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- As we learned our mother tongue through extensive exposure to comprehensible experiences, I rather doubt that it could be completely lost. It may fade into the background, but I suspect that it could be "woken up" through re-exposure to graded content over some appropriate period of time.Having said so, I have heard of a few cases of *very* young children moving to new countries *after* beginning to speak their "mother tongue" and then losing it when an L2 becomes the new L1. For example, I knew of a few Mexican children that moved to the United States just after beginning to speak Spanish, and then English became their new L1. They claim not to understand Spanish any longer, but I do wonder, if they return to a Spanish-only environment for some weeks or months, if a great deal of the language would reemerge/reawaken.Perhaps, we should look to linguistics journals?0 votedDecember 4, 20190
- Tagalog is on my long language "wish list", and the motivation behind it is for reasons of heritage. I have some Filipino ancestors, so it would be nice to learn their tongue.As well, some distant ancestors come from the Visayas, so I'd like to tackle Cebuano/Bisaya at some point soon too!0 votedDecember 4, 20190
- If one knows how to take advantage of an immersion environment, the opportunity can help immensely.Having said so, similar if not superior results can be had from extensive, level-appropriate exposure to interesting content and experiences. Tons of people go to study in a country but are often way in over their heads and/or find themselves sticking to their L1 as much as possible.Yet, from one's home country, it's often possible to have the aformentioned engaging experiences through language exchanges, private tutors, or things like iTalki.0 votedDecember 3, 20190
Much of the research from the last 30-40 years has suggested that forced/brute force memorization of a foreign language isn't terribly effective. It can work, but that doesn't mean it's the best way to do so.
There has been far greater success with extensive listening and extensive reading programs and courses, which expose students to interesting and fun materials or content that is only *slightly* higher than their current level. When you understand 80-90% of the content AND everything is interesting, you will be more engaged. Also, if you understand most everything BUT there's still 10-20% that you don't understand, you can rather effortlessly guess the meanings of many words through context. If you don't pick them up the first time, you're bound to see them again and again.
If you would like to see some of the research on this topic, I recommend starting with the research papers by Dr. Beniko Mason in Japan: http://benikomason.net/
0 votedJanuary 17, 20190I recommend two methods to move forward in developing confidence:
1) As Victoria said, slowly ease into an exchange. Find someone that you can exchange text or recorded voice messages with to start to build up your listening and confidence.
2) Frequently listen to content in your target language (English?). Find material that you understand 80-90% of but that there's still a little bit that you don't understand. This will help you to see that you can still get by, even if you don't understand every word. Also, by leaving a little room for growth (that 10-20% you don't understand), your mind will look for context and slowly pick up the unknown words naturally. It's a good technique for language learning and confidence building!
0 votedJanuary 14, 20190Instead of focusing on memorizing words/grammar, find fun and engaging ways to naturally acquire your language.
That can either be through enjoying media in your target language (such as watching/listening to highly comprehensible programs/films) OR by doing Crosstalk with a language partner/tutor. The highly comprehensible content keeps things fun and engaging, and you can still learn, even if you understand a good deal of what you're watching/listening to.
Personally, Crosstalk is one of my favourite methods though as you get lots of exposure to the language and get to learn about the interests and daily life of your language partner/tutor.
You can find an explanation of Crosstalk with an example (Japanese-Polish) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3qqYyQC9ww
There's also another example (Mandarin-Spanish) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2iS9XAIC7c
No matter the approach you choose, best of luck to you in your language studies!
0 votedJanuary 14, 20190Based on the research of Dr. Krashen, Dr. James Marvin Brown, Dr. Beniko Mason, and many others, I would suggest that, yes, learning from media is beneficial BUT that the content must be both extremely engaging and highly comprehensible.
The goal should not be to memorize or recall any individual words after watching a show or other content but rather to enjoy the material and to be genuinely engaged in the stories or presentation. If you understand at least 80-90% of the content going in, there will be room for your mind to naturally acquire the additional, unknown language through extensive exposure, understanding the context, and so on. The great part is, you can have fun doing it!
So, if you want to follow this sort of approach, try to find content that you enjoy and can easily understand the majority of. If it's too high level, you'll have to resort to looking up individual words or will get frustrated & give up. Neither option is ideal, so stick with the fun and engaging content!Best of luck to you in your studies!
0 votedJanuary 14, 20190- (Super) Beginner English Videos?I have been using the 'Dreaming Spanish' YouTube channel's videos to brush up on my Spanish, and I wondered if anyone has seen similar content for Super Beginner and Beginner Level English students. It would be great to be able to recommend such a channel to my friends here in Thailand and elsewhere abroad.Alternatively, would others find value if my friends and I were to start creating such content? The idea is to have lots of fun and interesting video content that people can effortlessly watch and enjoy. They don't have to worry about understanding each and every English word but rather could simply watch and slowly pick up the language naturally.Thanks for your time and feedback!January 9, 201900
As Jesse mentioned, your first consideration is usage. Do you plan to live in America vs. Europe? Do you plan to work with Americans vs. Europeans?
As an American myself, I find our accent to be a bit clearer and easier for second language learners to comprehend. If your audience is fellow ESL speakers, even in this scenario, an American accent may be easier. Naturally, I'm a bit biased though.
As Jesse also alluded to, we Americans also have produced a *wealth* of content for you to learn from. If you enjoy watching US or Canadian television series and films, that's another great reason to learn an accent from North America!
0 votedJanuary 8, 20190
