The English Thread (Diskussion auf englisch)

[Aidan]

What exactly?

GERManS (germs ) talking English, trying to be articulate, doing their best. But you can still tell from their diction that they're German.
Talk to people from Sweden, Finland, Denmark or Norway and you'll see what I mean.

[Cyanwasserstoff]

GERManS (germs ) talking English, trying to be articulate, doing their best. But you can still tell from their diction that they're German.

You cannot define it as talking, because it is only a way of writing and we are not able to hear some kind of voice.
Therefore we can try to improve our english writing skills by practicing it .

I am also active on international forums and thus I have to write in english aswell .

[vieraeugigerZyklop]

GERManS (germs ) talking English, trying to be articulate, doing their best. But you can still tell from their diction that they're German.
Talk to people from Sweden, Finland, Denmark or Norway and you'll see what I mean.

Thats because of the to the ground raped german language. Sure...most will translate ist into english like they would say it in german. I can understand that. English is such an easy language in relation to german. I guess thats the reason why my english mark was 1 and german 4 XD

[Aidan]

You cannot define it as talking, because it is only a way of writing and we are not able to hear some kind of voice.

It makes no odds to me whether it's written or said. Lots of German people stick to the German sentence structure and transfer it into English. And that's when you can tell the author is German.

[MenocidiX]

Yh ur right m8.

[Mr. Burns]

First of all, very nice thread! Perhaps it will help me to reactivate my English skills.

First of all, I'd like to mention something I recognized during my last visit in Germany. Compared to other countries worldwide, I believe that the bilingual (German/English) help isn't that present at all. In times like these I would expect more English in the German public. Transportation schedules, websites or simply better English skills of authorities. Especially in cosmopolitan cities such as Berlin, Hamburg or Munich, where you have huge crowds of tourists or foreign business men, a minimum of bilingual staff would be necessary. However, I don't talk about the butcher shop clerk or the supermarket cashier, I mean people in key positions as taxi drivers, police men or conductors.

Just to make this clear, I do not believe that this is an attack towards our culture heritage (or language heritage), it is just something about attitude. I can’t invite the world to study or work in Germany on one hand and on the other one I am not willing to do something for those people to guarantee an easier start here. Can someone explain to me, why we have bilingual signs in some parts of Brandenburg with “sorbisch” on it, a minority with a few thousand people? But an English bus schedule, you won’t find there…

I make other experiences here in Munich. Especially in the university and the surrounding area English seems to be present. Most of the german students speak a very advanced English. We have many english-speaking students here and the German students can help them to integrate in their new environment.
When I compare the bilingual help in Munich with the situation in Italy, I think we can be pretty proud of our possibilites to help people from other countries.
I was shocked when I recognized that the people in the hotel in Calabria, where I spent my last summer holidays, weren't able to speak with me in English. It was pretty annoying to spend the first hour in my hotel discussing with the hotel staff about the money transfer in a mix of German, English and Italian. Fortunately, a friend of mine who speaks Italien helped me out.
I don't want to offend the Italien people, but when not even the hotel staff, who has contact with many tourists, speaks English, what about the rest of the population?

[TrueValue]

Oh my god, when I compare your english skills to mine, I really get afraid. With a little bit of luck I will study medicine in english in Prague or Riga. My English is just average (8-9 Points in school) and I´m afraid that I´ll don´t understand a word then . So however, this thread is also a good chance to help me reactivating my english skills.
Last year I went to the USA for 2 months and also lived with an american family and during that time I really started to speak and think fluently in english. But when I came back I didn´t practice my english any longer so I forgot a lot.

[Cyanwasserstoff]

Last year I went to the USA for 2 months and also lived with an american family and during that time I really started to speak and think fluently in english. But when I came back I didn´t practice my english any longer so I forgot a lot.

Yeah, you really could learn alot by practicing it in real life. If you have to communicate in english you will learn it very fast. Also you could improve your skills daily by talking with different persons.

[Rufflemuffin]

Don't worry about that. My cousin is studying "Medical Biology" in English and her language skills aren't far as good as yours. Sometimes she has problems with some texts, but she is getting through her studies and her marks aren't that bad.

