Duet with Pavarotti and Eros Ramazzotti. How can you not like a people who name their sons after Greek gods?
Is it possible gain fluency without living abroad? I'm not sure.
Some say there are other ways to immerse yourself in a language: pen-pals, endless listen-and-repeat sessions, books, instruction videos, reading novels, pod-casts...the list goes on. Yet, I think perhaps what you miss if you don't actual live among real people who speak the language every day is, well, let's call it interchange. Or real back-and-forth dialogue.
I studied French, both formally and on my own, for many years. I have never felt wealthy enough to live abroad, so I've rarely had the opportunity to speak F2F with a native or fluent speaker. The result of that deficit: When I am faced with a situation in which I have to be spontaneous or interact with someone in French, I basically freeze up. I find myself mentally conjugating verbs and trying to recall the correct vocabulary or grammar to say even the simplest thing. This is why I think for most people, it's best to thoroughly memorize common, everyday phrases, such as 'What do you do for a living?' or 'I am enjoying your party.' These survival phrases should always be so thoroughly learned that they just roll out naturally without any effort or pause.
But then the problem arises of what to do when your conversation partner responds to your question or comment with a long or complex sentence or two. I think a lot of language learners never consider that it's not enough to be able to ask 'Where is the police station?' If you don't understand 'The nearest one is two blocks north; turn left at the first light; drive over the bridge; turn right at the bakery; the station is about half-way down the street' then you'll never get to your destination.
Thus, it seems to me that there's no getting around real-life interchange. Now, with Skype video-conferencing, and all the other ways to converse with someone without traveling, it's a little easier. All you need is enough chutzpah to get out there and talk. It helps if you're an extrovert and are willing to make a fool of yourself with no hard feelings.
My 25 years in Korea convinced me that the sine qua non of mastering a second language is in one thing and one alone: feeling comfortable enough to speak and make mistake after mistake. I never achieved this level of fluency with anyone but a few close friends, friends who (for their part) studied my mis-pronounced Korean and memorized my linguistic oddities. In your case, I think you will fare far better if you put down your pen and break out your tongue. How? You mention the answer yourself: Skype. It's hard for those of us who are not extroverts, but it may not be impossible, if we can find a Skype partner who makes us feel comfortable enough to open up. Only one way to find out--try it.
ReplyDeleteThalia, nice that at least one of your messages got through! In 100% agreement that languages are meant to be spoken and fluency will only come when one uses it for real exchange. You had an idea situation for learning Korean, because you were face-to-face with people you felt comfortable with. I think it will be quite awhile before I can achieve that level of intimacy with someone I'm Skyping with. Still, I know I must venture forth and put my shyness aside if I want to make progress. Thanks for the comment,. (P.S.: I've started a 'Word Press' blog. So far it seems easier to work with. Interfacing with it seems more logical; there's a place where you click to add a comment and that's that).
ReplyDeleteWhere be this Word Press?
ReplyDelete