 |
Mexican Living: Todays Obsession
I would like to talk about one of my many obsessions: learning
Spanish. I have been thinking about this lately mostly because I
am under the impression that, though I've lived in Mexico for two
years, my Spanish sucks in a major way.
Both Mexicans and Gringos tell me that my Spanish is good and
that I speak like a native. Ha! Little do they know the
truth.
I can say almost anything I need to in most situations. I can
go to our general practitioner, Doctora Bello, and tell her what
ails me. And, because she will consciously speak to me slowly,
like speaking to a two-year-old child, I can understand her
instructions on how to cure the third eye that grew in the middle
of my forehead overnight.
My problem with Spanish is that, though I can ask or say
almost anything, when a native speaker talks back to me, all I
hear is something like the sound a machine gun when it goes off.
I hear sounds but nothing that sounds like human speech. I can
hear the rhythm but it is unintelligible most of the time.
This can be embarrassing, to say the least. Can you imagine
how I function as an expat in this society? Here is the real
kicker: My wife, who has trouble with accent and vocabulary, can
understand the machine gun Spanish. It is amazing! I am so
jealous! She understands far more than I can possibly hope to. I
haven't the foggiest notion how she does it. I study day and
night and memorize thousands of Spanish words. She doesn't and
her fluency outshines mine any time of the day.
What is the deal here?
I've found that I am not alone. Many "older" expats in Mexico
have the very same struggle. Though they've studied their hearts
out, it is the "listening and comprehending" part of the language
that is giving them the most fits.
The first discovery I made is there are some presuppositions
that we "older" learners need to dump and dump quickly.
· there is no decline in the ability to learn as people
get older;
· except for minor considerations such as hearing and
vision loss, the age of the adult learner is not a major factor
in language acquisition;
· the context in which adults learn is the major
influence on their ability to acquire the new language. [1]
Older foreign language learners can be excellent students in
gaining a second language. It is a senseless stereotype that they
cannot learn a foreign language. The difficulties in an older
person learning a foreign language can be overcome in adjusting
the learning environment and by choosing the right
methodology.
The biggest obstacle in learning a second language for an
older student is an emotional one-doubt. Doubt in the mind of the
student is what convinces an older language learner that he or
she cannot learn a foreign language and learn it well.
Motivation, what I've written in earlier columns, can affect the
entire outcome of language learning.
In a study done in 1979, researchers Krashen, Long and
Scarcella discovered, "Studies comparing the rate of second
language acquisition in children and adults have shown that
although children may have an advantage in achieving native-like
fluency in the long run, adults actually learn languages more
quickly than children in the early stages." [2]
A study in 1981 by Ostwald and Williams revealed, "Studies on
aging have demonstrated that learning ability does not decline
with age. If older people remain healthy, their intellectual
abilities and skills do not decline (Ostwald and Williams, 1981).
Adults learn differently from children, but no age-related
differences in learning ability have been demonstrated for adults
of different ages. [3]
"More recent research in neurology has demonstrated that,
while language learning is different in childhood and adulthood
because of developmental differences in the brain, "in important
respects adults have superior language learning capabilities"
(Walsh and Diller, 1978)." [4]
Conclusion: I am without excuse. I have to stay in there
swinging the linguistic bat until I hit that home run.
Are you with me?
[1] The Older Language Learner, by Mary Schleppegrell
(http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/87-9dig.htm)
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid
Doug Bower is a freelance writer and book author. His most
recent writing credits include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
The Houston Chronicle, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, and
Transitions Abroad. He lives with his wife in Guanajuato, Mexico.
His new book, Mexican Living: Blogging it from a Third World
Country, can be seen at http://www.lulu.com/content/126241
MORE RESOURCES:
Johnson, crew chief thrive on 'goofy language'guardian.co.uk, UK - 4 hours agoBy Larry Fine NEW YORK, Dec 4 (Reuters) - NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson says being on the same wave length as his crew chief with "goofy language" is the ... |
Man in Search Of LanguageForward, NY - 5 hours agoBy Joel Streicker Readers expecting a grand symphony on how Hebrew was revived as a living language beginning in the late 19th century will be disappointed ... |
Language - Google News
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
GROUSE ... GROUSE ...
GROUSE!!!
I realize that we here in the United States consider
ourselves at the top rung of the educational ladder, if
only for the fact that so many foreign language students
are breaking their necks to come here to both study and
live English.But, on second glance, we should not deceive
ourselves.
English Has Come A Long,
Long Way...
