to old to learn spanish
 

Im 64 been over here just over 1 year and want to have lessons but a bit nervous,the old grey matter is slowing down,anyone been down this road:thumbup:

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Don't worry. You have the capability to learn at any age, and there's a lot of fun in going out and making a fool of yourself.

It will certainly help you to integrate and will go down well with your Spanish neighbours.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Our local council gives us free ones paid for by the EEC and ther are all ages ranging from 45 to 73 and all loving it

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

just take you time and you get it hit one off the cafes and listen to what there sayying you pick it up in now time , like try to teack a old dog new tricks , it happen
jurdy

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

I am 59 and enjoying the interaction with the locals, you are never to old to learn, just dont expect to be fluent overnight it takes time, enjoy the fun, I still make mistakes but the locals just put me right and laugh with me not at me:D

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Only a few years behind you lot (those who have named a number) but it is possible, it is difficult unless you are a cunning linguist but I cannot lay claim to being such but it is really worth having a go, and again, and again. Maybe soon I get to level 2.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Hi

Anna at 71 tried and took to it like water. It is all about an attitude of mind. You can if you want to.

Dave

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

We have been here nearly 5 years, my Vernon's Spanish is not too bad at all, he is a very young 80 years old. Mine is so so, & I manage to get by, I am ** years old.

You are never too old to learn except it takes a little longer.

Wendy x

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Damn straight. I am delighted to see so many interested in learning the language.

If you don't, you miss out on so much.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

If we live her we are guests in their country & it is only correct to learn their language, even if you make a fool of yourself by making mistakes, it does not matter, the Spanish will always try to help you. Sometimes they talk a little too quickly for my liking.

Wendy x

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Damn straight. If you are a guest in someon'es house or country, it behoves you to mind your manners and behave properly. Pity we don't get that from all the people that come into the UK. We do from some, but not all.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Yes it's never too old to learn. It will keep your brain cells active & you'll feel younger too.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Are you the sort of person that doesn't give up once you get your teeth into something? Are you open minded and freely willing to take up new ideas and ways of doing things? Do you have a good understanding of the building blocks, lexicography and grammar of your own language? Once you are an adult these questions are much more relevant than how old you will be on your next birthday.

P.S. Someone who writes "to old to learn?" will probably have a lot more trouble learning than someone who writes "too old to learn?".

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Yes I think you are right. It is far easier if you have an aptitude for language or have studied languages before. And Spanish is a lot easier for those that have studied Romance languages.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

you're never too old, it might just take a bit longer

I have one student of 60 & another of 70 & they are both doing fine!

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

I find that I'm now more prepared to use my Spanish, at first was frightened of making mistakes, but am now more confident, long way to go yet, but can make myself understood in shops, and ALWAYS try to ask for things in Spanish, even though I know I'm talking to someone who has fluent English.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

thanks for all your comments Ive decided to start in Sept there is a woman who used to teach Spanish in a college back in the UK ,here,:thumbup: so I will give it a go

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

A very good way forward chippie2.
Strength to your elbow.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Yes do. I was lacking in confidence when we first came here 4 years ago, and left everything up to OH because he speaks fluent Spanish, and has done for over 20 years (he learned Latin at school which helps.) Once I got over the initial embarrassment of making mistakes I was really gung ho about it and started taking lessons. I'm coming on a treat now and am not scared at all.

It really is more about confidence than anything else and the Spanish do help you along, provided you are trying. I have lovely times with our neighbours and we regularly visit one another at home. The Spanish are genuine, helpful people and, unlike us Brits, when they are speaking to foreigners in English, they don't shout and don't lose patience and will repeat it until you get it.

I have a friend who is well into her 70's, she takes lessons and she's a really good example of what you can learn, whatever your age.

I am a lady of a certain age and so I'll probably never ever be fluent, but I'll give it my best shot.

Jolly good luck and let us know how you get on. :thumbup: :thumbup:

JJ

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

I agree that a good grounding in English helps. I tried to explain about adjectives, after trying the "an adjective tells us about the noun", to no avail. I decided to try another way I said that you could not hold an adjective in your hands or touch it. You cannot hold a "yellow" or a "nice".
The result is that THE SUN is now an adjective.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

You can't really understand a language unless you understand grammar.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt"?

Unfair criticism of others a particularly hateful trait to possess in my opinion.:thumbdown:

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

A child of 3 has no real concept of the structure of the language they speak however they communicate freely. Encourage those who want to try to develop a language that is not their mother tongue whatever age they may be.:D

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

If you don't talk to people, they won't talk to you, and then you never will learn anything new.

To learn a language by 'absorbing' it is fine, provided you are set a good example. These days grammar is hardly taught, so it pays you to learn if you want a proper understanding of the language.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Attempting communication whatever 'example' people perceive you to be setting is a good starting point. Having the confidence in yourself to do this is the first hurdle. Following this self development you can then move towards language structure.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Oh yes, you have to throw yourself into it, but if you really intend to try and get a real grip on a foreign language, then start to learn and understand grammar. The earlier the better.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Of course they have a good understanding of the structure and rules of the language. Even a two-year-old does, that why they regularize the irregular verbs (cabo, sabo, tieno, etc). They do this because they know the rules (how to conjugate a verb) but have never heard the verb they wish to use in the tense or person in which they wish to use it. Just because a three-year-old doesn't yet have the intellect to examine and discuss the grammar and rules of the language doesn't mean he are not aware of them.

