas worth spreading represents itself as a source of stimulating and meaningful talks on a great variety of subjects. Some of these talks are worth listening to, but many are not. TED charges a ridiculous amount of money for people to participate in their live get-togethers, $7,500 for the meeting in Vancouver next March. Ridiculous to me, but obviously not to the people who willingly spend that money to see and be seen.
Here is a presentation on hacking language learning. I don’t believe in language hacks, because I believe that language learning takes a long time. I disagree with much of what Dr. Connor Quinn has to say in this video. I don’t believe that you can simply learn a few words and then be able to speak. You won’t understand what other people are saying. You need a lot of words, which are best acquired through a lot of enjoyable listening and reading. Having learned 14 languages to varying degrees, I know what I am talking about.
I also don’t believe that the field of linguistics has much to offer the language learner.
30 September 2013
Come ho fatto per imparare l’Italiano
Non ho parlato molto in Italiano, ma ho ascoltato e letto molto, e ho imparato un mucchio di cose.
