Thomas Whiteley -> RE: Plans for the future! (Dec. 31 2005 17:23:01)
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quote:
No, no tengo un perro". My mom spoke Castellano, but being a normal child I refused to learn from her! [:D] I took Castellano in high school and college along with German. I had a friend in the Air Force who was born in Germany and lived in Venezuela, and we would drive people crazy. He might see me and say hello, how are you in German and I would reply in Spanish, not even thinking about what I was doing. He would do the same thing! It was so funny and we would laugh while others shook their heads like we were nuts. When you study a foreign language (one that is not your first language), you are taught such things as greetings and how to respond. The responses were always very positive and full of energy! While working in the electronics industry I had many friends from South America, Mexico and Spain. One day I said to a friend named Lucas from Argentina, “Buenos días. ¿Cómo esta usted? My friend was married and had a wife and two teenage boys and I knew the family well. He stopped cold in his tracks while I awaited the response taught in school, fully expecting, ¡”Muy bien gracias! ¿Y usted”? This would be said with great energy just like all my teachers taught me. Or so I thought! It seemed like an eternity passed before Lucas replied. With a distraught look on his face he said very slowly. “Bien”, with a tone indicating it was almost a question. Bien? Are you serious? Are you all right Lucas? It truly shocked me and then I learned a great lesson about languages. People express how they feel and not how the teacher creates his/her world in a classroom environment! That was a good lesson. When Katy and I were married she spoke no English and asked me to talk to her only in English. Her English within six months was really outstanding. My Spanish has become poor as I do not often speak but I still understand what is written or spoken. While studying languages (I also studied Latin and Greek thanks to Catholic School), I felt that it is easiest to learn how to read, followed by listening to and understanding the spoken word. It seemed more difficult to speak and most difficult to write with proper grammar. I can read a good bit of French but can not understand the spoken word. I can read and understand a good bit of Italian. Learning Latin did have its good points! I love to kid people with true statements, which sometimes aggravate those who are sensitive. Tell someone who speaks Spanish, Italian or French that they are “vulgar or vernacular languages”, and see the response! Ah the things you learn in Catholic school! [:)] hehe You have to be in an environment that requires or demands you communicate in another language other then you own to truly learn.
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