As you can see, I’m a poor speaker of English so I’m not sure what the best way is to learn a new language, for I’m not sure even what I’m saying in English. When I started to learn French, I felt that it was much easier to learn it if you associate each of French word or grammatical rule with its counterpart in English, so maybe comparing the new language with the one you already know is of a little help for language learners. However, this is not a new idea at all since it is almost inevitable that you use your native language as a ladder when you learn the second language.
I think you can learn a language faster if you stay abroad but it costs a lot and not everyone can do that so I cannot say that this is the best way, either. Therefore, my answer is “I don’t know”, but I hope I can find something suggestive during my stay here.
It's interesting your answer is you don't know, but I sometimes feel the same as you!
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to find a person of the same feeling.
DeleteYes, I suppose there's more people who feel the same as us!
DeleteMe either. I have been staying here for six month but I'm still not sure what is the most effective way to be fluent and whether there's such a way or not. I really hope we all find our best before leave here.
DeleteYour statement is very honest. I hope you can find some answer to this question during your stay here.
ReplyDeleteI think learning second language (first foreign language) is different from learning third language (second foreign language). As you say, when you learn third language (second foreign language), you can compare with the second language you have already learned.
As we are Japanese and our mother tongue has no similar language, it is likely that the second language for us has more in common with the third one than Japanese language has. However, I'm wondering how it would be if our mother tongue were, say, English.
DeleteI agree with your idea. When I started learning Chinese, the grammar was similar to English, so maybe I had a kind of advantage.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that almost all the students have that advantage.
DeleteI think your answer is true. I guess no one knows what the answer is!Also it helps learners to know the association between the lunguages in order to master many lunguage.
ReplyDeleteI expected everyone would say "I don't know" but it didn't happen.
DeleteI think It's a little bit funny that you call yourself as a poor speaker of English, because you are fluent in English, I think. Also, I think it's interesting that we should use our language to learn a second language.
ReplyDeleteI'm very happy to hear that, but maybe my English is at the bottom of the University of Tokyo students.
DeleteIt is very important, I think, that you say you don't know well about what you actually don't know about. I hope you will find your own answer in this stay in New Zealand
ReplyDeleteI envy you because you look so fluent in English but thanks !
DeleteThank you for sharing, Haruki. Comparing a language you're learning with one or more you already know, while not a 'novel' way of learning is an effective one. I trust these three weeks in New Zealand will indeed give you fresh insights about language learning, though, too.
ReplyDeleteDavid :-)
I'm really enjoying your class and I always appreciate your help and kindness in the class.
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