How can I tell if my daughter is talented at learning new languages?
She’s 13 (14 in 10 days) and has been learning English since she was 10. She watches English movies and TV shows without subtitles and fully understands them, has English conversations with adults and mostly uses English sites. Our first language is nothing like English, it’s much more similar to Russian. She wants to learn more languages now – like French, German and Spanish, but I’m not sure if she really is that good at learning them. What do you think?
Tags: adults, english conversations, first language, french german, languages, subtitles, tv shows
October 3rd, 2011 at 12:02 am
Who cares if she is talented at it or not. If she wants to, and will have fun doing so, she should be able to go for it!
October 3rd, 2011 at 12:02 am
I think she’s def talented!! Besides, you should just let her do what she wants
October 3rd, 2011 at 12:02 am
Even children as old as 10 have it easier than adults when it comes to learning new languages. Maybe she is especially talented, or maybe not. Either way, it’s definitely a good thing that she has an interest in other languages, and I would encourage you to support her in that. Don’t worry about whether she’s "good" at it. Motivation is the number-one factor in determining the success of language-learning. That, and adequate resources.
October 3rd, 2011 at 12:02 am
Any child can pick up and speak different languages quickly if they mix with different cultures and langauge groups on a regular basis without having to take language courses. The nanny that looks after my grand children has an eight year old daughter that speaks English Afrikaans Xhosa Zulu Swahili and Portuguese almost fluently as she attends school and has attended a very mixed and multi cultured creche and school