Learning a language

knightstyle

Loads of French DVDs on Ebay.fr most have english as an additional language as well. You can pay with Paypal from a UK account and pay a bit extra for delivery to UK.

On a more serious note where can I study French grammer? I speak French fluently having lived here for many years. But and it is a big but I have never studied the grammer. We will be in the UK for a while soon so I tried to find a formal course on French grammer, tried universities, FE courses, OU etc but they all concentrate on spoken French. HELP!

Nataliapicado

sturll wrote: »

I have been thinking for some time how i could increase my childrens chances of employment and better their cultural awareness. I have a 2:1 in Law and Accountancy and remember myself just how hard finding employment in a good job was.
These days degrees seem to be ten a penny and i feel it would be a shame for my kids (or indeed anyones) to go through school and college and then UNI only to be left unemployable.

So, my children are 1, 4 and 7. I was thinking how if as a family we learn a language it could only be beneficial to all of us. (not so much my toddler) I have been thinking Spanish - i speak German to a conversational level but i cant really think how German would be more beneficial than Spanish.

So my question is has anyone got any experiance regarding this - and what would be the best sorts of publications/cd's etc to use? Or what are the best ways of approaching something like this?

Thanks in advance

Nice post. Learning spanish is not a difficult task now a days. You can learn in lot of different ways and the best is to learn spanish online with the help of live spanish tutor. For more information I suggest you to check www.lejoslearning.com and know more about the courses etc.. You can find a conversational spanish program too.

gaz_jones

nico26 wrote: »

Rosetta Stone do loads of languages and a lot of people say it is very good. You can send away for a trial cd of the language you wish to learn. Will give you an indication of the learning technique.In fact michael Phelps just on TV advertising it.http://www.rosettastone.co.uk/offer/phelps.Worth a look.

I hate to say it but please dont waste your money on the rosetta stone dvd. I bought the learn Dutch step 1+2 and it is one of the worst language courses I have tried.

Maybe its just because im only on the begining section of the disk but the stuff its teaching me to say is very unpracticle. For instance, the first 4 hours of my course have been spent learning how to say 'the young boy is under the plane', or 'the girl is chasing the boy'.

These COULD be useful phrases but it doesn't tell you what you are saying. It has the words in dutch but it doesn't tell you the English translation. I've had to spend most of my time on google translate trying to work out what Rosetta stone is teaching me to say.

p1an0player

sturll wrote: »

I have been thinking for some time how i could increase my childrens chances of employment and better their cultural awareness. I have a 2:1 in Law and Accountancy and remember myself just how hard finding employment in a good job was.
These days degrees seem to be ten a penny and i feel it would be a shame for my kids (or indeed anyones) to go through school and college and then UNI only to be left unemployable.

So, my children are 1, 4 and 7. I was thinking how if as a family we learn a language it could only be beneficial to all of us. (not so much my toddler) I have been thinking Spanish - i speak German to a conversational level but i cant really think how German would be more beneficial than Spanish.

So my question is has anyone got any experiance regarding this - and what would be the best sorts of publications/cd's etc to use? Or what are the best ways of approaching something like this?

If you want to learn a language then do it for fun, cultural awareness, a wish to understand literature/poetry in that language, family bonding, social status...; don't do it to increase employability.

I love the French language and having studied it I appreciate how a different language can show us a slightly different view of the world. However, unless someone has a specific goal to go and work in a particular country AND intends to speak the language very well, employability should not be a reason.

Continental Europeans and much of the rest of the world need English to increase employability. There's no language for us that comes remotely near the usefulness of English for them. I agree with Zziggi.

Most of the people saying vague things about languages increasing employability are either European (and learning English), or haven't actually got their language knowledge to a high level, so haven't tested out the theory - they just believe what they have been told.

p1an0player

knightstyle wrote: »

On a more serious note where can I study French grammer? I speak French fluently having lived here for many years. But and it is a big but I have never studied the grammer. We will be in the UK for a while soon so I tried to find a formal course on French grammer, tried universities, FE courses, OU etc but they all concentrate on spoken French.

Grammar will be covered as part of these courses, although maybe the university evening courses are better than the FE evening courses.

However, if you already speak French fluently and correctly, your grammar should already be fine. Even the French themselves are not perfect when it comes to the subjunctive and pass! simple

p1an0player

jamescredmond wrote: »

I started dutch, as a gateway lingo, last yr. but my efforts have all but failed.

bijna elke nederlander spraykt engels!!

(nearly all dutch speak english!!)

and they want to prove it to me !

so true, and the same scenario in some other European countries as well

and now you feel that your efforts have "failed"

unfortunately the phrase books, guide books, teachers, language courses etc. don't tell us that you might be learning a language only to find that when you try to use it in the country the person only wants to speak English

sarah_elton

sturll wrote: »

These days degrees seem to be ten a penny and i feel it would be a shame for my kids (or indeed anyones) to go through school and college and then UNI only to be left unemployable.

This is a little too general. The degree subject, university and degree classification make a massive difference.

A First in Law, History, Maths, etc etc from Oxford will still seriously open doors, whereas a Third or Pass in some unheard of subject from somewhere cr$p may not even be worth the cost of getting it.

Think the language idea is a great one though, and young kids pick them up so much more easily than adults. Which one depends on what industries you're interested in but French is a classic with lots of companies interested in French speakers.

sturll

By way of an update on this i ended up getting Muzzy for my kids. Who love it and have already the most basic grasp. And Berlitz for myself which i am going to get round to in the New Year - Looks good though.

mjdh1957

p1an0player wrote: »

so true, and the same scenario in some other European countries as well

and now you feel that your efforts have "failed"

unfortunately the phrase books, guide books, teachers, language courses etc. don't tell us that you might be learning a language only to find that when you try to use it in the country the person only wants to speak English

If that happens to me (I speak Italian and German) I carry on talking in the foreign language and let them either carry on talking English or switch back to their own language.

ynot2005

mjdh1957 wrote: »

If that happens to me (I speak Italian and German) I carry on talking in the foreign language and let them either carry on talking English or switch back to their own language.

thats a good idea, but if your italian or german is not up to a very good standard you can look foolish if the the other person starts to slang it up or deliberately speed talk.

it can be a battle of wits where the other person actually feels its a put down that you are speaking another language when their postion means they have to be fluent in english (hotel receptionists)