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Ab-Initio Languages

Becca

;yes;
Although a girl in my ab-initio Italian had A-level already, but for some reason they let her do beginners' because she started with the 2nd years and said it was too hard!! :rolleyes:

How pointless is that? How boring that must be doing everything you've already done, not to mention a waste of £3k!

Reply 41

Paranoid Kid

13

Do you think it follows that if you're good at one language, you'll be able to pick up another fairly easily?

Reply 42

Genevra

Paranoid Kid

Do you think it follows that if you're good at one language, you'll be able to pick up another fairly easily?

I think it does for most people. For example, having learnt French and Italian for quite a while now I certainly found it easier to start German, even though it doesn't bear many similarities with these two languages.

Once you've learnt a language other than your mother tongue I think it becomes much easier to step back and examine another language more objectively, i.e. you stop comparing every new word or sentence structure with what it is in English, unlike most people who are learning a new language for the first time.

And, of course, a significant factor is determination. I definitley believe that with a language if you truly want to master it, you will.
:smile:

Reply 43

Piggsil

16

kellywood_5

How pointless is that? How boring that must be doing everything you've already done, not to mention a waste of £3k!

I know.......but she's rich.... :rolleyes:

Reply 44

kellywood_5

17

Becca

I know.......but she's rich.... :rolleyes:

Ah, I see. Just like a certain Exeter 'rah' from my course I could mention :rolleyes:

Reply 45

tbtommyb

11

Paranoid Kid

Do you think it follows that if you're good at one language, you'll be able to pick up another fairly easily?

I think so. You learn about the grammatical structures, so new languages are easier. Of course, it depends on how close the language is to other ones that you've learnt, but if you just have to learn how to construct the perfect or the subjunctive, without having to learn what they actually are, then I think it's easier.

Reply 46

kellywood_5

17

Paranoid Kid

Do you think it follows that if you're good at one language, you'll be able to pick up another fairly easily?

Well, I've found it pretty easy to pick up Spanish since I already know French, but that would probably have something to do with how similar they are :p:

I'd probably find something completely different like German a bit harder, but I still think it'd be easier than it was with French (first foreign language) becauase you know the techniques for language learning and the technical terms for some of the grammar.

Reply 47

dismal_laundry

15

How easy or how difficult you find an ab initio language as a second or a third language also depends on how distant the language family is from your mother tongue and from your second language. For example, if your mother tongue is English, basically a Germanic language, albeit with much Romance vocabulary, then you should find German easier than Hebrew, a Semitic language. However this may be a problematic assumption if you try to learn a "mixed language", like Romanian, with a Slavic syntax but a Romance vocabulary. Also some languages are just notoriously difficult, like Korean, or Pushtun.

Reply 48

Piggsil

16

I should add, although this is just common sense really, that how easy or difficult you find a language ab initio depends strongly on how much effort you put in. If you're expecting to learn everything you need to learn from 5 hours a week of tuition, you won't get very far. The tution just helps you set into stone the framework of a language. you have to add to the framework yourself by perfecting grammar points and learning vocabulary, otherwise you'll find that you fall behind quite quickly.

Reply 49

kellywood_5

17

Becca

I should add, although this is just common sense really, that how easy or difficult you find a language ab initio depends strongly on how much effort you put in. If you're expecting to learn everything you need to learn from 5 hours a week of tuition, you won't get very far. The tution just helps you set into stone the framework of a language. you have to add to the framework yourself by perfecting grammar points and learning vocabulary, otherwise you'll find that you fall behind quite quickly.

We have regular tests (although they don't count) in lessons, and although we all complain about them, they force us to revise at home because our teacher makes us read out our marks, so it would be really embarrassing to do badly! We also have 4 class tests throughout the year that count for 25% of our final mark, so we constantly have a reason to go over everything we've learnt so far and that really helps it go in.

Reply 50

discombobulation

2

It's sooo weird learning ab-initio languages. Well I think so anyway - cause I have no idea about the Italian present tense, cause I missed the lessons on it etc but I can form the conditional and past historic without even thinking despite them apparently being harder.
It's strange how you learn things & my skills aren't actually much use if I want to have a conversation with anyone but still, it's fun to know!

