Posted on 06/11/2020 4:27:39 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative
My dilema: A good friend,brought up in Korea but who became a US citizen about 10 years ago,has what can be said to be,at best,a fair command of spoken English.He's very well educated (in Korea) and very intelligent.My question...does anyone have any experience,first or second hand,with an intelligent middle age person developing a good command of English? I've read that the human brain is wired to acquire language *when young* but that that ability fades as one gets older.
I ask here because I know that Freepers are skilled and experienced in every imaginable human endeavor!
I believe languages are easier when younger. The best route is total immersion. Listen to music and look up the words and try to mimic the pronunciation.
Was an ESL teacher for 20 years, and also a citizenship teacher. If he has lived here long enough to become a citizen ( and passed the test), he should have a decent command already. If he has just learned English by being around others that are also Korean, he will probably continue to speak with errors, but that shouldn’t stop native speakers from understanding him.
I tutor 1:1 in a variety of subjects/ ages. I have a woman who is around 50 years old. She came her for college, started a business, has raised her children here. She is very bright and she still struggles with English. (1) English is based on Latin; Chinese and the Asian languages have NOTHING in common with English, including written letters, phonics - sounds of letters, idiomatic phrases. (2) The biggest challenge is with prepositions and idioms. For example, ON the table, UNDER the book - these have to do with placement. But then you have ABOUT the topic, UNDER the weather, INTO the night. These are not logical, just ‘that’s how we say it.’
We laugh and laugh. “Why do you pronounce it this way, when it is written this way?” I explain the roots - ‘oh, this is from Latin, that is French.’ She has no understanding of “Silent E’ or ‘sounding it out’ although we have reviewed it endlessly.
Regardless, she handles her business beautifully. She does recycling (something) with China, so her colleagues also struggle with English, whether they are here or in China. She gives speeches (which I help her edit); her kids, raised here, also help her.
Makes me really glad I learned English as a child. We have many Asian immigrants in Los Angeles, though. Your friend will do well - but he will never speak like a Native.
Children can learn 2,3,4 languages when young, but easier if they are 6 or younger...
Consider Swiss children ...In their country they speak French, German Italian ...The children learn those languages plus English...
I also tutor her Admin, bc she is the one who writes most of the memos. This woman came here when she was 5, but she is not as bright nor compelled to learn as her boss. She has kids in high school, but she still doesn’t really grasp the past tense(s) and her prepositions are totally tangled. She kind of laughs it off when I correct her and I don’t see her really caring to grasp the intricacies.
These women have both been immersed here for 30 years, but their English skills are quite different.
One of the best places for online ESL resources is here:
All kinds of materials; all free. A good place to start.
OTOH,his 25 year old daughter...who he brought here as a kid...has a command of English every bit as good as mine and just graduated from Columbia last year.
Native speakers can understand him,with difficulty,but the issue bothers him greatly.
That’s the irony. Schools start teaching languages right when kids lose the ability to easily learn them.
Music with translations
K-pop to English
Or
Recognized melodies
And movies with subtitles
This works
Seneca the Roman philosopher didn’t start to learn Greek until he was 70 (when Nero fired him as an advisor).
You’re never too old to begin. (It keeps you young.)
Most of my older students have “fossilized,” which means that no matter what, they continue to make the same pronunciation mistakes that they have made for years. In my classes, I emphasized pronunciation (with these students). It is not the vocabulary or grammar, but simply a pronunciation problem. It is very, very difficult to change. His children don’t correct him, because over time, they understand every word he’s saying.
Your friend can change no matter what age, but it takes dedication and repetition As a teacher, even I noticed that I began to understand their accents and all was well...... while they were in class. They go out into the world, and no one else “gets it.”
Think of all your friends from India. They never improve, but you soon begin to understand every word. It’s difficult for older students.
A friend of mine from way back said he learned to speak English by watching sesame street and other kids shows. It worked. He spoke English with no accent.
There’s also a couple areas in Switzerland where they still speak Romansh (Latin).
I learned French and Latin in high school and college.
Went through the DLI German course at age 38. At age 45 completed the year long DLI Turkish course.
Agree that one is never too old to learn a new language.
If a foreign power had imposed the education system we have in this country, it would be recognized as an act of war...
Agree that one is never too old to learn a new language.
Those things are true but as always, I’d add there are exceptions. Many in my family have a gift for things to do with sound. I can not only recognize music almost instantaneously but I imitate accents and animal sounds very well and likely could’ve done very well with languages...I learned some German but not heavy pursuit. One cousin is a genius with music and his sister is so fluent in .german she’s teaching soldiers in Germany as permanent job. Our uncle was absolute genius with language (and sound generally): as a young adult he began learning languages by himself, till he became completely fluent in 7 totally different, and read some 11 others, including asiatic. He was in Intelligence in the Korean War due to his fluency with enemy languages.
He did this himself as an adult. If your friend has any sign of skill with sounds, he may be able to improve.
My parents started learning Chichewa when they were over sixty.
The best way is to immerse yourself in the language for the majority of your day for about 12 months. Speak it, listen to it, watch it. Do not depend on what you learn on the job as that usually is a small set of words.
Watch TV. It is the one time it actually serves a purpose.
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