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Do you speak any other languages?

Ash
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Post by Ash » Wed September 10th, 2008, 12:06 am

[quote=""1lila1""]
I suppose living in So. Ca, Spanish would be the best choice to learn but honestly I just don't have a desire to learn that language. Is that weird? It's the most logical choice but I really want to learn Italian instead![/quote]

Learn what you want to; you are enthusiastic and interested in Italian. If you learn it well, you'll find learning Spanish will be a breeze, since the two languages have somethings in common.

Ash
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Post by Ash » Wed September 10th, 2008, 12:10 am

[quote=""Divia""]It is a shame that Americans dont learn another language. Our teaching system is all messed up. They teach us in 7th and 8th grade when our brain really is no longer willing to learn it. booo.[/quote]

The school I teach at has a cool Dual Language program where the class is mixed with english speakers and english learners, and the whole class is taught in both languages. They start at kindergarten, and the program now goes up to third grade. Been quite successful from what I hear (I don't know quite how they do everything but at least they are working at teaching kids a second language)

I remember in 2nd grade (early 60s) I had a teacher who taught us some Spanish. I remember learning a lot, but rapidly forgot it in my very lily white environment. Wasn't till HS that I took a Latin class and then started to learn Spanish in fits and starts. I just can't help thinking how really fluent I would be if they'd kept up those lessons!

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Barbara Passaris
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Post by Barbara Passaris » Wed September 10th, 2008, 12:18 am

Yes, French, enough to get by....and modern Greek. I grew up with it. I've a knowledge of Hellenistic Greek, too, though I'm definitely not fluent there.

~Barb

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LCW
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Post by LCW » Wed September 10th, 2008, 12:28 am

[quote=""whitelady3""]I'm portuguese, so that's my native language, but I also speak english, or I wouldn't be here. :) [/quote]

Cool! My Uncle lived in Brazil for 25 years and speaks fluent Portugese. My Aunt (his wife) is from Brazil. They and all my cousins speak it fluently and at family gatherings there's lots of going back and forth between English and Portugese. I dated a guy from Brazil briefly years ago and he tried to teach it to me but I found it hard to grasp for some reason!

Also my graduate advisor was from the Azore's (sp?) and she's Portugese and speaks it as well!

Just typing this out I realize how connected to the Portugese language I am without actually speaking a word of it, lol!
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LCW
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Post by LCW » Wed September 10th, 2008, 12:29 am

[quote=""Ash""]Learn what you want to; you are enthusiastic and interested in Italian. If you learn it well, you'll find learning Spanish will be a breeze, since the two languages have somethings in common.[/quote]

That's a great point!
Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them. --Arnold Lobel

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Alaric
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Post by Alaric » Wed September 10th, 2008, 7:00 am

[quote=""Divia""]It is a shame that Americans dont learn another language. Our teaching system is all messed up. They teach us in 7th and 8th grade when our brain really is no longer willing to learn it. booo.[/quote]

At my high school it was mandatory in Years 8, and 9. Then in Year 10 they make it optional, but they put it in the same category as Ancient History among others so you can only do one of them. I gave up Spanish to do Ancient History but I wanted to do both.

It was the same for my sister, she had to drop Japanese to do Art, I think.

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diamondlil
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Post by diamondlil » Wed September 10th, 2008, 8:40 am

In my first year of high school we got to do two choices out of three languages, but it was really hard to continue going on the two languages route for the rest of high school if you wanted to do English, Maths etc etc. In the end I did one year of Japanese and three of French, but I can't remember much out of either of them.
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Divia
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Post by Divia » Wed September 10th, 2008, 10:57 am

We started in 7th grade and went to 10th and now I think you can go to 11th becuause thats what the dilpoma requires.

My choices French and Spanish. yay.
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Alaric
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Post by Alaric » Wed September 10th, 2008, 11:29 am

Oh, you could keep going at my high school too. You could keep going all the way to Year 12. It's just that it was put into the same category as a lot of stuff I had more interest in and I would have rather had done them than the language.

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Leyland
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Post by Leyland » Wed September 10th, 2008, 1:24 pm

I'm fairly certain my high school at the time (late 70's) required two years, or maybe just one. I took French in the 9th (freshman) and Spanish in the 10th (sophomore) years. I'm sure at least two years were offered in each, if not more. The school sponsored French and Spanish clubs that took field trips somewhere - but not to Europe.

I don't remember any other language classes being offered, unless it was German and I wasn't interested. Maybe I'll check out Rosetta for Gaelic to learn in my 'middle age'!
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