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Topic Originator: GG Riva
Date: Tue 3 Feb 16:39
I had the pleasure of meeting Alfons Amade on a visit to Cairneyhill PS yesterday. Born and raised in Germany, the first thing that struck me about Alfons was his near perfect English. Fluent, sophisticated, and with no hesitation whatsoever. As a bilingual myself, it was obvious to me that he thinks in English when he speaks it and in German when he speaks that. I didn`t ask him, but his parents are from Mozambique, and I wouldn`t be at all surprised if he also speaks fluent Portuguese.
So what you might say? Well, he only studied English at school in Germany. Most Scottish children are nowhere near as fluent and confident in languages such as French and Spanish when they finish their schooling. They don`t generally appear to have the motivation and determination to learn a new language, according to my modern language colleagues when I was teaching. It`s unlikely to be vastly different now.
Tbf, English is so widely spoken around the globe that many kids don`t feel the need to learn a second language in the way that foreign kids want to learn English. It`s the language of IT and music, after all. What many people perhaps don`t realise is that learning a second language can inform your first and expand your vocabulary. e.g. how many of you know the meaning of the verb "masticate" without googling it? 🤔
Not your average Sunday League player.
Post Edited (Tue 03 Feb 17:56)
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Topic Originator: Luxembourg Par
Date: Tue 3 Feb 17:00
It’s sadly an example of how widely English is spoken - I learned French, but whenever I speak it, the other party recognises my shoddy accent (yeah, and grammar) and answers me in English…
The problem is that English is the worldwide business language used in airlines and banking/financial services, which pretty much covers Lux - as well as typically being the ‘common language’ spoken by most politicians and governmental bodies.
Both my kids are fluent in French, pretty decent in German and Luxembourgish - which is not uncommon here - hell, the taxi drivers speak 5 or more languages.
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Topic Originator: Luxembourg Par
Date: Tue 3 Feb 17:01
Oh, I’d need to chew over an answer to your masticate question…
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Topic Originator: wee eck
Date: Tue 3 Feb 17:02
I remember seeing a TV programme about kids and languages. It was quite common for kids in London to have parents whose native language was not English but different from each other`s and the children were fluent in both as well as English which was the common language at school of course. They could switch between them without thinking. Apparently kids are most receptive at a very young age to learning different languages. A friend who worked for a while in Belgium where a few languages are spoken told me his kids were much more fluent in them than their parents and he often had to ask them about the meaning of words in the different languages.
`Masticate`, GGR? Wash your mouth out!
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Topic Originator: neilholland999
Date: Tue 3 Feb 17:28
A lot of the highest selling/most popular movies and songs etc are performed in English, so more people are also exposed to the language on a regular basis.
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Topic Originator: Buspasspar
Date: Tue 3 Feb 19:18
"e.g. how many of you know the meaning of the verb "masticate" without googling it? 🤔"
If its good enough for COWS its good enough for me :-o)))
We are forever shaped by the Children we once were
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Topic Originator: jake89
Date: Tue 3 Feb 19:58
Germans are probably only second to the Dutch for their excellent grasp of English.
Like Lux, I find if I attempt French or German they just take pity and respond in English.
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