I thought for a long time that native English speakers are kind of privileged because they speak the most useful language very well (obviously it doesn't always apply and you can't get by with just English anywhere in the world). I know many non-natives reach the advanced level anyway because they are constantly surrounded by at least American movies and music. But still, isn't it a big advantage to start off speaking English fluently and then learn other languages?
On the other hand, I heard some of them argue that they have hard time learning new languages. Firstly, it is the rest of the world that learns how to communicate with them, so they don't have much motivation or reasons to do it (the monolingual American stereotype). Also English is relatively easy so it can be argued that you are in a better position if you speak e.g. German and you are already familiar with the phenomenon of cases or articles so you don't find grammar of Germanic languages unimaginable. Or if you're a native Spanish speaker and you can learn Italian, Portuguese or French more easily.
Did you ever give it some thought? What's your opinion on the native English speaker's advantage? What are the advantages of speaking your native language that you noticed while learning foreign languages? native speakers of all languages are welcome!!
[link] [comments]
from Language Learning https://ift.tt/2Pajnu3
via Learn Online English Speaking
Comments
Post a Comment