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Ask-A-Linguist - Message details
Subject: Learning foreign languages from another language family
Question:
I am a teacher and have had basic classes in teaching ESL students. I took these classes a few years ago.

I recall from a lecture in class - or perhaps from a reading in a text or our required reading materials - that different language families can require varying amounts of time for learning. In other words, from a general and overall population standpoint, the time it for native English speakers to learn another northern European or Celtic language takes the least time for us (native English speakers); Romance languages the next level of time; the mid-eastern languages a third level of time; and the Asian languages the longest amount of time. And, then, it's the reverse for the Asians to learn mid-eastern; Romance; northern European inc. English, etc.

Is my memory of this theory close to reality or current research theory or have I recalled incorrectly?

I know that individual differences can also be very important in learning another language - and many exceptions to the general population time rule can apply and do everyday.

If you could also refer me to the archives for articles related to the time it takes to learn languages from different language families, please provide me with the proper search terminology. Thank you!

Reply:
You might want to look through our archives, because I remember a long discussion on this topic a couple of years ago.

It is impossible to do the kind of controlled study that would demonstrate this kind of effect. The MOST important factor in learning another language is whether you want to or not. Also important is whether you have a can-do attitude to language learning or not -and whether you get a supportive response from people you speak to in the new language -- if you are happy with your progress in learning another language you are more likely to feel able to learn more. In other words, psychology is mpre important than linguistics. Another important factor is whether you have access to a class or teaching materials that work for you. Finally (and this is the one to which you give priority) is how close the language is to a language you already know (it's not just your native language(s) that matter but all the languages you know.

Your rankings don't seem to correspond to linguistic difference, by the way. The closest languages to English are the Germanic languages (such as Danish, German, Dutch), not the Celtic languages, and your description of languages as 'mid-Eastern' and 'Asian' doesn't correspond to anything linguistic. Don't forget too that many people live in multilingual communities where lots of people routinely speak two or three languages side by side. Many people in Asia, for example, grow up speaking English alongside other languages.

Anthea

Anthea

Reply From: Anthea Fraser Gupta    click here to access email
Date: Oct-04-2009
Other Replies:
  1. Re: Learning foreign languages from another language family Nancy J. Frishberg    (Oct-04-2009)
  2. Re: Learning foreign languages from another language family James L Fidelholtz    (Oct-04-2009)
  3. Re: Learning foreign languages from another language family Robert A Papen    (Oct-04-2009)
  4. Re: Learning foreign languages from another language family Elizabeth J Pyatt    (Oct-04-2009)
  5. Re: Learning foreign languages from another language family Joseph F Foster    (Oct-04-2009)
  6. Re: Learning foreign languages from another language family John M. Lawler    (Oct-05-2009)
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Page Updated: 27-Nov-2009

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