Posted by wendy b. on April 19, 2003, at 8:08:01
In reply to Re: another teacher takes a turn, posted by noa on April 19, 2003, at 6:46:28
> Sheesh. It is a wonder that anyone can master this language! I feel for people learning it as adults!
Absolutely!!
I used to teach English as a Second Language to adult foreign speakers living in the U.S., and god, did they ever get frustrated. And after having picked up some improper forms when they first learned English in their own countries, they could almost never change; such is the relative level of plasticity of the adult human brain. Children pick up foreign languages with ease, as opposed to their parents. I would teach various members of the same family in many cases, and the adults would often marvel at the level of mastery their 7-year olds had attained, while they continued to struggle along.
There are so many exceptions to the "rules" of English grammar that my students couldn't really understand, nor could I explain. My advice was to read and converse in English as much as they could; it's only by using the language that one really gets the hang of it...
Speaking of idiomatic expressions (getting the hang of something), learning such phrases as "taking the bull by the horns," to be "under one's thumb," to be a "stick in the mud," or "take it with a grain of salt," was particularly difficult... The students would ask my WHY these expresisons meant what they did, and of course, some expressions mean the same thing from one language to another, but I would often have to say that there is no answer to the WHY question. I asked them to think of an idiom in their own language, one that I could tell them did not have the same meaning in its literal translation into English, and then ask them WHY that meant what it did in Spanish or German or Portuguese. That put an end to such questions! Language is a living, growing thing; it's interesting to be aware of its inconsistencies and surprises.
Anyway, getting far afield...
Thanks, Noa,
Wendy
poster:wendy b.
thread:220096
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20030404/msgs/220570.html