Comment on TCoRO Sketchdump by zorm
It's really sad that foreign languages aren't appreciated more. In my opinion, there should be at least one, if not two obligatory foreign language classes included in your basic education. :/
The situation's rather different in many European countries which may have several official languages. We have both English and Swedish (second official language in Finland) as obligatory material, starting from the primary school. You have to start one at the age of nine, the second one at the latest at the age of 13, and in the 8th grade you can select 1-2 optional foreign language classes. I had English, Swedish, and German on my curriculum when I was 14. In senior high I added French to go alongside, and thus examined two major and two minor fl's when I finished the senior high. Many of my friends did the same, some took courses on Latin or Spanish.
Not that you become oh-so-masterful in them, but anyway. English is my third, but I started becoming fluent in it only around my second year at the university. I must say fanficcing and Internet communication helped a lot.
The situation's rather different in many European countries which may have several official languages. We have both English and Swedish (second official language in Finland) as obligatory material, starting from the primary school. You have to start one at the age of nine, the second one at the latest at the age of 13, and in the 8th grade you can select 1-2 optional foreign language classes. I had English, Swedish, and German on my curriculum when I was 14. In senior high I added French to go alongside, and thus examined two major and two minor fl's when I finished the senior high. Many of my friends did the same, some took courses on Latin or Spanish.
Not that you become oh-so-masterful in them, but anyway. English is my third, but I started becoming fluent in it only around my second year at the university. I must say fanficcing and Internet communication helped a lot.
Yeah. Not being able to start young really makes it difficult. Not impossible, of course, but harder. We become too accustomed to our own grammatical structure- which is very awkward and unlike any other language- and have a tough time understanding new ones. I have an aptitude for learning languages, but many of my friends have gotten very confused because they started so late in the game.
Incidentally, your english is flawless. I doubt anyone over here would be able to tell it wasn't your first language if they didn't look at your user page.
Incidentally, your english is flawless. I doubt anyone over here would be able to tell it wasn't your first language if they didn't look at your user page.
It's true that Germanic languages like Swedish are more logically structured. When you learn the rules, you build up sentences like mathematical equations. I suppose orientating to new structures depends on the person. I know a fair few people who haven't had any trouble learning foreign languages at an older age. But I agree it's good to start everything as early as possible.
If you want to try a really tricky language, then go for Finnish. XD Since it's old as bedrock, it has exception's exceptions for just about everything, and differs from English like a starfish from a banana. We have such horrors as 14 cases and inflections stuffed to almost every word. And no prepositions. XD Due to the latter, I experience the most troubles in them. Concerning English and its kindred languages, that is.
I make mistakes like the next person. But having an automated spell checker in your web browser and a dictionary-thesaurus permanently open helps.
If you want to try a really tricky language, then go for Finnish. XD Since it's old as bedrock, it has exception's exceptions for just about everything, and differs from English like a starfish from a banana. We have such horrors as 14 cases and inflections stuffed to almost every word. And no prepositions. XD Due to the latter, I experience the most troubles in them. Concerning English and its kindred languages, that is.
I make mistakes like the next person. But having an automated spell checker in your web browser and a dictionary-thesaurus permanently open helps.
Yes, I've heard that Finnish is very difficult. XD
I've had two years of French, which isn't really eniugh to be fluent, and am now studying Japanese. I've been at it for about four years now. The only thing that sets it apart really is having to memorize the characters. The grammar is quite simple, and I personally find it similar to Latin in the way it is constructed.
The dictionary-thesaurus is indeed an invaluable tool.
I've had two years of French, which isn't really eniugh to be fluent, and am now studying Japanese. I've been at it for about four years now. The only thing that sets it apart really is having to memorize the characters. The grammar is quite simple, and I personally find it similar to Latin in the way it is constructed.
The dictionary-thesaurus is indeed an invaluable tool.