My title is a little misleading: I don't precisely want to talk about learning foreign languages. It's related, though.
I studied Latin for a long time (five years), and at one point new more or less all of Latin grammar--some of the finer points, perhaps, eluded me, but with a good dictionary and some time I could essentially translate anything.
At this point, I've also studied Russian for a long time (four years), and I know a lot of Russian grammar. I also know some important idioms, and have a slightly stunted vocabulary. I can communicate a decent variety of more or less useful information.
I am so far from being fluent I might as well have just started.
For one thing, I can't make small talk--and not just for lack of practice. I don't know the words for all kinds of everyday objects (I had to ask my host mom how to say "fork" and "spoon," and still don't remember), and I don't have any idea what kinds of words and phrases are used to introduce ideas or signal that I'm still paying attention but don't really have anything to say. And when I go to write assignments, I realize that I have no idea how to express my thoughts in an aesthetically pleasing or even natural-sounding way.
This really bothers me, and I'm not sure how quickly it's going to improve.
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2 comments:
You know, as much as you scoffed at me learning Spanish and Italian, that's exactly the sort of thing that I learned (in addition to all of that grammar business).
I suggest watching other people closely and doing as they do.
Brette ought to know by now that you watch other people closely all the time--in order NOT to do as they do.
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