2007-01-11 08:02:24 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
You never stop learning, even your own language! :)
Anyway, apart being able to watch a movie understanding it all, a sign you're at least on the right track is you're also *thinking* in the second language; I mean, when you're *not* making a translation in you mind both prior to speak in that language or understanding what somebody said.
Also, when you know the meaning of a word in the second language but not in your own.
2007-01-12 02:32:43 · answer #1 · answered by Pinguino 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
By the age of two or three, Psychologists have found that it is the best time for a person to learn a second language. The downside is that the child is just now beginning to learn new language skills and can feel bogged down. If your question is when is a good time, then Toddler age it is. But, other reports stated that as we get older, we become more intelligent, so learning a new language at age, say 24, or 44 is possible too.
2007-01-11 16:08:07 · answer #2 · answered by Golden Scepter 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
not sure if you mean at what age can a second language be learned, or when is it safe to say you are bilingual.
A second language can be learned from birth. A baby's brain is a clean slate, therefore, it is easy for a young child to pick up a second even a third language.
You are bilingual when you can communicate fluently with another person that speaks the second language you have learned. I can speak and read Flemish as my parents are from Belgium and that was all that was spoken in the home when I was a child. I can not write it though for some reason, but I still consider myself bilingual.
2007-01-11 16:12:57 · answer #3 · answered by vivib 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They say there are 3 stages in real language fluency: (1) be able to speak/understand others, (2) be able to talk on the telephone, (3) understand the jokes. I'm bordering on (1) in Spanish, but it's been a tough road.
I remember the point at which I began to dream about Spanish, if not in Spanish. I have also heard that this is a stepping stone. It was about (fairly intense) 6 months into my language learning that I started dreaming about Spanish. Later, I started talking in Spanish, but I was still aware it was Spanish, so maybe that means I'm not quite there on the dream scale yet.
By the way, "learnt" is perfectly acceptable English. We don't hear it much here in the US. I think it's more of a British usage.
2007-01-11 16:32:35 · answer #4 · answered by Gary B 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think a person can be said to have learnt a second language when they are able to have a fluent conversation with someone in a language other than theirs and also when they are able to read and write fluently, just like they are able to do with their first language.
Hope this helped.
2007-01-11 16:12:02 · answer #5 · answered by Danny 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
To start on your second language you must first master your own. A person can not said to have "learnt" (learned) a first language until they quit using words that do not exist.
2007-01-11 16:19:56 · answer #6 · answered by Gabe TX 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That depends. Do you need to be able to get along in a conversation, speak the other language fluently, or speak, read and write it fluently, which is what would be needed to work as a translator?
2007-01-11 16:11:05 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well in order to be considered multi-lingual, one must be able to speak a first language before a second can be considered... "learnt"? That's jsut bad :)
2007-01-11 16:11:57 · answer #8 · answered by vlfranklin1999 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When they can read write and think in that language than it become a second language for them.
2007-01-11 16:09:51 · answer #9 · answered by eccentric_daughter 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
When you start having dreams in other languages, then thats when you are said to have learned the language. Thats what i was told anyway. Makes sense to me.
2007-01-11 16:15:51 · answer #10 · answered by leslie a 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