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Learning like a child learns their native | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| ExRN Groupie United Kingdom Joined 3177 days ago 61 posts - 75 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Spanish Studies: Dutch | Message 1 of 49 14 August 2015 at 12:53am | IP Logged | ||
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Obviously we are born with a blank sheet when it comes to language and the majority of us pick up our
tongue from associations and observations. I don't know about anyone else, but I didn't spend any of my early years studying grammar books and doing anki flashcards...... My question is....... If I got a large collection of children's television programs from my target languages and watched them whilst cutting English out of my life as much as possible, would this work? After a year of watching children's television I would move on to watching teen level things and reading at that level too. Would this be a more natural way to learn rather than memorising grammar and phrases from tapes? If I learnt my language in this way, surely that means my brain has already got the skills it needs to do another and another in the same way. Why change the method of something that has worked previously? Isn't it like teaching someone how to drive in a certain way and then once they have passed they decide to drive in the passenger seat instead? 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| aokoye Diglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5323 days ago 235 posts - 453 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Dutch, Norwegian, Japanese | Message 2 of 49 14 August 2015 at 2:24am | IP Logged | ||
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No, first language acquisition is different than second (foreign) language acquisition and beyond that
children, neurologically, learn languages differently than adults do. Note that i am not saying that adults can't learn foreign languages, I'm saying that there are neurological differences as well as differences in how much of the target (or first) language one is actually steeped in. There is a lot of information about this if you search for "first language acquisition", "second language acquisition", or (and this one without the quotes), "first language vs second language acquisition". You'll also probably get some interesting reading by searching "bilingualism". Oh and here's this Ted talk http://www.ted.com/talks/patricia_kuhl_the_linguistic_genius _of_babies? language=en Edit: This is the Ted talk I was thinking of. other note the thousands upon thousands of hours of language this baby (whose brain is primed to learn new languages) is hearing over the course of six months. Edited by aokoye on 14 August 2015 at 2:33am 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| ExRN Groupie United Kingdom Joined 3177 days ago 61 posts - 75 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Spanish Studies: Dutch | Message 3 of 49 14 August 2015 at 2:31am | IP Logged | ||
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OK. I understand that adults can still learn a language, that's evident from multiple people achieving it. If
we removed an individual from the deep Amazon rainforest and they spoke only their native language that no one elsewhere spoke, would that individual never learn the language spoken in their new surroundings? There would be no lelearning materials produced in their native language and nobody to explain things in their native either. I would edge my bets that even above, let's say 16 years old for argument sake, that they would acquire the new language like a child does. Im no expert but surely the brain would adapt to cope? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| aokoye Diglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5323 days ago 235 posts - 453 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Dutch, Norwegian, Japanese | Message 4 of 49 14 August 2015 at 2:35am | IP Logged | ||
People can learn languages with materials only in the target language, that, however, does not mean that they are learning like children nor does it mean that the methods children learn languages would work for the adult. There really is a lot of research on this. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| ExRN Groupie United Kingdom Joined 3177 days ago 61 posts - 75 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Spanish Studies: Dutch | Message 5 of 49 14 August 2015 at 2:39am | IP Logged | ||
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I am really sorry that I offended you. I really didn't mean to. I was only being curious. Maybe I shouldn't be
on the forum if my questions are offensive. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| aokoye Diglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5323 days ago 235 posts - 453 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Dutch, Norwegian, Japanese | Message 6 of 49 14 August 2015 at 2:55am | IP Logged | ||
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Your questions aren't offensive, not in the least nor am I offended. That said I children learn
languages differently than adults do. Trying to say otherwise is going in the face of a lot of research on just that topic. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| ExRN Groupie United Kingdom Joined 3177 days ago 61 posts - 75 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Spanish Studies: Dutch | Message 7 of 49 14 August 2015 at 3:09am | IP Logged | ||
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Often in this life I believe that research into subjects needs to be questioned. All that comes from research
tends to be theories, not facts. I've always questioned things. If nothing was ever questioned or disputed we would still be living on a flat plate in the centre of the universe, scared of the sky falling down and them bright things falling down on our heads. I did read a new 'theory' that said brain plasticity is not something that does reduce with age as they previously thought. They think that there is an ideal range for children to acquire a second native language, but it doesn't make any sense why to me. I going to hazard a guess that no one has recently attempted to learn a second tongue via the child method. (prepares for hate) 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| aokoye Diglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5323 days ago 235 posts - 453 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Dutch, Norwegian, Japanese | Message 8 of 49 14 August 2015 at 3:20am | IP Logged | ||
There's no hate. I'd be interested in seeing the study also i'm curious as to what "the child method" actually is. I agree that studies aren't always what they're chalked up to be, but given the applied nature of a lot of studies on language acquisition as well as neuroplasticity I'm not willing to say that everything is based off of theory. There is practice in there as well. Do you know if Oliver Sacks has written anything on this? Also i'm going off to dinner soon so if I don't reply quickly that's why. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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