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Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere) everynametaken Send a noteboard - 25/09/2010 07:38:29 PM
1) Which languages did you learn in school, and for how long?


High School - One semester of French but I had already begun teaching myself second semester material.

College - One semester of Spanish and one semester of Russian. I did likewise with these two and began teaching myself second semester material.

2) Which languages would you say you speak with some degree of fluency?


English but I would say when I am around it for a little while and pick it back up again I can speak conversationally in Spanish. My Russian is minimal (in my opinion) as far as speaking goes but the Russians I meet always seem impressed with how much I can say properly. I know Tom disagrees but I find it a difficult language to learn (which is why I like the challenge!)

I can still read French and get the gist of what is being said. I can read and write Spanish pretty well well with the need for a dictionary occasionally. I can read and write Russian but need a dictionary a lot. I am sure I mess up the cases in more complex sentences quite a bit unless I really think the endings through before writing them.

3) Do you think languages get too much attention in the school system you went to, too little, or just about enough?


Definitely too little. When I was in High School 15 years ago it was either French or Spanish and pretty much all schools in Michigan were the same. there was no option to learn anything else. I think schools could do a better job explaining why language is important and I believe all kids should be exposed to at least some Spanish.

4) What do you think of the remarkable dominance of English that appears in the data?


It is the closest thing the world has ever seen to a universal language and may ever see. I think that is a pretty astounding fact.
But wine was the great assassin of both tradition and propriety...
-Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings
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/Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere) - 24/09/2010 01:37:42 PM 1313 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 01:49:32 PM 727 Views
Answering the survey myself... - 24/09/2010 02:04:39 PM 740 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 02:10:57 PM 725 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 02:20:45 PM 864 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 02:24:01 PM 753 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 02:14:52 PM 779 Views
We have a similar situation in Belgium. - 24/09/2010 02:32:25 PM 651 Views
It is all double dutch to me - 24/09/2010 02:41:41 PM 728 Views
Hah! - 24/09/2010 06:58:49 PM 811 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 03:32:09 PM 672 Views
That is rather sad to say the least. - 24/09/2010 04:15:32 PM 898 Views
Indeed - 24/09/2010 06:23:52 PM 716 Views
That's just Paris being a city of nasty people. - 24/09/2010 06:32:40 PM 859 Views
I never noticed that - 24/09/2010 07:05:18 PM 755 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 04:00:04 PM 786 Views
I didn't mean just in Sweden, or Scandinavia. - 24/09/2010 04:19:32 PM 782 Views
Well... - 24/09/2010 10:50:09 PM 682 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 05:47:09 PM 753 Views
Interesting. - 24/09/2010 06:04:30 PM 699 Views
Re: Interesting. - 24/09/2010 06:42:02 PM 853 Views
Re: Interesting. - 24/09/2010 07:05:44 PM 761 Views
Re: Interesting. - 24/09/2010 07:21:24 PM 876 Views
Re: Interesting. - 24/09/2010 08:18:30 PM 737 Views
Re: Interesting. - 25/09/2010 08:02:30 PM 804 Views
American who just got a C+ on a French quiz reporting in. - 24/09/2010 06:09:31 PM 810 Views
What was it on? - 24/09/2010 06:22:35 PM 718 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 06:16:22 PM 666 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere) - 24/09/2010 09:38:05 PM 852 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere) - 25/09/2010 05:49:05 AM 839 Views
Real quick - 25/09/2010 12:03:51 PM 812 Views
Self-study can be worth as much as formal classroom study, I suppose - 25/09/2010 03:43:14 PM 807 Views
Certainly it can. - 26/09/2010 12:35:56 PM 807 Views
You know, gen eds typically include a language. *NM* - 26/09/2010 07:28:57 PM 320 Views
Yes, but other things as well. - 26/09/2010 08:08:20 PM 744 Views
Interesting - 27/09/2010 03:14:00 AM 904 Views
Re: Interesting - 27/09/2010 11:04:37 AM 812 Views
You don't have to prove it's economically valid? - 27/09/2010 08:31:46 PM 834 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere) - 25/09/2010 04:54:40 PM 947 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere) - 25/09/2010 07:38:29 PM 871 Views
The amount of German is more surprising. - 25/09/2010 07:55:29 PM 627 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere) - 26/09/2010 12:07:19 AM 884 Views
They should have asked about second languages rather than foreign languages. - 26/09/2010 11:34:27 AM 740 Views
Aye, they should have. - 26/09/2010 12:26:51 PM 843 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere) - 27/09/2010 03:18:30 PM 785 Views

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