Learning a Foreign Language: Is it too Easy?
Posted: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
by Teresa Ortiz
Freelance writer/Speaker
This day in age, it is easy to learn a new language. Seriously, take me for example. Yesterday I decided I was going to learn how to speak, read, and write in Spanish.
Twenty-four hours later and here you have it – my first few sentences in Spanish:
Este día en edad es fácil aprender un nuevo lenguaje. Seriamente, tómeme por ejemplo. Decidía ayer que iba a aprender cómo hablar, leí, y escribo en español.
Veinticuatro horas más adelante, y aquí usted lo tiene.
If I wanted to impress you, I could write the above sentence in French, Arabic, German, Chinese, and just about any language I can think of – or is it any language made available through the online translator.
These programs are great as a quick reference tool; however, they are not ideal to use as a substitute for genuine learning… then something came to mind, suddenly, everything made sense.
My daughter had three years of Spanish in high school, but do you think she could speak one line of Spanish – why is this?
Unfortunately, just like me, she used one of the many online translators to do her homework – I had no clue this tool existed when she was in school. (Something I learned long after she graduated.)
The temptation to rely on it is great; all a person has to do is type in the text, choose one of the many languages, and push the translate button. This however, did not teach me anything about the style of the Spanish language; how does this sentence read? How do I pronounce the newly translated words?
This is probably not a new revelation for most of you, still, I encourage all parents who have teens in school to make sure your child/children are not relying on these translators to help them with their homework – or rather, doing the homework for them.
My quest for learning Spanish began about a week ago, when a friend of mine wrote a comment on my facebook page regarding another friend. One of the words in the sentence was, "pregunta". The sentence went something like this, "Carrie… to amiga… pregunta." I had no idea what this meant, so I jokingly replied, "What? Carrie is pregnant?" Of course, I knew this wasn't the case, and we had great fun with it. Nevertheless, it left me frustrated and challenged. This is when I was reminded of this online feature.
(Why does the Spanish word "pregunta" -- meaning, "question" -- sound like the English word pregnant?)
I am using it to get familiar with phrases, yet committed to learning the language the old-fashioned way; correctly. In fact, I have decided to purchase a Spanish Bible. To be honest, this is the only way the zeal will not be lost.
This however, is the third time I have committed to learning. I do pray it will be the last, and my hope is that eventually I will be able to write a story in Spanish without cutting and pasting from an online source.
Happy learning to all! Resist the temptation to take shortcuts – notice I did not leave a link. ((Grin))
(Kind of makes me think about all the other short cuts we tend to take in life - hhmm.)
© Teresa Ortiz
Twenty-four hours later and here you have it – my first few sentences in Spanish:
Veinticuatro horas más adelante, y aquí usted lo tiene.
If I wanted to impress you, I could write the above sentence in French, Arabic, German, Chinese, and just about any language I can think of – or is it any language made available through the online translator.
These programs are great as a quick reference tool; however, they are not ideal to use as a substitute for genuine learning… then something came to mind, suddenly, everything made sense.
My daughter had three years of Spanish in high school, but do you think she could speak one line of Spanish – why is this?
Unfortunately, just like me, she used one of the many online translators to do her homework – I had no clue this tool existed when she was in school. (Something I learned long after she graduated.)
The temptation to rely on it is great; all a person has to do is type in the text, choose one of the many languages, and push the translate button. This however, did not teach me anything about the style of the Spanish language; how does this sentence read? How do I pronounce the newly translated words?
This is probably not a new revelation for most of you, still, I encourage all parents who have teens in school to make sure your child/children are not relying on these translators to help them with their homework – or rather, doing the homework for them.
My quest for learning Spanish began about a week ago, when a friend of mine wrote a comment on my facebook page regarding another friend. One of the words in the sentence was, "pregunta". The sentence went something like this, "Carrie… to amiga… pregunta." I had no idea what this meant, so I jokingly replied, "What? Carrie is pregnant?" Of course, I knew this wasn't the case, and we had great fun with it. Nevertheless, it left me frustrated and challenged. This is when I was reminded of this online feature.
(Why does the Spanish word "pregunta" -- meaning, "question" -- sound like the English word pregnant?)
I am using it to get familiar with phrases, yet committed to learning the language the old-fashioned way; correctly. In fact, I have decided to purchase a Spanish Bible. To be honest, this is the only way the zeal will not be lost.
