This is a Journal entry by aGuyCalledPaff
Nipper Observations: Learning languages (8 in a series)
aGuyCalledPaff Started conversation Nov 29, 2006
Eldest nipper's take on learning French and German at school:
"I don't get it. Why don't they just teach us, 'hello', 'goodbye' and 'sorry, I only speak English'. Then we could learn loads of languages. We could learn one a day."
Deluded? Or too clever for his own good? Hmmmm.
Paff
Nipper Observations: Learning languages (8 in a series)
Skankyrich [?] Posted Nov 30, 2006
Tell him the golden rule is that if they don't understand you, you should talk a little more slowly and much, much louder. That's what the rest of us do, anyway
Nipper Observations: Learning languages (8 in a series)
I'm not really here Posted Nov 30, 2006
Don't forget waving your arms about - that's pretty essential when speaking to johhny foreigner.
Nipper Observations: Learning languages (8 in a series)
aGuyCalledPaff Posted Nov 30, 2006
I've been trying to maintain the family tradition of mixing a variety of languages when speaking 'foreign'. If me and eldest nipper were in charge of language education at schools, this is how it would go...
Audio Tape: "Ecoute et Repete... Je suis sprecken English, bitte"
Class (all together, mumbling): "Je suis sprecken English, bitte"
Teacher: "Hang, on. I didn't see shouting, waving arms, and your statement needs to sound like a question. Now try again."
Class (all together, shouting and waving): "JE SUIS SPRECKEN EN-GER-LISH? BITTE?"
Teacher: "That's more like it. Now those frogs will really understand you!"
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Nipper Observations: Learning languages (8 in a series)
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