Why are there so many people....?

Question

Who are ignorant enought to think that they can learn a language without having to learn how to write or read in that language. They just want to speak it. Personally, I think it's really stupid because a lot of them want to go to the country of the language origin and not be able to read or write anything.

Answer 1

Yes I agree. It is much easier to learn a language if you learn to read and write it. My Thai teacher insisted I learn to read and write Thai first. You then have the advantage that you can use a Thai/English dictionary. Apart from that Thai is a tonal language and you can see from how a word is written the tone in which it is spoken.

Answer 2

Because from a linguistic point of view, knowing how to speak IS knowing the language. Reading and writing are a different thing altogether.

But as someone who hasn't mastered the language of the place I'm living in, I agree that not being able to read and write stuff bites.

Answer 3

Judging from your statement this might sound strange to you now, but reading and writing are not essential for learning a language.
Living proof for this claim are all the children of this world. They all learn a language perfectly long before someone teaches them how to read and write.
Script, as essential as it might seem to all of us who can read and write, was invented only thousands of years after mankind developed speech.
Script undoubtedly made our lives richer, but for speaking with others, no matter which language, it's not essential.

Answer 4

Being able to speak a language is a good first step.

Answer 5

i absolutely agree with you, it's like everyone just wants to come to this country because of all the technological advancements....we have to do a lot more in encouraging immigrants to learn the roots of proper english before they can understand how we live.

Answer 6

its allot harder to learn to write than it is to speak. besides, why ***** about someone wanting to learn something?

Answer 7

so what...let em be