[Bodah]

raydan raydan:

Just saying...

It's not that hard to learn another language, IF you put the effort into it.
I know that if I got a job and one of the requirements of getting a future promotion was to learn Mandarin, well, I'd learn Mandarin.

I think that military personnel that are serious about getting that promotion will learn French. They know the rule.

3 months before going on a trip to Cuba, I started an online course in Spanish.
Can't say I was fluent, but I'm sure that in less then a year, I would have been.

I will concede that it's easier for a French Canadian to learn English than the other way around.

You're right Raydan it isn't that hard. My spoken french is pretty good. I was lucky I grew up in Québec. My written french sucks though. It's ok though I'm doing well with just the ability to speak it.

Its pretty well known by now if you want a job in the government you have to be fluent in both languages for practically all positions. So kids in University/college are aware of that so unless they know they want to work for the government these are the only kids that are going to add learning French or English as a second language. I suspect the added work load to their education may be a deterrent for a lot of people and choose a different career path.

[Brenda]

I was taught 4 languages in school, French mandatory for at least a year, German 2 years, Dutch and English all years. I took all 4 language-classes all years. I could also take Spanish, Italian, Latin and Greek to go with it, but I opted not to. And this was just highschool...

[Guy_Fawkes]

Brenda Brenda:

I was taught 4 languages in school, French mandatory for at least a year, German 2 years, Dutch and English all years. I took all 4 language-classes all years. I could also take Spanish, Italian, Latin and Greek to go with it, but I opted not to. And this was just highschool...

I should have grown up in the Netherlands.

[Bodah]

Brenda Brenda:

I was taught 4 languages in school, French mandatory for at least a year, German 2 years, Dutch and English all years. I took all 4 language-classes all years. I could also take Spanish, Italian, Latin and Greek to go with it, but I opted not to. And this was just highschool...

Nice Brenda, are you still fluent in all these languages ? English is an obvious yes . What about the rest.

[Brenda]

Guy_Fawkes Guy_Fawkes:

Brenda Brenda:

I was taught 4 languages in school, French mandatory for at least a year, German 2 years, Dutch and English all years. I took all 4 language-classes all years. I could also take Spanish, Italian, Latin and Greek to go with it, but I opted not to. And this was just highschool...

I should have grown up in the Netherlands.

I am really surprised (and did not expect it) that the educational system does not provide for more languages... My dayghter (12) gets the basics taught in French now, and although I am far from fluent, I should be able to get what she is saying... I don't... The accent she gets taught is horrible. It's French with an English accent

Somethings you only find out when really living somewhere, you can't find in books, or even online. And no, I'm not being a "whiney Dutchy" now, I am just stating a fact. There are things here that are better, there are things here that are worse (compared to what I grew up with) but most of all, things are different. And you can only find out by living it.

[Brenda]

Bodah Bodah:

Brenda Brenda:

I was taught 4 languages in school, French mandatory for at least a year, German 2 years, Dutch and English all years. I took all 4 language-classes all years. I could also take Spanish, Italian, Latin and Greek to go with it, but I opted not to. And this was just highschool...

Nice Brenda, are you still fluent in all these languages ? English is an obvious yes . What about the rest.

Dutch, of course, German when I hear it, it's no problem (just have to get into it, but I can basicly switch without a problem in those 3 languages in one conversation...), French reading is not a huge deal, but speaking is very rusty, and listening is not as it has been or should be. Mind you it's been over 20 years...

[Bodah]

The best and easiest way to learn a language is to live where it is the spoken the most. Not to say it can't be done via other methods but some dude living in Alberta will have a harder time learning French for example than the advantage I had growing up in Québec when all of my Friends spoke French. I picked it up pretty quick.

I did notice that when I moved to a different neighborhood and went to highschool I started hanging out with my english school mates a little more and over a couple of years of not speaking french as much as I used to. My french got a little rusty.
It was remedied quickly though when I dated a french girl who spoke no english for a couple of years.

[Brenda]

Bodah Bodah:

The best and easiest way to learn a language is to live where it is the spoken the most. Not to say it can't be done via other methods but some dude living in Alberta will have a harder time learning French for example than the advantage I had growing up in Québec when all of my Friends spoke French. I picked it up pretty quick.

I did notice that when I moved to a different neighborhood and went to highschool I started hanging out with my english school mates a little more and over a couple of years of not speaking french as much as I used to. My french got a little rusty.
It was remedied quickly though when I dated a french girl who spoke no english for a couple of years.

Absolutely.
My kids didn't speak a word of English when we moved here. They had an ESL teacher (that they saw once... Not a big help ) and within 3 months they were up to speed and understood everything that was said in school. Now, almost 3 years later, they are at the same level that they were in The Netherlands (I'm not saying straight A students, because they are not, they are above average tho, like they were in Holland too) and they are both "exceeding the expectations" in English. Of course sometimes it's more Englutch than English that they speak (as do I ) but thats fine. Other than that, no one would know they are Dutch, because they have no accents.

[Bodah]

I worked with a women for the longest time that I didn't know she was dutch it just never came up. One day I heard her talking on the phone speaking Dutch. I was floored, I was WTF is that !!! Took me by suprise.

[Brenda]

Bodah Bodah:

I worked with a women for the longest time that I didn't know she was dutch it just never came up. One day I heard her talking on the phone speaking Dutch. I was floored, I was WTF is that !!! Took me by suprise.

Someone told me a few days ago that Dutch is not a language, but a throat disease
(that was a Dutchy, btw, that told me that )

[Guy_Fawkes]

They had language courses while I was in highschool but I didnt learn a thing, I tried three years of German and at the end I was far from fluent.

[Proculation]

I had 2 courses of German. I'm not fluent at all but I can understand the syntax and the meaning of the sentence most of the time. But I can't understand 95% of spoken German tho.

[PostFactum]

I had a French teacher who knew:French, German, Spanish, Hebrew, Italian, Polish almost more European languages^) He was a great man, but we had French only once on two weeks))