I often wonder what would happen if Shakespeare were to be
transported in a time machine to our world today. What
would he think? How would he react?Yes, Willie would
probably tell me "thou hast too much time on thy hands if
thou spendeth it wondering about such flights of fancy.
Learn Korean: Part 2 -
Social Status in Culture
Part 1 of this series covered the language and language
families in general for the Asian languages. Part 2 will
cover the social conduct that is seen throughout Asian
countries.
Learn Italian in Your
Hometown
Are you interested in learning the Italian language right
in your own hometown? There are several options that you
can explore to find the Italian classes that are just
perfect for you! First, you should consider whether you
would you enjoy the interaction that takes place among
students in group classes, or if you would prefer the
one-on-one attention of a private instructor.1.
Aphasia: The Cruelest
Language Barrier
Imagine the following scenario: You wake up one morning and
instead of speaking English, everyone around you--including
your family and friends--is speaking Hungarian. This is a
problem because you don't speak Hungarian and you don't
have a clue what they're saying.
Learning a Foreign
Language: Learn from the Blind
In a previous article, you read that to establih your own
lists was the best way to learn vocabulary as fast as
possible. Let's study what an effective list looks like.
English Language
Sputtering Online Like an Old Ford!
Sad, but true. Just about everywhere you look online, the
English language is suffering a fate worse than death.
Learn Italian in
Italy
You can combine your love of the Italian language with an
unforgettable experience in the country where the language
is spoken by studying Italian in Italy! Hands-down, the
best way to learn a foreign language is to live, work, or
study in a native speaking environment. Studying Italian in
Italy is the best possible experience you can have to learn
the language.
Show Me the Bunny:
Language Acquisition
Some children are really funny about experimenting with
speech. Nonetheless, the first intelligible words bring
such a feeling of elation to a parent.
Chinese Pinyin or Hanyu
Pinyin Overview
Chinese Pinyin is the romanization of the Chinese "written
sound". Romanization approximates Mandarin pronunciation
with Western spellings and includes a tone mark to signify
the pitch of a word.
Learning a Foreign
Language: the Psychological Factor
When it comes about learning a foreign language, many
people wonder if they will be able to memorize enough
vocabulary. But this question never occurs about their
mother tongue.
How Ronzoni Italian
Foods Helped My Dad Learn English
My dad likes to say, he was made in Italy, but born in
Brooklyn New York. You see his parents left Palermo, Sicily
in February 1955 and sailed by boat to America.
Don't Take The Romaji
Short-Cut When Learning Japanese
This is an issue many Japanese learners come up against,
particularly if they live outside Japan. After all, If you
are not in the country, it seems difficult to justify the
huge amount of time that learning Japanese characters seems
to require.
Preschool
Spanish
Why an EarlyAGE 2nd Language?Research indicates that from
ages 1 through 8 is the best time to introduce a new
language to a child. If the 2nd language is introduced
early in life children will learn it faster and retain it
longer.
Teaching English in
Mexico: A Decent Living?
What's more disappointing than a person who makes a promise
he can't keep? A person who makes a promise that is a lie.
Many promises to make a "decent living" teaching English in
Mexico are just that-a lie.
Whats In A Word? More
Than You Realize
What's in a word? Apparently more than we might want.For
others, the ability to express yourself in the most
meaningful way.
Speaking Spanish To
Increase Mind Power
Our "mind power" is largely in the way we use our words,
and limited by our vocabulary. Words, and the concepts they
express, are different in each language, and there are
differing common expressions.
Teaching English in
Greece - What Do You Need to Know?
The employment situation can be quite uncertain for
newcomers to Greece and therefore many people choose to try
teaching English as a foreign language, on a full or
part-time basis. It can bring in a good income whether it
is your preferred career choice, or you wish to do it
short-term until another career choice pans out.
Learn Korean: Part 1 -
Asian Languages and Language Families
So, you have always been fascinated by Asian culture have
you? Maybe you are someone who loves the martial arts; kung
fu, tae-kwon-do, or karate. Perhaps you are interested in
the cool oriental stores and like to buy many things from
them to decorate your house.
Japanese Kanji Learning:
Short-Cuts to Rapid Mastery (Part 2)
In Japanese Kanji Learning: Short-Cuts to Rapid Mastery
Part 1, we looked at mnemonic methods devised by James
Heisig and Kenneth Henshall to speed-up kanji acquisition.
We saw how their techniques activate the imagination by
assigning different meanings individual elements of each
kanji.
|
|
