Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe
BlackAdder Send a noteboard - 24/09/2010 05:47:09 PM
My answers may be a bit strange since I have hopped around a bit.
Not European here, mostly American and Asian
Well, I lived in India for a while so I learned Hindi, Marathi, and Telugu (the latter two are regional languages which I picked up naturally and not via schooling). I also learned some English at the time, but not really until I moved to the US. Most people these days learn English so they can generally understand it, but it's usually not very polished.
After that, I picked up English fairly quickly, then I learned German and Latin. Continued learning Latin in college. I'm OK with German but it's definitely my weakest language.
I've learned bits and pieces of other languages like Japanese, French, Spanish, Arabic, etc., but it's not all that useful to be completely honest.
English, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu... German after a bit of practice/use.
Hmm, I think it was OK. People that were interested in it were able to take what they wanted, usually. People that weren't didn't take one. Maybe they wish they did, maybe they don't. I don't know.
English is used pretty commonly. Pretty remarkable how many people either know it or will recognize certain phrases even if they don't. It's not surprising to me that English speakers have a lower rate of learning secondary languages simply due to lack of a need for many of them.
Might as well add a mini-survey for European members (though Americans and others are welcome to answer as well if they like):
Not European here, mostly American and Asian
1) Which languages did you learn in school, and for how long?
Well, I lived in India for a while so I learned Hindi, Marathi, and Telugu (the latter two are regional languages which I picked up naturally and not via schooling). I also learned some English at the time, but not really until I moved to the US. Most people these days learn English so they can generally understand it, but it's usually not very polished.
After that, I picked up English fairly quickly, then I learned German and Latin. Continued learning Latin in college. I'm OK with German but it's definitely my weakest language.
I've learned bits and pieces of other languages like Japanese, French, Spanish, Arabic, etc., but it's not all that useful to be completely honest.
2) Which languages would you say you speak with some degree of fluency?
English, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu... German after a bit of practice/use.
3) Do you think languages get too much attention in the school system you went to, too little, or just about enough?
Hmm, I think it was OK. People that were interested in it were able to take what they wanted, usually. People that weren't didn't take one. Maybe they wish they did, maybe they don't. I don't know.
4) What do you think of the remarkable dominance of English that appears in the data?
English is used pretty commonly. Pretty remarkable how many people either know it or will recognize certain phrases even if they don't. It's not surprising to me that English speakers have a lower rate of learning secondary languages simply due to lack of a need for many of them.
/Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere)
24/09/2010 01:37:42 PM
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Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe
24/09/2010 02:10:57 PM
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Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe
24/09/2010 03:32:09 PM
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That is rather sad to say the least.
24/09/2010 04:15:32 PM
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Indeed
24/09/2010 06:23:52 PM
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Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe
24/09/2010 04:00:04 PM
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Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe
24/09/2010 05:47:09 PM
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Interesting.
24/09/2010 06:04:30 PM
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Re: Interesting.
24/09/2010 06:42:02 PM
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Re: Interesting.
24/09/2010 07:05:44 PM
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Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere)
24/09/2010 09:38:05 PM
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Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere)
25/09/2010 05:49:05 AM
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Self-study can be worth as much as formal classroom study, I suppose
25/09/2010 03:43:14 PM
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Certainly it can.
26/09/2010 12:35:56 PM
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Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere)
25/09/2010 04:54:40 PM
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Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere)
25/09/2010 07:38:29 PM
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Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere)
26/09/2010 12:07:19 AM
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They should have asked about second languages rather than foreign languages.
26/09/2010 11:34:27 AM
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Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere)
27/09/2010 03:18:30 PM
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