[ SECRET POST #2510 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2510 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 04 pages, 092 secrets from Secret Submission Post #359.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Your first paragraph makes a great point. I see a lot of people saying that a person can't improve if they're never corrected, but you also have to consider that they also won't improve very much just from the odd corrections from relative strangers.

I was once an ESL student, and now teach ESL to adults, and really, the process is half dedicated learning with a teacher devoted to helping you, and half just friggin' using the language constantly until you get the hang of it. If you can't stand bad grammar, avoid it, but don't delude yourself into thinking your offhand suggestions are going to be very helpful. They're not.

[(Anonymous)]

You're generalizing. Some people do profit from comments and it really depends on what kind of learner they are and what's the correction about. Also, the comment might not teach them anything but might point them in the direction of what they have to work on. I'm ESL myself and many times I learned new things from acquaintances' comments. Plus, while I agree using the language constantly is really important, I don't agree about the devoted teacher part. Some people do learn languages by themselves - not as common, but it happens.

[likeadeuce]

Of course everybody on this thread is generalizing. . . we can't do anything else based on the example that was given.

I tried to break this down in my original comment that AYRT was answering. There are situations where it's fine and appropriate to correct, but I would generally not say that correcting someone you don't know on the internet, for the reason that you find their posts that are not particularly directed at you to be annoying, is a good use of anyone's time.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, the first thing a person would have to be, in order to improve, is willing. The secret doesn't specify what it is that this BNF even does: is she writing and sharing fanfic (and in which case would likely wish for improvements) or just interacting with her fellow fans as you do? It's entirely possible the person is completely satisfied with their language skill as it is, and there's nothing wrong with that.

You could certainly learn a language by yourself -- it would generally take longer to master it, but there's virtue in learning at your own pace. But if you're dedicated enough to look for help via suggestions in Internet comments, you'd benefit much more from having a teacher. The right rapport and length of the working relationship are extremely important. Would you really trust some person you hardly know to have any kind of insight on what particular areas you even need to improve on?

[(Anonymous)]

This!

I've been taught English for more than ten years in school by (most often) really competent teachers, but there are still some mistakes I do over and over again. Some of these have been brought to my attention by people online correcting me and then I can work on them from there. No one is expecting one comment to change a person's understanding of the English language, but it can point them in the right direction.

[(Anonymous)]

+1

[likeadeuce]

Yes, thanks for giving that perspective.

I haven't taught ESL but I've taught English composition and tutored in a writing center with a lot of second-language learners. I feel like some of the comments you mentioned, while well-meaning, don't have a realistic idea of how the process of learning to write in a new language works.

[(Anonymous)]

Honestly, I think that if the OP is coming at this from the angle of, "I can't stand the way you butcher English!" then their suggestions are not likely to be helpful anyway. They don't actually want to help the BNF improve, they're just annoyed that this person's perceived shortcoming is somehow affecting their fandom experience. You can't help someone like that.