[TrueValue]

How can you know from two sentences that my english is better than his? .
I heard from a lot of people that it will be ok, because the profs there also don´t speak english fluently and only had english as their 2nd or 3rd language in school.
And a lot of things you learn during medical school are in latin, f.e the anatomy of the body. I´ll give my best and hope that I´ll make it.
First, somebody has to accept me as a student. I still have hope to get a place to study in Germany or Hungary but I don´t think that I have any chance.

[Rufflemuffin]

How can you know from two sentences that my english is better than his? .
I heard from a lot of people that it will be ok, because the profs there also don´t speak english fluently and only had english as their 2nd or 3rd language in school.
And a lot of things you learn during medical school are in latin, f.e the anatomy of the body. I´ll give my best and hope that I´ll make it.
First, somebody has to accept me as a student. I still have hope to get a place to study in Germany or Hungary but I don´t think that I have any chance.

Because she would have fucked up these two sentences completely. I don't suppose that they will expect you to be an English Pro either.
Let's hope for Germany. I wish you the best for your future!

[Nicoletta]

thanks for the thread. i wondered about the same thing. everybody was talking, nobody was doing.

But einer is bullshitly angegangen worden from the Mods because of wünsching such a thread -

I talked to a Dutch guy once and somehow we ended up discussing the good English skills of the Dutch compared to the Germans. His explanation we rather simple. In the Netherlands foreign movies are not translated what is why most of the movies in cinemas and on TV are in English with Dutch subtitles

Pretty interesting - but as for me the durch skill of speaking proper english isn´t only ´cos of not translated movies, it simply comes with their internationality. Just take a look to Amsterdam, one of the most important international hubs; Rotterdam, Den Haag etc.

We do have the same - without not translated movies. For example in cities where we have (or have had) english or american soldiers! Just take a look to the small city Hameln (Stadt Hameln - Die Rattenf), it is host of british troops since 1945! Unnecassary to explain what this means regarding to english language skills of the home-grown, isn´t it?

Very young children have the best abilities to learn. Thats why it has a huge effect when they already learn somewhat english. The older we get the less information we can keep in your head.

Finallally we come to another (maybe the first) social effect! ´course we can say we should use childrens abilities to lear foreign languages - I do offer this in my daycare facilities. But, give me a guess, what do you think how this accepted - especially by parents not coming from germany? And I am bound to equal treatment by law! So, it´s really not that easy...

The older we get the less information we can keep in your head.

Private experiene?

I don´t subscribe to that point of view...

Learning needs careful perception of information from the environment. ´course you you loose couriusity when you grow old, but normally noone looses the ability to learn - the difference is: THE WAY OF LEARNING! So, you can´t give a schoolbook to your granny and expect she´ll "learn" as you (and she) did when you were in school. You have to respect: Matures better learn meaningful content, they learn better e.g. concrete content than abstract templates. And no schoolbook can be concret enough to fit this.

[Cyanwasserstoff]

Finallally we come to another (maybe the first) social effect! ´course we can say we should use childrens abilities to lear foreign languages - I do offer this in my daycare facilities. But, give me a guess, what do you think how this accepted - especially by parents not coming from germany? And I am bound to equal treatment by law! So, it´s really not that easy...

It is a fact that children who grow up with the english language will be able to speak much better proper english then someone who starts as student or after school time.
You can improve it by comparing your mother tongue with a foreign language you had learned for years.
Why do people speak a language much better when they grow up with it then by learning it afterwards ?

Private experiene?

No, but it is the opinion of my tutor. In his opinion people will lose the ability to keep information when they get older.

[Kaykero]

I don´t subscribe to that point of view...

It is not something you "chose to subscribe", it's a fact, your opinion does not matter. Hard to believe, i know, but sadly that is the truth.

[Nicoletta]

It is a fact that children who grow up with the english language will be able to speak much better proper english then someone who starts as student or after school time.

Right! So their parents want and give the oppotunity. I have had my grandpa with me in Ireland for one year - what do you think how his english evolved without being a child, without a book, without a common teacher?

