azraelle Posted June 4, 2002 Share Posted June 4, 2002 The Europeans on this board have really enlarged my understanding of the relatively large number of similarities, as opposed to the differences that I always thought existed between Europe and America, and I thank you for that. I took Russian in high school for one year, and remember learning the curious fact that 4 years of English was required in all schools in the USSR. Since many of you seem to be at least as fluent in English as some North Americans(!) on this board, I would like to know how you learned it in your native, non-English-speaking countries. Was English required? If so, for how long? Did you have native English-speaking instructors? Did you have any "immersion-style" classes (or schools) where only English was allowed to be spoken? Thanks. AJ "All that you can decide, is what to do with the time that is given you."--Gandalf, "Life is not tried, it is merely survived -If you're standing outside the fire."--Garth Brooks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfheel Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 This is time for me to start posting on those boards... I've been watching and reading enough ! I took english courses at school for 10 years, this is definitely what gave me the basics, but what really helped me a lot more than school are my several holidays spent in the US. BTW I'm French... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 I had about 12 years English in my educational career, of which 3-4 years specifically aimed at technical terms (I'm an electronics/computer engineer). I don't know if English is an obligatory subject in all courses though, but it is in electronics and computer science. I think nowdays English is already taught in primary school, which wasn't the case in my time. Greetz, Jeff --- "She's going shopping, shopping for shoe-oe-oe-oes She wants them in magenta and Caribbean blue-ue-ue-ue" - Imelda, Mark Knopfler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefox Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 I'm suprised it's compulsory in Russia. I just got back from Moscow, and very few speak or understand it. It's suprising, considering not only the education, but the amount that gets bombarded at them on TV, advertising and the net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azraelle Posted June 5, 2002 Author Share Posted June 5, 2002 It used to be compulsory, circa 1970. I make no claims about the situation these days--mayhaps they're too broke to make it mandatory anymore??? <font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: azraelle on 2002-06-06 01:54 ]</font> "All that you can decide, is what to do with the time that is given you."--Gandalf, "Life is not tried, it is merely survived -If you're standing outside the fire."--Garth Brooks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trolldeg Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 10 years of english in school + 80% of the TV we get here is from US/UK (and no dubbing) + playing alot of text-, and later speech-based computer games + reading alot of books in english (Terry Pratchett!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter23 Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 I learned my first English from TV, The DJ-Cat show was on Sky Channel presented by the dutch Linda the Mol. (this was about 1990) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van Posted June 14, 2002 Share Posted June 14, 2002 I think my first notions of english came from "I can't get no ... satisfaction"" ... then from reading the english rock press of the late sixties (Melody maker etc...). My first job overseas was in a remote former British colony where i was the only french-speaker. I spoke fluent english after two months ... Vanessa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Shoe Posted June 30, 2002 Share Posted June 30, 2002 It's amazing how quickly you can learn a language if you have to. I've always said that the cleverest people in the world are the Greeks because kids as young as 3 can speak Greek fluently whereas here in the UK scholars can spend 40 years learning it! Graduate footwear designer able to advise and assist on modification and shoe making projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skenn Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 I think the British, and the Irish are WAY behing in learning a common foreign language, and this laziness may not be helped gy the fact that most other countries have a large proportion of maneageable English. In Ireland, we HAVE to do the Irish language, so reducing the opportunity for another 'modern' language. However, I do find that hte quality of the english language is attrocious. Even college graduates(3rd level) often don't speak, or write decent english. Shane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba136 Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 Learning a foreign language is usually commerce driven. People that make the goods learn the language of the people that buy the goods. For what ever reason, it appears that english is quickly becoming the common language between all people. Music, Internet, Television, Movies.. However, a lot of people might be surprised to learn that english is no longer a required subject in many American schools. Go figure! (Composition, grammar, spelling, literature --) Being mentally comfortable in