This however, is the third time I have committed to learning. I do pray it will be the last, and my hope is that eventually I will be able to write a story in Spanish without cutting and pasting from an online source.
Happy learning to all! Resist the temptation to take shortcuts – notice I did not leave a link. ((Grin))
(Kind of makes me think about all the other short cuts we tend to take in life - hhmm.)
© Teresa Ortiz
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Top-level comments on this article: (9 total)Good for you, Teresa! This is not something I could do - I have a hard enough time with English!Hi Lorrie, thanks! I just hope the zeal doesn't fade away and I end up giving my Spanish bible away as a gift :-)Keep me accountable!
Teresa,Good article, again. Amazing how just as the calculator made knowing how to add, subtract, multiply, etc. obsolete, the internet, though a great source of information, has made homework far too easy.MarkHi Mark, thank you for the input. Great point about the adding machine. I rely on it way too much. Blessings to you! Teresa
I have tried these sites as well, but you have to be careful. Just like online directions these programs don't always know what you mean. I tried to get a phrase translated into Latin, and WOW! I won't go into the details, but, suffice it to say, these programs need some serious tweeking!Hello Brother Ken :-) How are ya? Thanks for sharing. This is exactly what I am talking about. If we don't know the language, how do we know if it is properly translated? and thanks for sending my mind into the gutter :-)Love ya! Sis
Teresa-I had three years of Spanish in high school and three semesters in college and had no online tool. I can say, "Hola, Coma estas?" and most of that is from watching Dora The Explorer. My classes were driven by writing the language and not conversing. In Texas, we have a huge bilingual population and I wish so much I could converse, but I find as I age I learn less and less. I commend you on your willingness to learn and I wish you the best! Love ya!Thanks for the encouragement Laura, I think. :-)Who knows, maybe it will help me in the future with a great job!
Great article. Well done.I am effectively bilingual with English and French. I found it not all that hard to learn – just visit the country and learn vocabulary little and often. I also keep my phone’s language as French so I am constantly using it.As for online translation I have to admit that I do use them. However, I only use them for languages I don’t know and am unlikely to learn. I also use them to find one word. For example if I did not know the word for say franchise (franchise – pronounced fran-chi-ese) in French I would use an online translator and then learn the word for future use.Hi Connor, that is wonderful. Soon I will be, I hope. And I do appreciate the tool, I just don't want to rely on it as a disguise for actually knowing what I am talking about. I am most worried about not being able to roll those R's :-)Blessings! Teresa
I had Spanish in school for 3 years but only remember a few words and the meanings. I keep thinking I should get the tapes to try to brush up.Hi there! thanks for the comment. One thing is clear; if you don't keep up on it, you will lose it. I am going to have to remember this :-)Blessings to you! Teresa
Bravo Teresa! I haven't had a laugh like that in a long time. It reminded me of an incident in my life when I was a little girl. Now you're making me think. Go for it, but don't forget us who still have problems with our own english language.DeborahHi Deborah, yay! I am glad I made you laugh. Don't worry, if I ever get to the point were I can write in El - Spanyol (hee), I will translate for all you english speaking people left in the dust. ha! Big hugs, Teresa
2 August 2009Dear Teresa,I found your article on learning foreign languages quite insightful. I live in a multilingual environment (Brussels, Belgium). I have learned several languages and have written a number of articles about the experience. Here are a few you might want to take a look at:• How to make language teaching in the U.S. dramatically more effective• The road to a perfect international language• Can Learning Languages Help You Better Understand Science and Technology?• Fast-tracking Foreign Languages: How to Meet the Linguistic Challenges of Working AbroadYou can find them all on this website.Best regards,Philip YaffeHi Philip,Thanks for reading and giving me these resources of yours. I will def. read them.I am still on my quest to learn Spanish :-) So far it has just been learning little phrases, and comparing my Spanish/English Bibles, but as soon as I can I am going to by a program to help me so that I can hear the words spoken, plus learn the proper grammar.Just the titles of your articles sound like they will be very helpful. Thanks again! Blessings to you! Teresa
Asi como se fue este dia, hermana? Grin also, Marijohuh??? :-)I took 4 years in high school in Minnesota from a teacher that made us retake tests until we passed. She counted every accent mark and spelling and words etc. I used to have night mares about that class well into adulahood but guess something stuck! Marijo
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