3 ms·

I'm norwegian and this pretty much sums up my experience. I have never studied english grammar and didn't really start reading a lot of it until I was around 16

by fgf 16y ago

I'm norwegian and this pretty much sums up my experience. I have never studied english grammar and didn't really start reading a lot of it until I was around 16. From then on I mostly read english. I haven't really tested my english formally apart from getting As and Bs in High School but I think it's good, my reading comprehension is great. I dont think any intellectually curious (and young?) person needs anything more than an electronic dictionary and an access to the internet to learn it. The question is; can I do the same with chinese and spanish at 20?

gahahaha 16y ago
Or German at 16. I teach high school German in Norway, and the kids don't hear/read enough German for immersion to work. We have 4 hours per week of classes, so memorization of vocabulary and grammar is fundamental. (but some combination with immersion is obviously very preferable) But: There is no silver bullet. Take The Korean too with a grain of salt (but there is a lot of truth there)
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
drtse4 16y ago
Why not? The web is full of blogs about self-learning languages like mandarin or japanese and as for english, you'll find plenty of free material to enhance your learning experience. Also the average quality of today self-learning material seems to me to have improved a lot. I see the age thing as something that should ease the process of learning a new language, a well educated adult should have the right mindset needed to try to optimize his learning experience leveraging available material and new techniques. I don't see why someone younger should have a easiest way while studying a new language... AFAIK the myth of languages being learned faster by kids has been debunked a decade ago. And btw, if you are into mandarin, take a look into Michel Thomas audio-only course.

3 ms·

I'm norwegian and this pretty much sums up my experience. I have never studied english grammar and didn't really start reading a lot of it until I was around 16

by fgf 16y ago

gahahaha 16y ago
Or German at 16. I teach high school German in Norway, and the kids don't hear/read enough German for immersion to work. We have 4 hours per week of classes, so memorization of vocabulary and grammar is fundamental. (but some combination with immersion is obviously very preferable) But: There is no silver bullet. Take The Korean too with a grain of salt (but there is a lot of truth there)
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
drtse4 16y ago
Why not? The web is full of blogs about self-learning languages like mandarin or japanese and as for english, you'll find plenty of free material to enhance your learning experience. Also the average quality of today self-learning material seems to me to have improved a lot. I see the age thing as something that should ease the process of learning a new language, a well educated adult should have the right mindset needed to try to optimize his learning experience leveraging available material and new techniques. I don't see why someone younger should have a easiest way while studying a new language... AFAIK the myth of languages being learned faster by kids has been debunked a decade ago. And btw, if you are into mandarin, take a look into Michel Thomas audio-only course.