What do you think about the method of learning (or improving) another language by simply studying the text in a foreign language and its translation into your native language? Here is the text in Russian that propound the advantages and efficiency of such style of learning: http://www.arabic.ru/how/method.html
Learning foreign languages by parallel texts
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This is an old method, I think, of learning languages. Sir Richard Burton recommending reading the Bible in other languages as a learning method. I realize that some may want to use other texts, but using two texts and comparing them continues to have value today imo.
When comparing texts I prefer to use the target language and another language I know, not my native language. Doing it that way gives me practice in both languages.
But this is still the way go. I've spent so much time on hardcore reading courses (...lots of rants). The worst thing is still that we rarely get perfect or good parallel texts. It's the old way, but it's also the way how the strongest pioneers had done/have been doing. I don't have any evidence in hand, but I can expect religious people can achieve a lot for languages they are supposed/motivated to learn through this method, and I can instantly think of the Bible, one of the most popular books in the world with hundreds of translations in hundreds of languages.
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hey, shouldn't you be talking about parallel texts? I've found it a very great idea after I've read it in another forum, but hardly have had the chance to do anything about it, when audios are always lacking...
what audiobooks, for example, would you suggest?
This is an old method, I think, of learning languages. Sir Richard Burton recommending reading the Bible in other languages as a learning method. I realize that some may want to use other texts, but using two texts and comparing them continues to have value today imo.
When comparing texts I prefer to use the target language and another language I know, not my native language. Doing it that way gives me practice in both languages.
But this is still the way go. I've spent so much time on hardcore reading courses (...lots of rants). The worst thing is still that we rarely get perfect or good parallel texts. It's the old way, but it's also the way how the strongest pioneers had done/have been doing. I don't have any evidence in hand, but I can expect religious people can achieve a lot for languages they are supposed/motivated to learn through this method, and I can instantly think of the Bible, one of the most popular books in the world with hundreds of translations in hundreds of languages.
...
hey, shouldn't you be talking about parallel texts? I've found it a very great idea after I've read it in another forum, but hardly have had the chance to do anything about it, when audios are always lacking...
what audiobooks, for example, would you suggest?
What's going on? I guess the names of threads might be getting misleading, when I see the above message gets moved somehow.
I wonder if this method works best for languages that are no longer spoken (by native speakers, anyway)? Lack of listening comprehension is not a problem for something like ancient Egyptian or Etruscan, and possibly even Latin.
>>I wonder if this method works best for languages that are no longer spoken
Depends. What about "endangered" ones? I'm still looking for Teochew audios on and off, but I can't expect to find much, when its channels are dubbed almost always in Mandarin instead.
The whole point of the original author is to, as someone who speaks a European language, find audios and texts (or to make them) to acquire a language very quickly without using "very expensive courses" like Assimil. It isn't intended to be universally "useful" (sorry, I'm short of words, that's the best I can offer).
But Latin can be pronounced, isn't it?
Depends. What about "endangered" ones? I'm still looking for Teochew audios on and off, but I can't expect to find much, when its channels are dubbed almost always in Mandarin instead.
The whole point of the original author is to, as someone who speaks a European language, find audios and texts (or to make them) to acquire a language very quickly without using "very expensive courses" like Assimil. It isn't intended to be universally "useful" (sorry, I'm short of words, that's the best I can offer).
But Latin can be pronounced, isn't it?
<<But Latin can be pronounced, isn't it? >>
Are there any people around who use clasical Latin as their first language?
If not, it would be hard to find mainstream TV shows, movies, plays, etc. with native speakers. Is there any modern Literature or even scientific papers written in Latin?
Are there any people around who use clasical Latin as their first language?
If not, it would be hard to find mainstream TV shows, movies, plays, etc. with native speakers. Is there any modern Literature or even scientific papers written in Latin?
