When Are You Too Old To Learn Thai?

[think_too_mut]

Somebody posted this, an excerpt:

 

Think about people that come to your own country and consider themselves, for whatever reason, above learning the language.

 

Think about Obama, a citizen, not a President of US.

 

Had someone like him came to Finland, Russia or Japan, nobody would expect him to speak the local language. Never, ever.

 

While, the citizens of the 3 countries would be expected to speak English.

 

The poster is missing the point: the weight of English speaking ability. Add to that a skilled job and there we are.

[huumlaar]

Good Thai mate of mine is now a Finnish citizen and does an ok job speaking the local lingo

[think_too_mut]

Good Thai mate of mine is now a Finnish citizen and does an ok job speaking the local lingo

 

Good for him. It does not hurt speaking the local lingo but is not an imperative when it comes to skills jobs..

 

Would he be booted out without Finnish language ability?

[huumlaar]

TTM bit confused by where you think Rudd learnt to speak Mandarin, we had some same teachers, in Asian Studies, he studied the language first at ANU then in Taiwan, the MTC in Taiwan isn't a diplomatic school, anyone can study there if you can get in.

[think_too_mut]

TTM bit confused by where you think Rudd learnt to speak Mandarin, we had some same teachers, in Asian Studies, he studied the language first at ANU then in Taiwan, the MTC in Taiwan isn't a diplomatic school, anyone can study there if you can get in.

 

Don't know why you are turning it into "confusion": Rudd was mentioned as an example of proper training in foreign language. Going off your way you found it was even more proper than what i said: not only diplomatic school but Asian studies.

 

Had you found he had not attended any training in Mandarin and just picked it up on the streets, that would be the argument.

[huumlaar]

No, you said <<A bleak person, Kevin Rudd, ex-PM of Australia, speaks good Mandarin. Learned it in a proper school for diplomats, at tax payers expense.>>

 

That simply isn't how he learnt it, he DID learn good Mandarin,

 

His initial training at Canberra Uni was tax payer funded, as are ALL students then at Uni, but at a "ordinary" though very good language school in Taiwan, where his training in Taiwan I doubt was Tax Payer funded.

[think_too_mut]

Again, irrelevant. He did it in a proper way and over the top. And he did that diplomatic language school.

My argument is - if it is worth doing, do it properly. And he did it maestrally.

[huumlaar]

Agree he learnt the right way, I like though to get accurate facts, he didn't go to a Diplomatic school for Languages, nor did he do it at Tax Payers expense,

 

However I learn languages, and forget them, very fast, takes me about 20 hours to get a working understanding basic language, I've even managed ok Hungarian, which many find near impossible,

 

It's all about what method is best for the student, babies don't go to special schools, they learn at home, my kids are all tri-lingual by the time they could run, and my son quad-lingual.

 

Just my interest in being accurate.

[think_too_mut]

It's all about what method is best for the student, babies don't go to special schools, they learn at home, my kids are all tri-lingual by the time they could run, and my son quad-lingual.

 

That's another can of worms.

 

A child needs one language, any, as the main one. I was proud that my daughter speaks English, Thai, Japanese. Then, the school called us for a meeting. They said, she is drawing and painting best in the class. Some would take it as a talent.

 

Wrong!

 

She was painting and drawing nicely as she could not express herself in any language to the fullness the other kids could. Like Ray Charles developing using musical talent at the expense of non-existing eyesight.

 

Had it been a public school, with large classes, she would have remained short cut for life. Her disability would have been understood as a talent for arts, leave all other subjects, concentrate on arts and never come close to realise her potential. "Sit there and draw something" would be an easy exit in free schools where a kid might not be asked a question by their teacher for days. In this school, 12 kids in the class, 2 teachers, she got under the limelight several times a day. They noticed the problem and raised the red flag right away.

 

The problem has been corrected (extra classes in English and whatever the school recommended) and she draws and paints still better than other kids but nothing like a new Rembrandt. While she interacts with other kids perfectly, a leader of any joys. Not a nerd left drawing in the corner while other kids play.

[huumlaar]

Reason my son speaks four languages is his first language was sign language, he signed long before speaking as his primary care giver was a deaf mute member of our family. Interesting side effect of this, which we did receive warning would happen, was he spoke far later than most children, however he is far more expressive, and adapts pretty fast to new languages. He recently started an English only school, 3 months ago he couldn't spell that well, bottom of class, now he is middle of class and rising fast, top in Maths and Science. Interesting also very good at art, as are my other multi-lingual children,

 

My suspicion is, a child that learns to flick between languages, and I've had them start a sentence in one language, middle is another, and finish in a third, I believe teaches them to be faster thinkers, they can ;earn to bounce around ideas etc.