excerpt, from a Colloquial Nepali Course, 1950, G.G. Rogers

[morgenstern180]

ON THE ART OF SPEAKING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

I. To acquire a language is to learn the spoken utterance. The natural receptive medium is, therefore, the ear, not the eye. It is an art very much akin to music

Comments

[sejdb]

Sehr interssant. Ich denke das ist sehr richtig- hmm.

[morgenstern180]

at the risk of being a dork, i may print this and try to give it to people who may need it.

[sejdb]

I don't find that at all dorky. That's some of the best advice on how to learn a language I've ever seen- some of your profs might dig it. I know I'll pass it along to some people who are interested in these things.

[morgenstern180]

it is heartening that you think so. however, ich bin ganz sicher, that a lot of people just really and truly don't give a damn. it would bother me less if some of the people i have in mind, who don't give a damn, weren't foreign languages majors... =0P still, what could it hurt, eh?

[moa1918]

This: we must never hesitate to talk, talk, talk on every possible occasion (even in the library) made me laugh. :D
I agree with sejdb, it's good advice. :-)
Moa

[morgenstern180]

ha, yes.

[leoparda]

Indeed! My problem with advancing my Portuguese, Italian, French and Catalan is that I don't have enough access to people I can practie my language skills with...

[morgenstern180]

yeah, i'm around a fair quantity of german and spanish people (that is, native speakers) but not so much in the way of french, russian, polish (unless you count my grandmother, but i hardly ever see her, and she doesn't speak much polish these days anyway except to cuss...). there are some people from French-speaking countries in Africa in my French class, but they speak differently from people from france or canada. i try to watch movies, etc. though, in French.

[bonimevug]

Сильно интересный пост!! Делайте посты в таком же духе!!