Comments on: Double Dutch? How do children pick up accents? With help from Focus, Golden Earring and 1000 drummers in Rotterdam!!

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Sun, 12 Jan 2014 15:16:45 +0000

Hi again Elly!
You are right: the biggest block to understanding is the speed that other people talk at.
I was immersed in Spanish, in a situation where no one spoke English. There were definitely two types of communicators: those who spoke fast, and those who spoke at just the right speed so that I could understand (and could therefore join in with the conversation). Those who spoke slowly were, I’m afraid to say, mainly women, who seemed to know exactly how to get me involved. Some men who were what I regarded as ‘good communicators’ had either been abroad and therefore understood how it feels to be a beginner at another language. Others genuinely wanted to find out about what I thought, so made a real effort to draw me in through gesture and praising my efforts. With these people I learned to speak Spanish very quickly.
I’m being immersed in French now, and I meet exactly the same types of people.
Some people in Spain clearly wanted to exclude me and as someone who had to rely entirely on observing non-verbal communication, I picked this up very quickly .
I always ask people to speak slowly, but if they don’t then I just switch off, because I reckon that they are not worth investing my effort into.
It’s also very helpful when people speak French, but throw in any English words and phrases that they know.
Don’t give up on the Welsh speaking: just try and find more people who can encourage you. Maybe engaging someone to give you Welsh conversation lessons?
Take care now
Michael

By: Elly Foster

Elly Foster — Sun, 12 Jan 2014 11:48:14 +0000

Hi Michael
I did realise you were talking about me. Yes, it was 1975 and I remember it vividly. It most certainly was Guildford station.
I have thought a lot about my struggles to learn Welsh. After 14 years of learning I can teach Maths through the medium of Welsh, I can read a whole load of it and write it reasonably well although I am aware that I make many grammatical errors. But, the one thing I cannot do is understand people when they speak it. They go too fast for me to’see’ the words in my brain. I cannot separate them so the whole things sounds like a blur. I realise than when we speak to babies and little children we do a lot of slow talking and repeating. Adults talking to adults don’t do that. If anything they have the stupid habit of shouting at you in a foreign language as if somehow miraculously the words become clearer. I sometimes listen to Welsh radio and let the sounds wash over me and I can pick out the odd word but, after 14 years, it is a disappointingly small amount. I have noticed that there lots of beginner classes around here but very few for the more experienced learner. It just goes to show that most people drop out. I wish language teachers would actually take note of these kind of experiences and change the way they teach foreign languages.

I’m now going to enjoy your clips and sing alomng very loudly!

Elly

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Sat, 11 Jan 2014 14:24:27 +0000

Hi Amy!
Thanks for your kind comments. Learning language is all about active listening and making connections. I am in contact with a researcher in Portugal who has been looking at talking with young bilingual children about the differing sounds in their home language and the new one they are learning. They pick up on this really quickly, and I think it is this type of awareness of different phonological systems that makes bilingual children find it easier to learn a third much faster than monolinguals. (Plus listening to bands from the 1970s will expand your mind!)
Best wishes
Michael

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Sat, 11 Jan 2014 14:17:04 +0000

Hi Elly
You may not realise it, but you are in fact that first Dutch person I ever met, on Guildford station in 1974 (or was it 1975?)
That’s amazing about your apartment in Rotterdam featuring on the video of Golden Earring! I’ve never been to Holland, but hope to have a short break in Amsterdam soon
Love from Michael

By: Amy Eleftheriades

Amy Eleftheriades — Sat, 11 Jan 2014 13:48:06 +0000

Hi Michael,

Thanks for this – your posts are always a delightful mix of amusement and learning for me, and obviously a trip down memory lane for you Elly! 🙂

What a brilliant, yet simple way to look at learning sounds and you’re right, it’ll be useful for older young ‘uns with gaps as much as for initial sound learning.

Hope you are well! 🙂

Amy

By: Elly Foster

Elly Foster — Sat, 11 Jan 2014 10:30:39 +0000

Oh you wicked man Michael taking the pish out of us Dutch lot, only joking. Guess what, I’ve seen Focus performing Hocus Pocus live. It was the last band on stage in 1972 in Eindhoven and one of his guitar strings snapped. He managed to play throughout the tricky problem of fixing a new one, amazing! I have also seen Golden Earring live and danced the whole way through it in a large tent. I am reminded of my younger brother who used to sing along to Golden Earring, his favourite band. Of course his English wasn’t as good as mine, oh yes I was quite fluent in 1974, and he used to sing the most ridiculous stuff as he misunderstood so much. Now I do the same myself in Welsh. Lastly, would you believe it, the place where the 1000 drummers are playing is right opposite the flat where I used to live as a little girl. You can see my bedroom window. What a lovely surprise to see all this in one blog from you. Thanks.

Elly