Reply 51

discombobulation

2

:

kellywood_5

We have regular tests (although they don't count) in lessons, and although we all complain about them, they force us to revise at home because our teacher makes us read out our marks, so it would be really embarrassing to do badly! We also have 4 class tests throughout the year that count for 25% of our final mark, so we constantly have a reason to go over everything we've learnt so far and that really helps it go in.

your teacher is actually the devil! I mean seriously that's really really something I would not be prepared to do because it's unfair. I mean say you revise but just cannot get something and do really badly you get humilated!! They sound mean!!!!

Reply 52

Piggsil

16

Becca

I should add, although this is just common sense really, that how easy or difficult you find a language ab initio depends strongly on how much effort you put in. If you're expecting to learn everything you need to learn from 5 hours a week of tuition, you won't get very far. The tution just helps you set into stone the framework of a language. you have to add to the framework yourself by perfecting grammar points and learning vocabulary, otherwise you'll find that you fall behind quite quickly.

Just to add, I know this because for my first term of Italian I did NOTHING (apart from my homeworks) and was terrible. Then my teacher 'had a word'. She said that she could see I had natural ability but I wasn't working to the correct level and if I did a little bit of vocab work etc then I would see my marks improve drastically. She was right. :biggrin:

Reply 53

kellywood_5

17

discombobulation

:

your teacher is actually the devil! I mean seriously that's really really something I would not be prepared to do because it's unfair. I mean say you revise but just cannot get something and do really badly you get humilated!! They sound mean!!!!

In one that we did a while ago, someone got 1/20!!!! :eek:

What made it even worse was that she had inadvertently given the teacher the idea of writing our marks down a few minutes before, so she really did herself absolutely no favours whatsoever there! It's OK in a way because we're all really surpportive of each other and no one would ever laugh at someone, call them stupid or anything like that if they did badly, but I know what you mean about it being horrible if you're the kind of person that doesn't cope well with things like that. At the same time, I do think it's a good idea to have regular testing to make people go over things outside lessons and for the teacher to know the marks so they can see who's struggling and/or being lazy, so I guess it would just be better if the teacher collected the marks in privately rather than asking people out loud and in front of the whole class what they got.

Reply 54

BeckySparrow

im starting ab initio russian when i start uni, im pretty much peeing myself because its a whole new alphabet and everything...notts said you get to GCSE level by the end of the first semester and a level by the end of year 1. Which is reeeeally quick if you think that i started learning french in like...year 4. So im a bit scared. Plus the only words i know in russian at the moment are thankyou, and cat.

Reply 55

hereistheguy

The alphabet really is not that hard. maybe you could try learning it before you go over the summer to get you a head start and make it easier for you? also there's a few of the letters in it are the same as english, or you can make them out. don't worry!!!! Plus russian's great! lol I love it!!!!!

Reply 56

luckysmartie

There's a really good website for learning the Russian alphabet. I'll see if I can find it for you (I learnt the whole thing in about half an hour from it).

EDIT: That was easier to find than I thought. http://langintro.com/rintro/toc.htm

Reply 57

Wingador

Cambridge allows you to do non-lit modules and what they cover depends on the language but personally I'm not sure why you wouldn't want to do literature. Many people came here dreading the notion of doing literature but most now find it the most interesting part of the course, myself included, give literature a go, you'll be surprised!

Reply 58

~JC~

hereistheguy

Nooo its not too bad at all! Ok the cases are a bit complicated, but once you learn them its fine and some are similar anyways! Also in terms of tenses its easyy!! lol Id recomend Teach yourself Russian Grammar (ok it sounds a bit naff but its quite good, does things simply!)
And Russia is an amazing country! <3<3!! (You can even get Cadbury's Whispa! hahaha can anyone remember those?) It does take a bit of time to adjust though!

Firstly... OMG WHISPAS! They were so great!!!

Anyhoo... what were the requirements for your Russian course? I'm thinking about reapplying for English with Russian courses but the only language I have is German to GCSE (grade A). Do most unis require you to have a/any language at AS at least? If so, would it be worth doing a language this year to re-apply with?

Sorry to bombard you with questions, but it would be really helpful!!!

Thanks :biggrin:

Reply 59

tbtommyb

11

I think nearly everywhere would expect an A level in some language. However, if you take a gap year then you could use that to do some qualification, or spend some time in Russia and tell the universities that. They might let you apply then.

Ab-Initio Languages

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