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ZT: Age isn\'t everything - by 潔心

(2008-08-04 17:39:36) 下一個
Age isn't everything  - 來源: 潔心08-08-04 15:33:05
http://web.wenxuecity.com/BBSView.php?SubID=career&MsgID=207456


While I acknowledge age plays a role in how quickly one picks up a foreign language, it is certainly not a piece of cake to acquire a new language as a teen, especially an older teen.

I believe desire, drive and effort are the most important factors in learning English. I've known people who came to North America in their late twenties and were still able to improve their English by leaps and bounds within a few years, and I attribute this to their determination and efforts.

On the other end of the spectrum, I had a relative who came to Canada as a 15 year old and left 8 years later after having finished high school and university here, still with a poor command of English and a heavy Cantonese accent. While here, she did not fully take advantage of the language environment she had. She spoke Chinese at school with her friends, watched Chinese TV at home, read in Chinese whenever possible. As a matter of fact, her Mandarin improved drastically by the time she left because she hung out with fellow students from Taiwan. In her case, it turned out to be a good thing, because she eventually went back to Hong Kong and found Mandarin to be a great asset in finding work.

I believe in the saying “you reap what you sow”, where you direct you attention and effort is going to be where you find your biggest gain.
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