No, but it is the opinion of my tutor. In his opinion people will lose the ability to keep information when they get older.

Teacher? Ask him or her about his knowlegde of explicit learning and implicit learning... It´s like I said: it´s not the ability to keep information, it´s the ability to (abstract) filter what information may be important. No Doctor needs to know how a maybe new virus is built, he knows the pattern and takes only the information new to him about the new virus. A complete different way of learning compared to school - in school you have to learn from scratch and then you have to be taught to seperate important from unimportant information. And in fact everyone does seperate, even in school...

It is not something you "chose to subscribe", it's a fact, your opinion does not matter. Hard to believe, i know, but sadly that is the truth.

You can´t put the lid on someone. Definetly not with bullshit like that...

[Cyanwasserstoff]

Right! So their parents want and give the oppotunity. I have had my grandpa with me in Ireland for one year - what do you think how his english evolved without being a child, without a book, without a common teacher?

Compare to the speed of the progress a child learns a language and can stay using it, it will be nothing. One example : children in japan have to learn 50 different kind of signs even before they go to school. Then they have to learn more then 900 different signs. Compare the learning speed of the children to an person who starts to learn it after the school time. Do not forget that the signs are only a small part they have to learn , while the person who tries to learn it after school time is only concentrated for learning the language.

It´s like I said: it´s not the ability to keep information, it´s the ability to (abstract) filter what information may be important. No Doctor needs to know how a maybe new virus is built, he knows the pattern and takes only the information new to him about the new virus. A complete different way of learning compared to school - in school you have to learn from scratch and then you have to be taught to seperate important from unimportant information. And in fact everyone does seperate, even in school...

It is the same way of all sciences, to put only the important part of the information into a model. Then they can work with it. Even kids have to evaluate the information they get.

[Nicoletta]

Compare to the speed of the progress a child learns a language and can stay using it, it will be nothing. One example : children in japan have to learn 50 different kind of signs even before they go to school. Then they have to learn more then 900 different signs. Compare the learning speed of the children to an person who starts to learn it after the school time. Do not forget that the signs are only a small part they have to learn , while the person who tries to learn it after school time is only concentrated for learning the language.

What´s that supposed to mean in according to different forms of learning? I can´t get it quite right..

It is the same way of all sciences, to put only the important part of the information into a model. Then they can work with it. Even kids have to evaluate the information they get.

Sure, but Children (you describe them as kids) don´t have a pool to evaluate whether the information is relevant or not. Haw many things were you forced to learn? Do you still need to know that a carrott only works cos of semipermeable membranes? Matures know what lessons they need to have, juveniles don´t!

[OPYoshi]

50 different kind of signs

900 different signs

I think you have to count again. Both information are wrong xD

Even kids have to evaluate the information they get.

But children can't filter information like adults.

What´s that supposed to mean in according to different forms of learning? I can´t get it quite right..

Sometime only insider can understand what he wants to say but in this case he only wants to say, that young people can learn more efficient new kind of things. Older humans will have more problems with it.

Especially for languages there're a lot of new methods to learn them like a newborn

[Nicoletta]

Sometime only insider can understand what he wants to say but in this case he only wants to say, that young people can learn more efficient new kind of things. Older humans will have more problems with it.

Especially for languages there're a lot of new methods to learn them like a newborn

He didn´t say that! And ´course learning skills of youngers is not coecervelly more efficent than the learning skills of matures. It simply depends on the method of didactics. Not knowing abot that will not make his quotes real...

[Cyanwasserstoff]

I think you have to count again. Both information are wrong xD

The first one was a estimation and about the second Value I should say at least 900 signs :P There are much more.

But children can't filter information like adults.

True. I never wrote that kind of conclusion.

Sometime only insider can understand what he wants to say but in this case he only wants to say, that young people can learn more efficient new kind of things. Older humans will have more problems with it.

More or less you are right. I wanted to say the younger a person the more information he/she can keep. In that case I share the opinion from my tutor.

Especially for languages there're a lot of new methods to learn them like a newborn

I am curious. Please write more about it or give some samples.