Tongue Tied...
There is a story of a Chinese girl who moves to the United States and goes to kindergarten for the first time in her new country. When it comes time for her turn to speak aloud in class, she freezes up, knowing that what little English she does know will sound very different to the ears of all those around her.
Eventually, she finds some relief in reading exercises, because when reading aloud at least you don't have to make up what you're going to say. But even that relief is short-lived, for she has to stop for an awkward pause each time she sees the pronoun 'I.' It makes no sense to her. She thinks, in Chinese, when you write that first person pronoun, you have to use seven strokes. It's quite an intricate and important character. How come this 'I' only has three?
The story is in a collection called 'Tongue Tied,' and it offers up an appropriate point of departure for those about to embark on a language learning journey or those who have found themselves stuck somewhere along the way. Whether
you're baffled by word order in Japanese or bemused by cases in German, whether the notion of Chinese tones strikes a chord of fear in you, or you recoil at the thought of the rolling Italian 'R,' you too may have found yourself tongue-tied when learning a second language.
That might mean simply not understanding some new rule or convention in the
language that has no easy analogue in English, tripping up on occasion when
you're trying to string new words together out loud, or maybe even being so
gripped with nerves that you are unable to try out your new phrases out loud,
out there, in the real world.
The Rocket Languages Guide to Astronomical Language Learning is designed to
help those of you who are committed to learning a new language untie your
tongue and get started. It is meant to help you gain the direction and confidence
you need to make substantial progress in the shortest possible time. Many - if
not most - language learners can share a story about a less than successful
attempt to learn a second language in school.
* If your computer does not already have adobe pdf reader installed you can get it free here.
