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What makes a foreign language difficult to learn?

de robinast, 2009-julio-05

Mesaĝoj: 32

Lingvo: English

Mauritz (Montri la profilon) 2009-julio-08 13:56:41

I'd say that the most difficult thing while learning languages is giving it enough time. When I want to learn a language, I find it really hard to practice it as much as I should. That's the main problem for me.

Different logic and grammar irregularities are also sometimes difficult. I'm currently learning Arabic, which is a very complex language that differs a lot from the other languages I speak. Although it's not a problem, I also find that French grammar is unnecessarily annoying.

ceigered (Montri la profilon) 2009-julio-08 14:06:02

Arabic is one I find interesting. It looks horrible to learn, but I wonder, after you've broken through that beginner phase (e.g. got a hang of the grammar etc) does it get easier or do verbs etc still remain as hard as they look?

Ultimately it's a language I'd like to learn, but vocabulary + new grammar + writing system = very formidable-looking. It takes enough work learning Swedish as is with its close relationship with English.

Abras (Montri la profilon) 2009-julio-09 01:10:12

russ:Speech comprehension. Other speakers speak too fast or unclearly or with too high level grammar/vocabulary for the learner, in my experience (especially as a current learner of Polish). The same text would be no problem for me if I saw it written. E.g. if I watch a Polish film, I understand almost none of the dialog, but if I watch a foreign (or Polish) film with Polish subtitles, I can understand a fair amount.

Even with a much easier language like Esperanto, I found speech comprehension to be the most challenging hurdle for me that took the longest to conquer. My brain is much more wired for grammar and text than for speech than the average person's, it seems.
I am reading a book by Dereck Bickerton (a linguist who has spent many years studying creoles). He gets a little sidetracked in his story and talks about how drunk people, in his experience anyways, tend to make good conversation partners when you're learning a new language. I would think their slurring and stammering would make it harder. But he says they speak slower and don't mind repeating something or listening when you repeat something. I have never had an opportunity like that, but has anyone else experienced it?

russ (Montri la profilon) 2009-julio-09 04:29:13

Abras:I am reading a book by Dereck Bickerton (a linguist who has spent many years studying creoles). He gets a little sidetracked in his story and talks about how drunk people, in his experience anyways, tend to make good conversation partners when you're learning a new language. I would think their slurring and stammering would make it harder. But he says they speak slower and don't mind repeating something or listening when you repeat something. I have never had an opportunity like that, but has anyone else experienced it?
Ha! I have heard analogous theories, that one's OWN conversation skills increase (from a language learning point of view) when one is drunk. (I suspect it's more a case of one's PERCEPTION of one's language skills... ridulo.gif

But the lowered inhibitions from alcohol might indeed make one less nervous and more willing to just talk and not worry excessively about correctness, and maybe make one more relaxed and able to hear the speech of others better. Clearly more research is needed!

robinast (Montri la profilon) 2009-julio-09 06:03:36

russ:
But the lowered inhibitions from alcohol might indeed make one less nervous and more willing to just talk and not worry excessively about correctness...
I also think that nervous and very self-critical persons may have less scruple to make mistakes and therefore make them less indeed.
russ:
Speech comprehension. Other speakers speak too fast or unclearly or with too high level grammar/vocabulary for the learner, in my experience...
Again, I can only agree: often it's much easier to understand someone who speaks a language other than her/his native one as in this case the speech usually is slower and maybe even more correct. I remember that my grand-grandmother (a Swede by heritage) spoke so correct Estonian that it made absolutely clear this language was not her native rido.gif

Harri.

ceigered (Montri la profilon) 2009-julio-09 10:34:52

russ:Clearly more research is needed!
Ok so who's buying?
(joking, joking rido.gif)

Miland (Montri la profilon) 2009-julio-09 12:44:33

Different languages may have different sorts of difficulties. With Esperanto for me it's the use of the accusative and the transitivity of verbs. In general, I think the most challenging thing is speaking the language. In speaking we have to find the right words at once, without being able to take back our words or edit them for grammatical errors. Therefore, to me fluency in speaking is the acid test.

Senlando (Montri la profilon) 2009-julio-15 01:21:31

I actually voted irregular grammar, but on second thought I think memorizing the huge vocabulary of a language to be the hardest, at least when it comes to conversation. Also I find text so much easier to understand then actual dialog. And the worse is watching the news in a language as they often use a higher level of language and not the common way of speaking, and they speak extremely fast!

skeptikulo (Montri la profilon) 2009-julio-15 07:11:10

The greatest difficult to me is how to find material to study another language. So I think what makes a language easy to learn or not is its accessibility.

For example, for years I've been looking for a dictionary Finnish-Portuguese / Portuguese-Finnish. They simply don't exist. It is terrible study Finnish thru the eyes of a Finnish Grammar written in English and no printed dictionary (I can use only those English-Finnish / Finnish-English from Internet, they sucks).

robinast (Montri la profilon) 2009-julio-15 13:39:51

Yes, indeed - I wrote my first (and correct!) sentences already after several hours of learning Esperanto. And though I've learned Spanish much more than Esperanto, in which I am already able to communicate - but this is not the case with Spanish...

Harri.

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