Learning without speaking and does learning another language first help?

[Weird]

I have been mentally flipping between wanting to learn German and wanting to learn Chinese/Mandarin.  My main concern was that I don't (currently) have someone to practice speaking with.  I know someone who is a native speaker, but have been hesitant to ask him, for numerous reasons.  (That mainly boil down to procrastination and timidity on my part, I think.  Also, talking to people is hard.)

I also would appreciate some input from others on if learning another language before trying to learn Chinese/Mandarin would be a better idea than just trying to learn Chinese/Mandarin straight from only knowing English.  (The only other language I've ever tried was school-mandated classes in French, and that put me off language learning for two decades.)

[Side note: I am confused as to why the word "Chinese language" is used when it would appear to apply to numerous languages, from what I've found.  I vaguely recall reading that the word "dialect" was used incorrectly in one descriptor of a historic text, and it stuck ever since.  Kind of like how natives of North America are referred to as "Indians," despite not being from India.  Ontological inertia with the human mind is odd.]

[abcdefg]

If you want to learn Chinese, start learning it today. Don't interpose artificial hurdles that delay the project indefinitely, probably forever. That is nuts. "After I master calculus and astronomy and become fluent in Finnish and Bengali, and get the time down to a respectable number on my hundred-yard dash, I will tackle Mandarin." 

 

About learning a new language without learning to speak it: It helps a lot to converse with native speakers, even if it's via the internet. 

[Zeppa]

Yes, do Chinese at once. I speak fluent German so if you can't manage that, following what abcdefg says, I think you should go for Bengali or German first and Finnish later.

[markhavemann]

On 12/1/2022 at 12:19 AM, Weird said:

My main concern was that I don't (currently) have someone to practice speaking with.

See the Matt vs Japan YouTube channel for reasons why you shouldn't care about speaking at the beginning anyway: https://www.youtube.com/@mattvsjapan

[Flickserve]

Learning without speaking is ok initially.

 

 

 

Make sure to spend more time on aural input. Simple dictation exercises are very helpful. Difficult but very helpful. 

[alantin]

Why not start with Finnish? ? It will help you learn Chinese about as much as German will! ?

 

Learning a language is about as natural a process as there can be for a human being. We are hardwired from birth to learn languages! I just watched a video by Steve Kaufmann yesterday, which I believe applies here. What he says is pretty much my own experience in language learning too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIX5k7acSe4

 

Basically, don't worry about speaking until later and especially, don't try to force it. Don't obsess about grammar unless you like to for some reason. Just find an elementary text book, an online chinese course, or whatever and start following it every day for 15 minutes. If you're motivated, keep going when the 15 minutes is up, but the point is to do it every day consistently to build a habit. Then you can go find music, podcasts, etc. to listen to passively when commuting or exercising. You will need massive amounts of listening to get started and the 15 minutes a day following a course is just to build the habit and to get going.

 

Some good resources to get started off the top of my head: Paul Noble's audio course, duolingo, Chinesepod 101, Linq mini stories, etc.

 

 

[hoshi]

Yes, it is possible to learn without speaking. In fact, many people learn through reading and writing, without necessarily speaking the language out loud. This is often the case for people who are learning a language on their own, or who are learning through written materials such as books or online courses.

 

As for whether learning another language first can help, it can certainly have some benefits. For example, if you already know one language, you may have a better understanding of how languages work in general, which can make it easier to learn a new language. Additionally, knowing more than one language can help with language acquisition in general, as it can improve your ability to learn new languages in the future.

In terms of whether learning another language first can help with learning Chinese, it can certainly have some benefits. For example, if you already know another language, you may have a better understanding of how languages work in general, which can make it easier to learn Chinese. Additionally, knowing more than one language can improve your language-learning abilities overall, which can make it easier to learn Chinese and other languages in the future.

 

[inv]

I think you need to be careful. 

Once you have mistaken something in your language learning journey, it will be strictly difficult to amend those incorrect details (whatever you learnt).

However, one langauge may help to learn one another language even if you have made some neglectable failures.

For instance, I know English but this is B2 (not so much a good English but...) I am sure that this may or already has helped me to learn another language.

But as you know, language learning can nowadays be divided into 4 parts as :listening, speaking, writing and reading. 

What I shall give you an advice is that please make your the best (and good please) in at least one of these parts even if you cannot polish every part.

good works. 

[Ledu]

Michael West felt focusing on reading would be more beneficial and practical than the trend at the time of focusing on speaking. 

 

There are Chinatowns all over the world. First generation immigrants (from a variety of countries) can be found there. Some don't actively learn the language of the country they immigrate to. That doesn't make them weak, uneducated or weird. It just may not really change their lives and so is a waste of time. Yet, their children will often become doctors and earn advanced Phd degrees. 

 

Sometimes polyglot youtubers go to Chinese restaurants in Chinatowns to show off their speaking skills. But what are the topics about? Noodles maybe food topics. Those types of conversations are not interesting. Instead they are just showing off and puffing up their egos.  The language becomes about themselves and not about connecting with the Chinese person. Oftentimes the people they are talking to don't want to talk to them and instead feel irritated and annoyed. 

[lrn-lang]

It depends on your ultimate goal. However, spending some time learning without speaking sounds normal to me in order to build some base knowledge as long as you keep learning and you do it regularly.