your own mind is the key to wearing heels in public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamyam Posted July 28, 2002 Share Posted July 28, 2002 Actually, judging by the amount of hideously-written emails I get from all parts of the UK, I can only assume that English isn't taught in England, either. I work for a computer company, where email is a major part of communication. I also spend quite a lot of time ringing people who've just emailed me, 'for clarification'. More like, because I'm not allowed to say 'I have absolutely no idea what the hell your mail is supposed to mean!" but I'm not allowed to say that. (This also counts as a pet peeve) Obsessed is such a strong word. I prefer to think of myself as "differently enthusiastic" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stellah Posted August 28, 2002 Share Posted August 28, 2002 English is one major world language and it's very hard to get along without the English language skills. I studied it in an English biased school for 11 years (2-3 lessons a day). We had English economy, literature and geography. But this was really only the basis. Since we have so many things going around us in English, you can't miss it. I have also had a 5-year speaking experience with U.S. Peace Corpse volunteers. Someone said very wll on this board - it's just amazing how quickly you can master the language if you have to! This year I took up my 7th language... Japanese (I need it for my hobby). _______________ HH forever! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter23 Posted August 28, 2002 Share Posted August 28, 2002 English is one major world language True, but if you want to know the langue than most people speak in the works, learn Chinese. More than 20% of the world’s population speaks daily Chinese. Witch is probably more than English Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba136 Posted August 28, 2002 Share Posted August 28, 2002 Chinese! Dexter is probably correct. However, in my experience, the only place you can speak that language is in China or at a Chinese restaurant. Being mentally comfortable in your own mind is the key to wearing heels in public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calv Posted August 28, 2002 Share Posted August 28, 2002 Chinese! Dexter is probably correct. However, in my experience, the only place you can speak that language is in China or at a Chinese restaurant. This reminds me of a little story, anybody remember the oil tanker disaster off Milford Haven in Wales a few years ago? Well there was a large chinese tugboat nearby and the authorities wanted the tugboat to help. Only trouble was, the only language spoken on board was chinese. So they got the local chinese restaurant to help translate. Most of the Chinese restaurants in britain are owned by former Hong Kong residents and so they discovered that the chinese language spoken by the restauranteurs was actually Mandarin! So there was still no common language and by the time time they found somebody who spoke Chinese it was too late and the oil tanker foundered on the rocks. Do your own thing. Don't be a victim of conformity. Calv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Posted August 28, 2002 Share Posted August 28, 2002 What about the poor saps here in the UK that had to learn latin in order to better understand english. Now there's a tough language!! I had to learn some cantonese whilst living in Hong Kong. At least learning how to barter with the locals is a skill in itself. Most chinese don't bother to learn english as they reckon not to go anywhere. I'm attempting to learn Klingon, just for fun But I agree with Yamyam, that the standard of english used in common language and in mail has deteriorated in recent years, mainly due to english people getting lazier or complacent. "Why should I learn another language? They can all learn english" is a common reply when posing the question to most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Shoe Posted August 28, 2002 Share Posted August 28, 2002 Actually, the most widely spoken language is English. I gather many of the Patois languges are based on English despite originating from former french colonies. In many countries where a "minority" language is spoken, English is the official second language. Its is true that Chinese is spoken by the most people though this is split between Cantonese and Mandarin which though has some similarities is just about the same as the difference between say german and English. Also, Spanish is a strong contender for an international language and in many countries that have English as a first language have Spanish as a second language. An interesting point: did you know that there a more people speaking Welsh as a first language in Argentina than in Wales?! Graduate footwear designer able to advise and assist on modification and shoe making projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefox Posted August 28, 2002 Share Posted August 28, 2002 I think you mean "Cantonese" Calv. Presumably they spoke Mandarin on the boat. Anyway, character based languages like Mandarin are not much good for things like computer input. Chinese typewriters did for wp the same as Roman numerals did for maths; not much use. I think we're better off sticking with a Roman based alphabet and arabic numerals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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