Re: Is there an optimal sequence for language acquisition?


Lee Sau Dan wrote:
> >>>>> "leuwarden" == leuwarden <leuwarden@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
>
> >> In terms of language teaching, I don't see a well organized
> >> system.
>
> leuwarden> It cannot be organized because you cannot control
> leuwarden> language except by what is commonly called censorship,
> leuwarden> and that needs political backing..
>
> Neither can you control when and where somebody gets ill.

No. The difference goes deeper than that. To some degree medicine is
based on experiment. You can test an idea.

In language learning and teaching it is not possible to test anything,
because you cannot standardize the conditions at all.
>
>
>
>
> leuwarden> What is the IPA?
>
> International Phonetic Alphabet.
>
>
> leuwarden> I see, you are a phonetics buff. Multilinguals often
> leuwarden> are. It is a curse.
>
> I ain't. I couldn't even tell a voiced stop (e.g. French/Italian "b")
> from a voiceless stop (e.g. French/Italian "p") until I read some
> books on phonetics when I was more than 20 years old. And I still mix
> them up when hearing these sounds spoken at native speech speed.

it could of course be that, starting out from Chinese, you'd find it
more difficult to perceive some sounds here....
>
>
> leuwarden> The problem is that a student might be able to imitate
> leuwarden> a certain sound, but feel ridiculous trying to sound
> leuwarden> British when speaking English or Prussian when speaking
> leuwarden> German, and the fact is that some do the opposite,
> leuwarden> consciously or not.
>
> Many HKers, being taught British pronunciations in schools, try hard
> to imitate an American accent when they go to work. (But they don't
> do it well, resulting in an identifyable UK-based, US-imitating
> accent.) I haven't asked them why they do so.

Spaniards also try, even while somehow believing that the British
accent is more elegant or whatever. But as soon as possible they'll try
to say "uodr" for "water". When they come back from the US, for a
reason I will never understand, they all insist on saying "over there"
instead of "there", even if that is all they learnt after a three
months stay.


>
>
> leuwarden> And language teachers that insist on phonetical aping
> leuwarden> should be sent to build the railroad in Siberia.
>
> That project has completed long ago! :)

:-(

Has it?!

I found it hard to come up with something really cruel.

Try again:

Any language teacher ......... ..... should be obliged to have
canned spinach for breakfast for about 3 months.

There.
>
>
>
> --
> Lee Sau Dan 李守敦 ~{@nJX6X~}
>
> E-mail: danlee@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Home page: http://www.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/~danlee

.

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