It is amazing how many beautiful scripts exist around the world. When I see other writing systems, I am always intrigued and tempted to decipher them. So, in my language learning journey, I am especially interested in learning the languages together with their scripts. I don't think that you can really master a language and get an in-depth cultural insight without learning the corresponding script.
But there are other learners, who might think that learning a different script might be too difficult, tiring or a waste of time. But I find it odd, if, for example, learners are learning Arabic/Russian/Thai/Korean without learning the corresponding alphabet (I know, Chinese is a different story), but are only using transliterations. Wouldn't it be really weird, if someone learnt English and just wrote it by using Arabic or Thai letters, because it would be too troublesome to learn the Roman alphabet? When immigrants come to Germany and aren't alphabetised, the first step is always to learn the Roman alphabet, before they can attend proper German language classes.
So, what's your opinion? Do you think it is necessary to learn the proper script of your target language or is using transliterations sufficient? Do you start with transliterations and gradually acquire the foreign script, while you are already learning the basics of the target language, or do you first learn the script, before you start with grammar and vocabulary?
Edit: "its script". Can't change the typo in the title.
@Phil
Being able to read the language, doesn't mean that one doesn't speak it. I've attended communicative classes, but we always also used some written material. Don't inlingua and Berlitz use textbooks? Can someone who can't read the Roman alphabet attend their French and English classes successfully? Do you sometimes teach students without writing anything down? How would you for example teach an Arabic speaking student, who is only interested in speaking English, but not in reading? Currently we have lots of immigrants in Germany, who either don't know the Roman alphabet or can't even read the script of their mother tongue and it proves very difficult to teach them German. The ones, who can read are definitely more successful. The ones, who can't read, also don't have the chance of ever finding a good job in Germany.
@Sudeep
Thanks, for the link. Yeah, I think for me writing and speaking combined works best. When I read something and write a summary and then tell someone else about it, then I will remember it more easily.
I learnt one language just by listening (not really speaking) and that's Shanghainese, because it is a mainly spoken language, but apart from that, I'm learning languages by writing them. I'll eventually speak them, but I might for a long time just write the language, until I got the basics and feel ready to speak freely. When I started speaking Mandarin I literally had subtitles in my head. If I could not assign a character to a word that I heard, than I couldn't understand it. With practice this got better. But now it bugs me, if I understand a word, but don't know how it is written. Because this is my individual learning style, I can't really imagine learning a language without writing it. But I met an Indian student ones, who learnt German fluently just by listening and speaking. He was fluent, without ever touching a textbook. That was very impressive!
