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S'està carregant… Losing My Voice and Finding Another (2011)de Cooper Thompson
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Apunta't a LibraryThing per saber si aquest llibre et pot agradar. No hi ha cap discussió a Converses sobre aquesta obra. Ressenya escrita per a Crítics Matiners de LibraryThing . An interesting consideration of moving and for an interim period going through the adjustment of langauage and culture. The author's experience is perhaps not as stark as that of many immigrants - he keeps a job in the States whilst commuting from Germany his new home, nevertheless the discussion of dislocation is sensitive and the description of the German culture is recognisable. Ressenya escrita per a Crítics Matiners de LibraryThing . Cooper Thompson is an American who had learned some French and Spanish, wanted to learn Italian, and could envision himself living in a Romance country. His life took a far different turn when he fell in love with a German woman. They subsequently married and moved to her native land. Thompson then began the task of learning a language that sounded harsh and that he (like many others) associated with Hitler and the Nazis. He chronicles his emotions as he plunges into the work of learning a new language as an adult and finds himself in a similar position to a child acquiring language for the first time. At times he has tantrums because he cannot make himself understood. Sometimes he keeps silent because he doesn't have the words to convey his thoughts accurately. He feels helpless and dependent because he is unable to speak his mind. He feels a loss of identity and his self-esteem diminishes as a sense of loneliness and not belonging increase. He fears coming across as stupid or child-like. He feels impotent for having lost his adult voice as well as marginalized or ignored as someone who has nothing to contribute. He also must deal with the stress and physical effects of putting so much effort into what is for most of us the simple everyday activity of communicating. He regrets the loss of nuance in his speech and feels less himself than when speaking his native English. Thompson also comments on the German culture and their treatment of immigrants. Social context is important as illustrated by the correct form of the word you: in most cases, du is used only with family and very close friends of many years. Sie is more commonly used but Thompson shocks his wife by suggesting that everyone from shopkeepers and neighbors to doctors use the familiar du with him. He finds that Germans are more willing to do this with him because he is American and the usage tends to decrease the social distance between them. He learns that immigrants from other countries such as Turkey often feel excluded. Many Germans appear overly formal and standoffish and are less than welcoming to immigrants. He also notes that Germans seem uncomfortable with compliments. In addition, there is the large difference between the standard German he is learning and the local dialect his wife speaks which he does not understand. Eventually Thompson becomes more comfortable using German as he accepts that he will never understand everything that is said and that he will never achieve perfection in his own speaking. His outgoing personality helps and as he says, communication is more than words. This is an easy to read account of learning a new language and culture in mid-life which covers the fears, stresses and successes that one can expect to encounter. References are included for those who wish to know more about learning a second language. Ressenya escrita per a Crítics Matiners de LibraryThing . This was an interesting book for me to read, as a learner of many, many languages as well as one with a research interest in second language learning. I believe that a lot of the language-learning process is illuminated in this book, particularly the immersive process—it's absolutely exhausting, for one, which so many people don't take into consideration (because, well, an hour of a foreign language three times a week is doable), and it's a very emotional process as you learn to communicate and connect in different ways with people.The writing style bothered me—very choppy and childish, to the point where I had to put the book down a few times. At times, I felt he was incredibly naive about how difficult it is to learn a language. But who knows—my gauge for language learning is all topsy-turvy. Overall, I found this book very relatable and definitely worth the quick read. I've already recommended it to my boyfriend, who's doing his best to learn a whole lot of German. Ressenya escrita per a Crítics Matiners de LibraryThing . This is a very interesting and detailed look into something that most people in the US are never challenged to do - learn another language and live in a country where you have to speak that second language in order to communicate with those around you. While not providing an instruction manual (which is not the purpose of the book), the author details his struggles and how he came to be fluent in German, what being fluent means to him, and how he found ways to cope with the rigid language classes he attended. This book really makes me reflect on the inadequacy of being from a country where we expect everyone to speak English. It leaves myself and many other US-ians at a loss when we have to travel to other countries. Sense ressenyes | afegeix-hi una ressenya
Losing My Voice and Finding Another is a language learner narrative, based on the author's experiences from 2003 to 2010, when he emigrated from the United States to Germany at the age of 53 and began to learn German. The book is written for adults, especially immigrants, who find it difficult to learn a second language; language teachers who want to learn about emotional and social aspects of second language learning; and citizens and policy makers who want to understand why some adult immigrants are not successful at learning a new language. Foreword by Dr. Rebecca Oxford. No s'han trobat descripcions de biblioteca. |
Autor amb llibres seus als Crítics Matiners de LibraryThingEl llibre de Cooper Thompson Losing My Voice and Finding Another estava disponible a LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Debats actualsCap
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Going by the other reviews here on LT I am in a minority when it comes to views on this book, so perhaps I have missed something or thought it would be more tailored to where I am as a language learner due to the similarities with my own situation. ( )