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@ Crystal
Exactly. Do let me know how older books differ from modern ones. I’m curious to see the differences (if any) between methods taught back then and today.@Tom: So far I’m leaning toward the idea that older books (at least the ones I have) are more focused on sheer memorization and long explanations than modern resources, which tend to emphasize quick gratification and short bites of information. Not that there’s no memorization involved in newer teaching methods, obviously, but the approach is sort of … airier in modern stuff.
Now, I wouldn’t bet any money on that assessment, based as it is on rather minimal data, but that’s my current cautious, open-to-change analysis. ;)
@ Crystal
I see. I think if I went back in time and tried to learn Japanese I would find it difficult as I’ve been spoilt by modern technology. Self studying is hard enough but without modern technology and just a book I’d be lost.It really makes me wonder how Danny Choo was able to manage all by himself
@Both of you: When I was younger I used to think that learning Japanese and Chinese was beyond me, and maybe it’s related to the old-school way of doing things. Well, and to the fact that everyone made it sound like it was The Hardest Thing Evar. But they probably thought that because the old way of doing things can be pretty hard if you’re not inclined toward memorizing large chunks of booky information. ;D
@ Crystal
Fully agree with you. In the past I would of said there was absolutely no way I would be learning Japanese in the future. With lots of interest, motivation, research on how to learn the language (which I must say I did alot of), and modern technology, here I am today.Alot of people have that mentality when it comes to languages sadly. As the UK’s main language is English, schools and colleges/universities don’t push it hard enough. Not to say that language education is bad or non existant over here, it’s just not seen as important as it is in other countries.
When I was in the equivalent of middle school, the only languages on offer were French and German. Not even Spanish which I have a slight interest in as I have family in Spain. So those two factors combined, made learning languages unappealing.
Luckily, I no longer have that same view.
@Tom: I think the American mentality toward second-languge acquisition is pretty similar, at least in the education system. (I don’t feel qualified to say how people tend to feel about learning languages well after they leave school. ;)) Most of us took another language in school only because we were required to do so, not because we were interested. When I was in high school, I think my options were French and Spanish. There may have been a German class, but I think there were only two levels of German available (or maybe one!), whereas you could take up to four levels in French and Spanish, and that made German seem a little pointless. I really did want to take something like German, though, or even Arabic, and if they had offered a Japanese or Chinese class, well, I definitely would have considered it!
Once I got into college and there were real options, I was super-enthusiastic about taking advantage of that, and I did in fact end up taking Latin and Arabic … but I ended up not pursuing those after graduation because, well, our school system doesn’t frequently emphasize continuing one’s learning outside the classroom, or if it does emphasize that, I must have missed it almost every single time. ;) So no matter how much I enjoyed learning something in class, it always ended up falling by the wayside in favor of the next round of classes…
Anyway, off on a tangent now, aren’t I? ;D
@ Crystal
Lol, No keep going. It’s interesting to hear people’s views. :)I sometimes think what it would be like not being a native English speaker. As English is taught as a second language in alot of schools, and it’s usefulness in business environments, it’s pushed hard in non English speaking countries.
I think it would of been interesting to learn English but being a native English speaker does have it’s advantages. Besides, I’m enjoying learning Japanese and fully love the challenge.
@Tom @Crystal: Taking a second language isn’t even required in a lot of US school districts, which I think isn’t a great idea. The economy is global, and I think it helps later in life to have some understanding of other cultures. It’s supposed to be easier to pick up a language later in life if you have exposure to a foreign language when young.
Had I remained in high school I would probably have taken Chinese, since it was offered at the school I was supposed to attend. (I didn’t quite drop out; the state I lived in allowed anyone over the age of 16 to attend community college without having a high school diploma or equivalency. I hated high school and took the opportunity to skip it, not that I was exactly ready for college, but I managed). I would have liked that a lot better than French, which I took a semester of at community college since it was one of the few languages on offer that I was vaguely interested in (I think the only uncommon language taught at the time was Russian).
@Tom: My mom isn’t a native English speaker, so I guess I could ask her! ;) I’m not sure she knew very much English at all, if any, before she moved here. She was born in Indonesia, to answer the question that tends to come up next. ;D But just to confuse things, I’ll add that she’s actually Chinese. So I’m half Chinese Indonesian, sort of…? ;)
Anyway, I’m pretty glad I learned English as a native language, since I hear it’s pretty hard. I just wish I had also learned something else alongside it … like maybe Indonesian. ;D (My mother speaks Bahasa but not Chinese, so there was pretty much no chance of me learning Chinese as a kid. Funny, though, isn’t it, that I thought Chinese was beyond me even though I am part Chinese? O, the travails of the happa! ;))
@Kas: How cool that your school actually had Chinese! I completely agree with you that people should have to learn a language other than their own, because it does help broaden people’s cultural perspective. My bachelor’s is in anthropology, so I’m pretty keen on broadening of cultural perspectives. ;D
BTW, I hated high school, too. I think it was in my sophomore year that I decided I really, really wanted to be homeschooled — I have friends who are successfully homeschooled, so, I thought, why not? Unfortunately, I let a rather clueless school counselor talk me out of it. To this day I don’t think I should have listened to her. Thinking back on how she sounded, I’m pretty sure she probably didn’t know anyone who was homeschooled or know anything about it, much less understand where I was coming from. I’m reasonably certain she was just hell-bent on keeping me from leaving the traditional school system, for whatever reason. Alas. If I’d followed through on becoming homeschooled, I bet I would have actually learned at least one more language and been super-fluent in it by now! ;D
Oh, and I wasn’t really ready for college when I entered it, either, even though I slogged through those four years of high school. Academically, I was fine, but emotionally, I really, really, really should have listened to myself and taken a year off to do something else. I hear that’s more common in many places in Europe, and I think it’s a great policy to get more exposure to the non-academic world before going back into it and investing in a degree that’s supposed to shape your whole career path.
(Tom, is this enough babbling for you? I’m definitely verbose today! ;))
@ Crystal
Your posts are always a pleasure to read :). Keep them up.Half Chinese half Indonesian is a pretty cool mix :). I’ve also heard that learning English is hard but that could vary depending on the person, their reasons, etc. Which brings me to my next point and how living in a country and learning the language speeds up the process alot quicker. Although this is pretty obvious, I remember reading that what you learn in 3 years at College studying Mandarin, you can learn in 6 months by living in China.
That sort of surprised but at the same time didn’t, if you know what I mean? This just highlights the importance of practising speaking and listening regularly while solidifying your reading and writing/typing.
Although the second part of your post was for Kas, the idea of homeschooled appealed to me too. I didn’t enjoy school either. I found working on my own better than being in a class full of people. Saying that, I also was lazy and unmotivated too. After going through some bad times in my life I’ve changed alot. I feel like a new person. If only I had that same drive and motivation I have now back then, I would of done alot better at School. The flip side to that though is I might not have gotten interested in Japanese, and Asian culture.
Completely agree with what Kas said too. I feel the education authorities are letting us down with their lack of interest in students learning languages. I do hope this changes in the future. When I have kids I’m definitely going to make sure they learn at least another language.
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