Actually there is no such thing as accent free. What we accept as accent-free is just the majority dialect or the dialect that is chosen by the state to be the ‘correct’ dialect/accent.
[quote]Do you know if the kids at school have native speakers as teachers for learning foreign languages in the countries you lived?
Here, the kids at public schools mostly don’t have native speakers as teachers for learning foreign languages. I think that’s a bit sad and some kind of disadvantage as well. The language teachers for adults are native speakers (in most cases).
I think a native speaker as teacher could create a more lively lessons and also teach something by just telling something (including training for daily life conversations).
When something is less boring people (kids) would have more fun to learn and then they’d become better faster; when they don’t have the feeling they have to do this or that just for getting good marks at school…[/quote]
Yea… Back when I was in Junior High School the teacher made us speak Castilian _Cath-tee-leee-en’ Spanish. And we were all California kids who grew up hearing and speaking Mexican, Puerto Rican, Salvadoreno and other South American Spanish Dialects.
The best grade that NATIVE Spanish speakers could get from her was a C because we refused to lisp. …Part of that may be due to us being 'umm naughty? students (Read a bunch of smart-assed kids) Lo Siento, We Donth Haf a speethhh impedimenthhh We don’t listhpa. lol It’s lucky we didn’t flunk.
yea, Warmed that bench in the principle’s office A LOT as a teen.
Cool , i am ordinary from Germany and since leving school 1991 i only use English when i meet People ore Friends and my Communication is not so save in fluent in this Langage. So last Year i start to speak English and also Cinese. This Year i meet a great young Women from Korea and she helps me to start learning this beautiful Language, i am so happy and thankful 4 this.
Viki is a good chance for me ,to fresh up and learn easy and …faster
My father and the nanny spoke Italian (so did the grandparents and everyone on the street), my mother spoke Greek. We first lived in Italy, then in Greece with long trips to Italy and while attending the Italian school and I finished Italian university. So yeah, I’m really totally bilingual, there’s no difference. French and English was taught by my mother when I was a child.
When I had my children, I spoke to them Italian at home, but they spoke Greek with their grandma, visiting friends and outside people, and French with their nanny. We started English soon after, about the age of 7 or so. Not formal lessons (the disgraceful thing they did at school doesn’t really count). They picked up English I really don’t know how, from using the gameboy, from movies (in Greece they are not dubbed), by reading comics like Amar Chittra and during our travels in India. After that, reading books and the Internet did the rest. They also attended Italian school for 12 years.
Now their French is a bit rusty and they struggle to remember some words, but they still have a very good accent, because when you learn something at the age of 2-3 it stays with you.
To respond to the initial question.
As for me, apart from my two native languages, I use English daily on the Internet predominantly writing, but sometimes also chatting with my Indian friends.
For all the years that I worked as a film critic I used to speak French a lot once a year, every May, for 12 days, when my job took me to the Cannes Film Festival. However, since I retired, I use it seldom. Mainly when I give a call to the ex nanny to ask how she’s been. But I have to thank Viki volunteers Piranna, Anna and Justine for our Skype chats about Viki problems and the language academies, that give me precious practice opportunities. Hey, yesterday I gave a crochet lesson in French.
Not often enough.
As a result of self learning, and from schooling, watching dramas, songs, and movies.
²Korean/Hangul
³Manderine Chinese
¹Spanish
³French
These four languages I’m not afraid to say the typically learned phrases, or words as the need arise.
Usage:
¹ Most confident
² Second most confident
³ Least confident
