The topic about mental dialogues got me thinking about a long-standing question I’ve had: How does one maintain a high level of proficiency in another language (besides Chinese or Taiwanese) while living in Taiwan? I had a Spanish/English language exchange years ago, which was nice. Now I’m considering taking a conversation class here (once a week, if possible) to keep those mental juices flowing.
It’s been quite a long time since I’ve studied most of my other foreign languages (the one exception is I recently took beginning Japanese in Taiwan), and I know how easy it is for them to slowly slip away over the years. I figure a good hour of use once every week or two will be substantially better than nothing.
I’d love to hear what strategies others here have come up with.
My brother reads French books aloud to himself … he reckons it helps him with fluency and maintaining a good general level of the language. He also goes to classes though…
The wife & I used to hold “French Days” at home, trying to converse only in French. We never actually made it through a whole day, but it was fun and a good refresher anyway … that was before we had kids. Now, we use French as our “secret code” whenever we don’t want to use a language they understand …
Sorry Jefferson, but my bro doesn’t live in this country. i have heard of French teachers in Taipei, but don’t specifically know details about where, when and how much… I’m sure a little searching would provide the desired results.
Yeah, I kind of have a (half) bead on a place in the train station area. But like a lot of other folks, I’d prefer to have a school recommended. If anyone here has taken Spanish or French classes in Taipei, I’d love to hear your stories. Those are the two I’d most like to preserve.
Incidentally, I’ve discovered this is an excellent place to learn Japanese. The school I attended (Yong Han), though famous, wasn’t great (the texts leave much to be desired). But there’s so much Japanese content in the media and stores, and we’re so close to Japan, that there are ample opportunities to use Japanese in a regular, informal manner.
Depending on your proficiency level and if you have an iPod or some other MP3 player, buying MP3 audio books is a great way to stay in touch with a language. I don’t know why I never thought of it before, but a couple of months ago, I bought a couple of MP3 books in Swedish, my native language which I don’t speak very often here in Taiwan, and that was a great idea. I can’t see why it shouldn’t work in a second language if you have reached a certain level of proficiency. I think it’s great to “read” a book in the gym or on the bus or whenever I’m doing something that doesn’t require using my head (can’t understand why I get so much reading done).
I’d like to help here and tell you about my strategy but I ain’t got one. I don’t know a single soul to talk French with here. Sadly or not, I don’t really care because my mother tongue is something I use with friends and family and I don’t think I’ll ever lose the ability to do that.
You can always send me a pm in French Jefferson but that will not help your pronunciation.
I think audio books are quite a good idea and I will try to start doing that.
bobepine, from I own experience I know that a few phone calls here and there back home are not enough to keep yourself fluent in your mother tongue. Sooner or later you will lose the abillity to speak your mother tongue as fluent as before, trust me. You will start to search for words that just don’t pop up in your mind anymore …
bobepine, from I own experience I know that a few phone calls here and there back home are not enough to keep yourself fluent in your mother tongue. Sooner or later you will lose the abillity to speak your mother tongue as fluent as before, trust me. You will start to search for words that just don’t pop up in your mind anymore …[/quote]
That was sooooo mean!
I know what you mean, it’s hapening already, I do lose the ability to speak and find my words no doubt. I’m already down to asking"how do you say that again?" but my comprehension ability remains the same(I hope). When I hear French, I understand it like it’s my mother tongue. The language nuances for example are still far easier to grasp in French then they are in English.
Comes to show though how easy it would be to lose a second language. I used to speak a bit of Spanish too but nowadays I could not have a conversation. Por que? …
Hmm…you never know, if French changes as fast as Turkish does, then I see a problem in the future.
After having lived abroad for over 40 years, my uncle went back to Turkey for a visit and only understood half of what people where saying… :s He was devasted…
I do mental Spanish and listen to Spanish language music. I was near native fluent when I first arrived here 6 years ago. Now, I can NOT speak Spanish without mixing Mandarine into it! I end up with a terrible mess that no one can understand. And I’ve forgotten a lot of my Spanish vocabulary. For me, it’s really use it or lose it. I couldn’t even converse with naitve speakers back in the States 6 months ago. This is something that I trully feel badly about.
