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FOREIGN LANGUAGE: What is it?. YOUR “TALKING” COURSE. I n terms of CUA’s distribution requirements (religion, philosophy, the humanities, natural and social sciences) which is foreign language most like?.
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FOREIGN LANGUAGE:What is it? YOUR “TALKING” COURSE
In terms of CUA’s distribution requirements(religion, philosophy, the humanities, natural and social sciences) which is foreign language most like?
Like the Humanities, foreign languages work with words and expression, literature, communication, and culture
Like Science and math, foreign language has rules and formulas, lots of memorizing, a strict sequence which builds cumulatively and there is even a lab.
Like the Social Sciences, foreign languages use a country’s history and sociology as content.
Most importantly, think of language as a “performance” course, such as music or drama majors take.
THINGS THAT NEED TO BE REHEARSED …
They are all things that need to be • new dance steps • the violin • the apology to your parents • a tennis serve • your lines in the play • a new pick-up line • foreign language
THINGS THAT NEED TO BE PRACTICED…
PRACTICE: REPITITION, REPITITION REPITITION, REPITITION,REPITITION,REPITITION,REPITITION,REPITITION,REPITI…. REINFORCEMENT
THE BAD Spelling!! – Spanish and Italian are so much more phonetic Pronunciation!!!! Size of English’s vocabulary: 500,000+ words (vs. 100,000 in French) English is certainly not the easiest language to learn:
THE GOOD • No gender for adjectives and nouns • Verbs are where they “belong,” unlike German • 26-letter alphabet, unlike countless pictographs of Chinese and Japanese
The NINE!! sounds in Englishof ough:A rough-coated,dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the street of Scarborough where - after falling into a slough - he coughed and hiccoughed.
Phonetically:A ruff-coated,doe-faced, thawtful plowman strode throo the street of Scarboruh where – after falling into a slue – he coffed and hiccupped.
If you study only by reading silently, you draw only upon your visual memory.
If you study out loud, you double your efficiency by adding auditory memory andyou make your mouth work, helping with pronunciation and speech.
You cannot get by in a foreign language course by cramming at the last minute.You may be able to “learn” vocabulary items that way, but you cannot teach your mouth to use them in sentences. (Can you cram for a piano recital?)
Pause-fillers in your target langauge Fr: Comment faites-vous pour dire? It: Come faccialo per dire? Sp: Cómo hágale para decir? Gr: Wie Sie tun Sie zu sagen?
“Whatever…” • Gr: Was auch immer • Fr: Qualunque • Sp: Lo que • It: Quoi que
Smith – we’re getting another one of those strange “aw blah es span yol” sounds
You can’t learn to speak a language by “thinking” about it. You’ve got to USE it - that means practice.
Don’t worry if at first the language sounds odd – Hello?!!It’s a “foreign” language.
Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Self-consciousness can be a mighty obstacle to learning a language which may be why children so readily acquire languages – they don’t mind saying:“Me want dose.”
Don’t fall behind – language learning is cumulative,one unit building on the previous.
Don’t zone out when somebody else is reciting in class – recite MENTALLYwith them and get some private practice for yourself.
Don’t stay away from classeven if you’re unprepared, because you’ll just fall further behind.
Apologize if you’re unprepared and then start to catch up listening to the ongoing classwork.
To know another language is to have a second soul.- Charlemagne