<<I wonder if this method works best for languages that are no longer spoken (by native speakers, anyway)? Lack of listening comprehension is not a problem for something like ancient Egyptian or Etruscan, and possibly even Latin.>>
If you're using audio books alongside it, it is also effective for modern languages. I know a method that incorporates the two.
http://langwelt.phpbbsite.com/listening-reading-method-t25.html
http://langwelt.phpbbsite.com/follow-up-to-the-listening-reading-method-t26.html
Josh Lalonde wrote:
<<That seems likely to me. I can't imagine that I would be able to get much from a text in a language I don't know, and it seems rather tedious anyway. Memorizing lists of words can be boring, but it seems to be the most effective way for adults to start learning a language.>>
Wow, you think one can get more out of a word list than a novel?!! Just considering the boredom aspect, a novel is superior. A novel, at least a good one, can be read for hours without causing boredom. There is also much more vocabulary than one can find on any word list and one gets to see how the words are actually used. There is greater incentive to learn the meanings because you can't continue on in say, x mystery novel without doing just that, learning. Finally, it's more productive. You're killing two birds with one stone, learning a language and reading a book.
If you're using audio books alongside it, it is also effective for modern languages. I know a method that incorporates the two.
http://langwelt.phpbbsite.com/listening-reading-method-t25.html
http://langwelt.phpbbsite.com/follow-up-to-the-listening-reading-method-t26.html
Josh Lalonde wrote:
<<That seems likely to me. I can't imagine that I would be able to get much from a text in a language I don't know, and it seems rather tedious anyway. Memorizing lists of words can be boring, but it seems to be the most effective way for adults to start learning a language.>>
Wow, you think one can get more out of a word list than a novel?!! Just considering the boredom aspect, a novel is superior. A novel, at least a good one, can be read for hours without causing boredom. There is also much more vocabulary than one can find on any word list and one gets to see how the words are actually used. There is greater incentive to learn the meanings because you can't continue on in say, x mystery novel without doing just that, learning. Finally, it's more productive. You're killing two birds with one stone, learning a language and reading a book.
It depends. If you're just getting started with a language, reading a novel is probably not a good idea. Translations tend to be loose, and surely this is true even in side-by-side editions, so you probably will not fully understand what's going on in the translation. That's not very much fun, and it's not particularly educational, either.
If you already have a good grasp of the basics of the language, then the only thing I can recommend is to try it and see.
- Kef
If you already have a good grasp of the basics of the language, then the only thing I can recommend is to try it and see.
- Kef
That depends on how much you already know, if you're looking up a word in the dictionary every 10 words, it can get REALLY boring fast, no way you'll read that novel. I know, I've tried it before.
It's better to start with something smaller, like music lyrics or something similar.
It's better to start with something smaller, like music lyrics or something similar.
<I meant for the early stages of learning. If you only know a couple hundred words, I don't think a novel is going to be very useful, because you'll have to stop every couple words to look something up, then read the whole thing again, etc. I don't know what the number is, but there's a certain minimum vocabulary you would need to actually get anything out of a novel IMHO.
For more advanced learners, actual language is better of course. Novels, magazines, movies, etc.>
OK, fair enough, but the parallel text does solve that problem. One of the key benefits of parallel texts are that they build your vocabulary. So, eventually you can read the novel without the translation...
By the way, do you know why I was banned? Using a proxy isn't that big a deal, but when one compares the content of my post with the average antimooner, the action doesn't seem particularly logical...
For more advanced learners, actual language is better of course. Novels, magazines, movies, etc.>
OK, fair enough, but the parallel text does solve that problem. One of the key benefits of parallel texts are that they build your vocabulary. So, eventually you can read the novel without the translation...
By the way, do you know why I was banned? Using a proxy isn't that big a deal, but when one compares the content of my post with the average antimooner, the action doesn't seem particularly logical...
Using a parallel text doesn't solve the problem entirely. If you cannot grasp the exact relationship between a sentence in language A and its translation in language B, then you will still need supplemental materials to help you. This will happen often in the early stages of learning a language unless the grammar is very similar between the two languages.
- Kef
- Kef