[quote=“mesheel”]Hmm…you never know, if French changes as fast as Turkish does, then I see a problem in the future.
After having lived abroad for over 40 years, my uncle went back to Turkey for a visit and only understood half of what people where saying… :s He was devasted…[/quote]
Oh now you’re just getting meaner. I agree that expressions change and that the general consensus on the connotations of certain words may change as well but a familiar word is a familiar word.
For people who part with their language at an early stage of fluency, ie very young, I can see losing comprehension ability but I’ve lived my life in French for the first twenty years of my life and I sure hope that thirty years from now I can still understand what Frenchies are saying but if I don’t, I sure will be devastated.
I never read the book, but I got a feel of what it’s about from the reviews. I read somewhere that the guy who wrote the book speaks over 25 languages (but who knows how well). Anyhow, I assume with proper management keeping about 6-7 languages fresh shouldn’t be too hard (my goal).
With Skype you should have no problem finding someone to practice with.
Books, magazines, songs and movies and friends help a lot. I was pleased to find a large Francophone crowd in Beijing and here in Taipei. Naturally, if your significant other speaks that language, then even better.
And here’s something really depressing:
I saw a documentary on Science channel. Some kid from the U.K. (dubbed the Brain Man) has unusual mental abilities. Besides doing math in his head like 74 to the power of 24 and calculating Pi to 20,000 decimal places, he also
LEARNED A NEW LANGUAGE IN A WEEK. Icelandic, no less. At the end of the week, and with the help of a tutor, he went on Icelandic TV, was questioned in Icelandic, and responded in Icelandic.
At this rate he could be proficient/fluent in every language in less than a year!!
Oh, no, mon dieu! Now I scared away my change to practice French…
BTW,my uncle lived his first 20 years in Turkey before he moved to my homecountry. He couldn’t understand some of modern Turkish anymore when he was 60 years old… So you don’t have to worry for another few years I guess…
Thanks for the reminder Jefferson. Thanks for that other reminder mesheel… …your blog is old isn’t it? I mean you haven’t updated anything in there for quite a while have you? ie~ age :liar:
Reading your blog made me think(it’s German mostly.) that would help. Updating a blog in another language on a regular basis is another good exposure. I plan to have a blog soon myself but I hadn’t thought of it that way. It’s a bonus.
There are many good suggestions in this thread for you Jefferson and I think that the more things you do to expose yourself to the languages you wish to maintain, the higher your proficiency will remain.
That speaks for itself but it comes down to time and interest. If you really mean to keep what you’ve worked for, you’ll make time and find the means.(this thread is good) I haven’t and thanks to mesheel for her insights, I’m not reconsidering. Non! Non! Non!
There are certainly many good ideas in this thread. And it seems there are a few of us in the same boat!
I’d like to do something productive/active but which doesn’t take too much of my weekly time - ie, to maintain proficiency, not improve on my current level. That’s why I’ve been thinking (for some time) about taking a weekly conversation course. It provides a structure and impulse that other ways of practicing lack. Once in a while I pick up a book in Spanish or French but don’t ever get too far before my motivation heads elsewhere.
But the idea of maintaining a blog in another language, and the audio book idea, are two of the (many) good ideas which I’ll consider!
It’s funny - I was just in the States. You’d think I’d have ample chances to speak Spanish there. Well, the funny thing is just the other day, after returning to Taipei, I saw a couple of tourists in the MRT station. I asked if they needed help (in English). The response was in Spanish. So I quickly woke up the Spanish hamster and helped them with directions, as well as advice about buying clothes and cell phones. That 10 minute conversation did me a world of good! (And it was good to know that though rusty, I’ve still got the stuff! )
One thing I have managed to keep up with over the years is listening to French and Spanish music from time to time. I’ve only got a bit of each: Iglesias, Santana, Kaas, etc., and the occasional radio station, but I listen to them each several times per year, and that does help.
Por que? …
I agree that expressions change and that the general consensus on the connotations of certain words may change as well but a familiar word is a familiar word.
So you don’t have to worry for another few years I guess… 
[/quote] I saw that!!! :fume: 
