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Poll: I learned my acquired language(s) primarily through... Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "I learned my acquired language(s) primarily through...".
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Julian Holmes 
Japan
Local time: 05:28
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
| Formal and informal studies | Mar 18, 2014 |
Formal -- 4 years at the School of Oriental & African Stuidies, London University
Informal -- 35 or so years over here in Japan
Would love to go back to SOAS and teach a J>E technical translation undergraduate course while earning an M.A. 
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formal study at first, then self-study, then I moved to England....
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Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 22:28
Member (2009)
English to German
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| A combination | Mar 18, 2014 |
Mainly through self-study, formal education and nearly 20 years as an in-house translator. So the actual answer would be, a combination.
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Tim Drayton
Cyprus
Local time: 23:28
Turkish to English
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| self study + immersion | Mar 18, 2014 |
I have acquired fluency in six foreign languages in my life, in some cases through formal study, and in others through self study or lengthy residence in a country where the language is spoken.
I am entirely self-taught in my main source language of Turkish, and I lived in Turkey for 12 years. When I later returned to my own country of the UK, I was able to pass the IoL Diploma in Translation from Turkish to English, so I must have succeeded.
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| A combination | Mar 18, 2014 |
I have a degree in Hispanic Studies and have been living in Spain for 29 years and have been married to my Spanish wife for 23 years. So, yes, a combination of formal studies and immersion, like so many translators and teachers.
I lived in Italy for three years back in the 80's and was fairly fluent by the time I left but I think having no formal studies means I would find it difficult to slip back into the language.
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| Robert Ludlum | Mar 18, 2014 |
I originally picked up most of my Swedish/Norwegian/Danish by reading translations of American thrillers
This was followed by formal study and immersion
But the thrillers were the best bit
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| A combination | Mar 18, 2014 |
Formal study, travels and in regard to Spanish the members of my family Spanish mother tongue.
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| Immersion & self-study | Mar 18, 2014 |
I picked up Dutch (I was born and lived in the Netherlands up to the age of 11) and Indonesian (have been living in Indonesia for 27 years) by way of immersion, and English through self-study (mainly through reading).
[Edited at 2014-03-18 09:21 GMT]
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| Different languages, different methods | Mar 18, 2014 |
I learned the languages I don't use professionally through formal study, reading and listening to radio and TV when I could access programmes. (Largely before the days of the Internet and satellites...) I have never spent any length of time in France of Germany. I suppose I do make use of my Latin in the background.
I spent a total of seven months, spaced over a year, on an intensive language course in Danish, whi... See more I learned the languages I don't use professionally through formal study, reading and listening to radio and TV when I could access programmes. (Largely before the days of the Internet and satellites...) I have never spent any length of time in France of Germany. I suppose I do make use of my Latin in the background.
I spent a total of seven months, spaced over a year, on an intensive language course in Danish, which was to become my language of habitual usage. (When I started, I could barely put a sentence together.)
Otherwise it was immersion, self study, and taking night classes, basically an office training followed by business French and German at university level, for ordinary native speakers of Danish.
I have never really acquired my other two working languages! (Norwegian and Swedish)
I don't speak them and have never studied them formally, but study is a way of life, and you don't always need teachers or exams.
[Edited at 2014-03-18 13:05 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 22:28
Spanish to English
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I studied German, French and Russian formally and have a degree in the latter. However, my working language nowadays is Castilian Spanish, which I acquired after relocating here in the 80s. Prior to this, I had little formal training in Spanish, only a "half-class" at beginner level which I took as a "filler" class in my final year at uni.
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Marjolein Snippe
Netherlands
Local time: 22:28
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
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Chris S wrote:
I originally picked up most of my Swedish/Norwegian/Danish by reading translations of American thrillers
This was followed by formal study and immersion
But the thrillers were the best bit
Very similar here - picked up English mainly from Roald Dahl, then moved on to other books, then school chipped in and then I moved to the UK.
For Portuguese I picked up the basics through a course before really learning the language by way of immersion. And books. Of course.
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16 years of formal study and self-study and travels and experience...
With the actual Educational system (in Italy, don't know elsewhere) it is hard to gain all the necessary resources only through formal study, I'm afraid...
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A combination of self-study, formal study (3 years at college) and an immersion lifestyle. I'm pretty good at self-study, but I haven't had the motivation since. If I did I'd probably know about 3 more languages by now.
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kittilina
Spain
Local time: 22:28
Spanish to English
| One answer is not enough! | Mar 18, 2014 |
A complete mix. Firstly through immersion, combined with self-study, then formal studies and then more ongoing self-study. It's not simple to answer this with just one option!
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