Anyway saying a three-year-old has no concept so a sixty-year-old needs no concept either is a red herring. A three-year-old learns the rules and grammar of the language through acquisition. There is a window for learning language through acquisition which is completely closed once the individual reaches puberty. Once that point is passed the only way to learn is through cognitive process which requires a deep understanding of rules, grammar and the elements of which a language is formed

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

However individuals have a variety of learning styles, auditory, visual and kinesthetic. This does not change with age. So some individuals will always learn best by hearing! :curse:The fact that you feel it appropriate to belittle someone for a slight error in grammar and spelling (I note on more than 1 occasion) makes a mockery of you as a Senior Member and this site for allowing such comments. Anyone looking for support on this site deserves exactly that and nothing less.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

If a Spanish person speaks to me in English, and they say to me he instead of her or whatever, I don`t give two monkies, I know what they are trying to get across and I am pleased for them that they are trying and succeeding.
I am sure it is the same for them when we mix a few words up, when in doubt wave your arms about. ;-))

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

I didnt interpret the post in that way. It was merely an observation that someone who is in tune with their own language, would be more likely to find it easier to learn a new language.

I do however agree with jdr in that the focus is communication and making yourself understood, so mixing up pronouns and tenses isn't the end of the world.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Grammar is interesting. There is actually a genetic component to it, so we really are all born with different levels of ability to handle grammar.

For example there is a family in the UK that cannot ever learn grammar, can't produce grammatical sentences and can't grasp the most basic rules.

The gene, or lack of it is inherited in exactly the same way as haemophilia. It's recessive, and can be followed down thru their family tree.

The important thing at the end is to be able to speak some Spanish, no matter how bad, and be able to communicate. Without that first step, no-one would ever start. Learning the rules of grammar then enable you to progress and improve. Absorbtion alone will mean that you simply pick up other people's errors.

Me, I focus on grammar and try and learn as much of it as I can. Languages are important to me and when I learn them, I like to learn them well and speak them properly.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

My Spanish is ticking along, having never taken any formal lessons but living in a Spanish-speaking village - although I still have trouble understanding many people, I can now have simple conversations with others. I was 54 when I started learning and had learned French and German up to O level at school.

My husband learned NO languages at school whatsoever, but is doing OK having started at 55 and can have simple conversations with some people and manage OK with shopping etc.

Both of us have trouble with telephone calls and usually get our quadro-lingual French friend to make them for us!

But I agree with others, you will be respected for attempting to learn and no-one will mind if you make a mistake. Do keep up your lessons.

As an aside - one thing we've recently found is that having just returned to our village after seven weeks in the UK, our Spanish actually seems BETTER than before we left! Maybe our ageing brains needed a rest????

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

I really don't see what you are arguing about. Are you suggesting that someone who doesn't have any concept of the elements of language will find learning a new one just as easy as someone who does?

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Firstly may I point out the fact that I am certainly not arguing as to do this would be a waste of my time and energy. The starting point for this debate was based upon your comment to a member merely seeking support and advice from fellow expats. They do not deserve to have someone condescending them for using 'to' instead of 'too'. Nor for insinuating that if they do not have the ability to analyse and describe the semantic, syntagmatic and paradigmatic relationships in the lexicon they will have difficulty learning another language. They deserve encouragement and nothing less. I will waste no further time on this debate.:mad:

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

I think it depends on what you are trying to do. If your only desire is to get by, and you don't care if you sound like the stereotypical comic foreigners do on UK TV, then grammar won't really bother you.

If your desire is to speak the language elegantly, correctly and grammatically, they you sure as sh*t need that grammar book.

You could absorb English and have not the slightest idea that there was a subjunctive tense. You would get by but every time you said 'If I was to go there' it would set my teeth on edge.

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

When I first started Spanish I went to night school. The class was full of people that wasted lots of time asking questions like what is an adjective. After a month they'd all left and the rest of us could get down to actually learning Spanish rather than what the basic elements of a language are. Well, even if you can't speak elegantly getting by requires a huge amount of knowledge. Then again I guess it depends what getting by means; do you just want to be able to order a beer, to be able to visit the doctor and be able to explain what's wrong, to be able to use the phone to query a bill, or to be able to discuss global warming. All are pretty basic and certainly possible with the language skills of a five-year-old.

That's not an error though, it's an idiosyncrasy of Standard English. In most other English dialects (only 12% of native English speakers worldwide speak Standard English) the "were" form is not used. Anyway this idiosyncrasy only effects the verb "to be" since with all other verbs the simple past ("was" in the case of the verb "to be") is always used here. Also, these days, most people don't use that construction anymore. Instead they say "if I go..." (type 1 conditional), or "if I went..." (type 2 conditional).

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

I'd say that was definitely an error, as the subjunctive is a very real tense. What other countries choose to do with English is up to them. I use mine in the UK, so that's the type of english I use. Papua New Guinea English is of little relevance to how I use my native tongue.

These days most people seem to talk English with no care for punctuation, grammar or even sense. That doesn't make it right, or even well good, innit?

Care to extrapolate what you mean by type 1 &2 conditional? Pop it into a sentence please so I can see what you mean. The latter one to me seems like the subjunctive. It does always puzzle me as to why the conditional isn't classed as a subjunctive, since it too deals with unreal constructions.

The difference is easier to spot in Spanish (to me)

Tener > Tendria (conditional) > tenga (subjunctive.)

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Ooher, isn't this debate going frighten chippie2 off learning the language? :zzz:

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

I will be starting out to try and learn a language that is different to me,who knows where it may lead to ,its a bit of an insult to accuse people that just want to get by, as only needing a brain of a 5 year old ,what is wrong with just wanting to get by we are not all blessed with an academic brain or been to uni and had the training ,I know people who have had a good education cannot bang a nail in the wall I dont run them down, shall do my best and thats it:thumbsup:

Re: to old to learn spanish
 

Good on yer !
Take no notice, take your time and don`t get stressed out learning too much at a time, sit in the Spanish bars and listen for a while also.