Question for Scandinavians

There was a thread last year called "How come Dutch people are so good at languages?" The consensus seemed to be motivation: a relatively small language group with a great need to learn other languages to communicate with the outside world. The same seems true for explaining the success of Scandinavians.

There are, however, other areas of the world where such language group size and motivation are also present, and yet without the same success in language learning. So I'd like to ask the Scandinavians about two points only touched on in the old thread:

1. Methodology: Is there something different about the language learning methodology used in Scandinavia? (It can't just be starting young; there are plenty of places--even in the States--that start young, without similar results.)

2. Subtitles: I've had teachers warn me against watching films or TV with subtitles--they said that one would invariably be reading at the expense of watching and listening to the target language. But I can't see why that wouldn't just help make the input comprehensible. (As I remember little kids watching "The Flinstones" cartoons in the Netherlands.)

I really believe subtitles are the main reason together with excellent education :-)

Here in the Netherlands all foreign programms* are dubbed.You hear the language and the translation at the same time,it's perfect!

*Except programms meant for children who cannot read (well) yet.

<<Here in the Netherlands all foreign programms* are dubbed.>>

Sander, surely you mean 'subtitled' not 'dubbed'??

Oh fuck, my brain mixes stuff up again :-)

I'm think how other countries DUBB and how we SUB and then.... argh!

Candy is right!

OK, good!
For a moment I thought I was going crazy...but no - it was YOU!! :-)

To get back to the thread topic, I firmly believe that watching films etc with subtitles is an excellent idea, and can't understand the opinion of Mitch's teachers. I strongly encourage my (German) students to watch films in English with English subtitles. (Whether the lazy sods ever do it is another matter, of course)

Subtitles are an excellent base for learning a language.And it's much easier for the learner too since he/she doesn't have to start from scratch.

> 1. Methodology: Is there something different about the language learning methodology used in Scandinavia? (It can't just be starting young; there are plenty of places--even in the States--that start young, without similar results.) <

In Australia, methodology means the "study of methods".
It seems that in the USA, methodology as come to be a synonym
for methods.

<<In Australia, methodology means the "study of methods".
It seems that in the USA, methodology as come to be a synonym
for methods.>>

Oh really? That's interesting. Yes, "methodology" at least in this context is used as a synonym for "methods." I hadn't realized there was dialectal variation over this word.

I can say that I´m not the best in English here in Sweden I think I belong to worser half in English if you compare me with other Swedes. But Sweden has a greate industy if you look to how small we are. Because of the fact that we don´t have a big inside market we are forced to search for other markets and learn their cultures. A part of the culture is the language so thats one explination. I have also a proof which support my statement. Take the system which is saying that "O" is oxygen when it´s about chemistry. It was a Swede who invented that "system,language" he knew that it should not worked if he introduced that system with the Swedish language as a base, but it worked and still works now when the latin language is the base.

Besides the Swede Berzelius, who helped create the symbolic language of chemistry, there's Linnaeus in biology. He used a system of Latin names to classify animals and plants according to genus and species.

It appears that the Swedish propensity for naming things goes back a long ways. According to an ancient text, "Och Herren Gud danade av jord alla markens djur och alla himmelens fåglar, och förde dem fram till mannen för att se huru denne skulle kalla dem; ty såsom mannen kallade var levande varelse, så skulle den heta." 1 Mosebok 2:19, Genesis 2:19

I guess "methodology" can mean either methods or the study of methods. Most "ologies" are aplied to the study of a subject e.g. biology, geology etc, but when I've written science papers I have a "methodology" section which explains my methods. That's the first time I think I've pondered that question, but I would think the two different uses are universal.

About subtitled movies and TV-program I must say that I appreciate it. Even on the news here in Sweden you can hear that mr Bush and Blair speaks English, Putin speaks Russian, Berlosconi Italian etc etc. I don´t prefer dubed films so I´m saitsfied.