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 Sat Dec 06, 2003 23:16 pm Learning vs. studying |
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Dear Cowboy,
'I am studying English' implies that you might be a student at university studying English as a major that can cover various subjects such as linguistics, phonology, the history of the English language and culture, English literature etc.
'I am learning English' implies that you are doing English language exercises or that you are attending an English language course.
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary |
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Torsten
Learning Coach
Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 8250
Location: EU
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| Sun Dec 07, 2003 7:12 am Learning vs. studying |
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Dear Torsten, thank you very much. Your explanation helped me. Now I know, I am learning English only, but I am not studing it.
cowboy  |
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Cowboy
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 06 Nov 2003
Posts: 14
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| Thu Feb 02, 2006 16:21 pm Learning vs. studying |
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| Torsten wrote: | Dear Cowboy,
'I am studying English' implies that you might be a student at university studying English as a major that can cover various subjects such as linguistics, phonology, the history of the English language and culture, English literature etc.
'I am learning English' implies that you are doing English language exercises or that you are attending an English language course. |
Or you can study without learning, i.e. if you have no interest in the subject, if you get disctracted or pay little or no attention during class (spring is not the best season for those who are prone to distraction!).
Mind you, you can also learn without studying. As Torsten said too:
| Quote: | | Take as much English in as you can. Let your subconscious mind do the work for you: Make it a habit to switch on CNN or any other English language TV channel that provides information rather than entertainment and have it run in the background while you get ready for the day. You shouldn't make an effort to understand every single word - don't pay too much attention. Your subconscious will take in everything and store it somewhere in your brain. |
Isn't it amazing what our mind is capable of achieving behind our back, so to speak? |
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Conchita
Language Coach
Joined: 26 Dec 2005
Posts: 2826
Location: Madrid, Spain
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| Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:22 am Learning vs. studying |
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| Torsten wrote: | 'I am studying English' implies that you might be a student at university studying English as a major that can cover various subjects such as linguistics, phonology, the history of the English language and culture, English literature etc.
'I am learning English' implies that you are doing English language exercises or that you are attending an English language course. |
I don't agree with you on this one, Torsten. The distinction isn't the same as between "studieren" and "lernen" in German.
"I am studying English," can mean what you said it does, that is, majoring in English at a university. However, "I am studying English," also means doing exercises or attending a course. "I am studying English," means that you are actively doing something academic that will cause your brain to learn English. This could mean attending a class, reading a book or doing exercises, even on your own.
Let's say Jennifer walks into a room and sees Fred sitting at a table working from some kind of book. It's a book of English exercises. She asks, "What are you doing?" His answer would be, "I'm studying English." If he had answered, "I'm learning English," we would understand that he had never tried to learn English before, and that he expected Jennifer to be a little bit amazed or surprised. We could interpret his saying, "I'm learning English," to mean something like, "I can't believe this! I never knew I could learn English!"
In general, "I am learning English," means that English is somehow getting into your head. It doesn't matter how.
I had a class of old Chaldean ladies who could not read or write even in their native language. They made almost no progress in English. They were studying English, but they weren't really learning anything. At the same time, I was picking up Chaldean from hearing them talk to each other. I was learning Chaldean, but I wasn't studying it. |
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Jamie (K)
Guest
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| "know" vs "know about" | There are vs. there is a number of... |
