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How polyglots learn multiple languages...

  Tags: Polyglot
 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center Post Reply
shk00design
Triglot
Senior Member
Canada
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Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin
Studies: French

 
 Message 1 of 8
07 November 2015 at 4:07am | IP Logged 
A recent BBC article of interest:

How to learn 30 languages
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jeff_lindqvist
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 Message 2 of 8
07 November 2015 at 12:55pm | IP Logged 
Yeah, interesting article. I met Tim Keeley at the Polyglot Gathering in Berlin earlier this year. Never got a chance to speak to Daniel Krasa, though. There's a nice Actual Fluency podcast with him here:
http://actualfluency.com/afp-s2e22-daniel-krasa-learner-prof iles-4/
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Elexi
Senior Member
United Kingdom
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Speaks: English*
Studies: French, German, Latin

 
 Message 3 of 8
07 November 2015 at 3:05pm | IP Logged 
Interesting, it raises a point that I (being a bit slow) have never overtly thought
about before - that modelling one's L2 self on a particular native speaker one admires
or sees as exemplary can be helpful to learning a language.

For example, in French I see myself as Antoine de Caunes, mainly because I grew up
watching his British TV series like Rapido and Eurotrash and also because he exudes the
kind of Frenchness I like. In German I tend to imagine myself as being like my wife's
cousin, who is a bit of a hippy - when I put on that persona I feel that I am
channeling a German identity that I like. Maybe parroting a particular person is a
good way to get the total responses going.

I will go and watch some Antoine de Causes on Youtube in French and see if it improves
my French....
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shk00design
Triglot
Senior Member
Canada
Joined 4203 days ago

747 posts - 1123 votes 
Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin
Studies: French

 
 Message 4 of 8
11 November 2015 at 4:37am | IP Logged 
According to the BBC article: "Looking at the experiences of immigrants, Ellen Bialystok at York University in Canada has found that speaking two languages delayed dementia diagnosis by five years. Those who knew three languages, however, were diagnosed 6.4 years later than monolinguals, while for those fluent in four or more languages, enjoyed an extra nine years of healthy cognition". Brain exercise or activities that use the brain regularly including crossword puzzles, sudoku are known to keep the mind active and delay the onset of dementia.

It is also true that we can master 1 or more foreign language(s) later in life.

When it comes to socializing and mixing with the natives, some are more keen than others. It is true when you learn a new language, you are learning about another culture and other people's way of thinking. As the world is becoming globalized, people migrate to different parts of the world and learn the native languages of the places they choose to settle. Many become fluent in new languages but they would maintain strong social ties with people from their home countries. When people settle in other countries, they brought their traditions with them including religion, food, style of dress, etc. They learn to speak new languages for everyday business transactions but there are boundaries how far they are willing to socialize with people outside their own ethnic groups.
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obsculta
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United States
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Speaks: English*

 
 Message 5 of 8
19 November 2015 at 8:13pm | IP Logged 
This caught my eye: 'Others are gathering in threes, preparing for a rapid-fire game that
involves interpreting two different languages simultaneously.'

I imagine this game was impromptu rather than formal. Still, I'd be curious to hear if
there were rules for the game, where they got the source texts from, if there was any
structure, etc.
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jeff_lindqvist
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Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French
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 Message 6 of 8
19 November 2015 at 10:53pm | IP Logged 
If it was anything like the game last in 2014, it went like this:
Two teams (let us call them A and B) of three persons (1, 2 and 3).

A1 told B1 a short story, and A3 told B3 a short story - usually in English.

During next step, B1 and B3 translated on the fly and retold the stories (simultaneously) in two languages that B2 could understand, but it shouldn't be the same language (so, maybe B1 retold that story in French, and B3 retold the other one in German).

During the last step, A1 asked B1 ten control questions, and A3 asked B3 ten other questions.

Reverse the roles - B1 tells A1 a story, B3 tells A3 a story....

I didn't take part in the game, but remember one team who were particularly good. I think it was two lads from Singapore who retold the stories they got into Mandarin and French, while the middle guy (maybe a Swede) had to listen to two different stories at the same time and answer most of the questions correctly.

All was organized by Romance polyglot Cesco Reale, and judging from the comments during the presentation (Huh? This is supposed to WORK?) this may very well have been the first time the game was tested. :D

Edited by jeff_lindqvist on 19 November 2015 at 10:55pm

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dampingwire
Bilingual Triglot
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United Kingdom
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 Message 7 of 8
20 November 2015 at 12:12am | IP Logged 
jeff_lindqvist wrote:
During the last step, A1 asked B1 ten control questions, and A3 asked B3 ten other questions.


My head spins just trying to follow this, but surely A1 and A3 both question B2 at the end?
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jeff_lindqvist
Diglot
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Speaks: Swedish*, English
Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French
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 Message 8 of 8
20 November 2015 at 9:39am | IP Logged 
Yeah, of course... B2 is the one who has been listening to two stories in two languages at the same time, and thus the one to be questioned.


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