|
April 6, 2010
In language learning, getting started is always the hardest part of the process. Knowing little to none about the language, with barely any confidence, you jump blindly into the pool, hoping to make your efforts pay off down the line. We’ve all been there and it’s a very uncomfortable place.
For your first foray into acquiring a language, we recommend going into either one of two materials as your primary learning sources:
1. a beginner’s class
2. a foreign language training software
We find these two most helpful because you’re going to start from a place where you hardly understand anything. As such, you will need a resource that’s willing to work with you from the ground up. Using starter vocabulary building and basic comprehension activities, they can slowly get you up to speed on everything you need to have a working ability in the new vernacular.
Some people feel bashful about starting out a new language. It’s a strange, conflicted feeling that you shouldn’t allow to get the better of you. Even if you feel you aren’t developing as fast as you should, keep at it and don’t give up. More importantly, don’t be afraid to use the little that you do learn on a day to day basis. The more you are able to apply the bits of lessons you pick up, the quicker you will be able to internalize them. You know where that leads, right? A faster entry into the second stage of language learning, where you know enough to hold your own in basic conversation.
April 3, 2010
Not everyone can be a good writer. However, anyone can write decent enough so as not to be terrible, even for an unaccomplished second-language English writer. So what things should you avoid to make your writing, at the least, tolerably readable?
1. Type carefully. Many second language writers worry about their language so much that their writing ends up filled with too many typing errors.
2. All English sentences have a subject and a verb. Keep that in mind and make sure every sentence you create has them.
3. Vary sentence lengths. Most second-language writers tend to fall back on simple sentences too much. There’s nothing wrong with it. If you fall into the same trap, just combine two or more sentences every few lines and you should be fine.
4. Use active verbs. This is simpler than it sounds. Instead of using verb forms of “to be,” such as “is,” “are,” “have” and other similar words, use actual action words for the verbs in your sentences. The maturity they lend your writing is worth every extra minute you take to rewrite erstwhile passive sentences.
5. Use a spellchecker and a grammar software at bare minimum. There’s nothing uglier than material rendered unreadable by bad grammar and misspellings. These automated English language tools can fix those problems on the fly, so that you need not add to your worries.
April 2, 2010
One of the reasons why I favor software-based language instruction compared to taking a class is the variety of lecture styles that you can end up encountering. We each have our preferred learning styles and it can be disheartening to end up in a class where the instructor doesn’t exactly cater to your particular strengths.
When you hear someone lecture, they usually do it in their preferred style of thinking about a subject. As such, the instruction is as much about them as it is about you. If you can’t keep up with their particular method, you’ll likely spend a lot of time staring blankly and hoping that what they’re discussing is on the course notes.
Most of the time, lecturers will adopt either one of three styles:
- Subject-focused. In this style, the lecturer will spend a lot of time defining and explaining things, often pausing for time to let you take notes. Highly traditional, it focuses on the mastery of the subject matter, often at the expense of practical applications.
- Example-focused. In this style, the lecturer focuses on linking the lessons to everyday examples. The idea is your understanding of the subject matter can be much more robust if you manage to link it to things the happen around you regularly.
- Interaction-focused. In this style, the focus is on the students, with the lecturer allotting plenty of time to asking questions and taking different views into consideration.
From what I’ve seen of most of the good language software titles on the market, they manage to combine all those different styles into a single resource. Add to it the fact that you can approach everything at your own pace and it makes for a tool that can cater to your personal needs much more than a scheduled class can ever hope to do.
April 1, 2010
One of the things you’ll need to learn when coming to a new country is how to interrupt people courteously. While it probably doesn’t sound all that important, it’s actually one of the most useful things you can have in your communication arsenal when making your way around.
When you need to ask someone for directions, you will need to interrupt whatever they are doing to begin a conversation with them. When somebody is speaking too fast for you to understand, you will need to interrupt them to ask them to slow down. When people are ignoring you because they can’t understand what you’re saying, you’ll need to interrupt their state to get them to give you their attention.
See how important learning to interrupt people could be?
The trick to interrupting is to do it courteously. Before flying in, learn how people say the equivalent of “excuse me” in the language. Ask your language resource about conventions and body language when interrupting someone. Mine your books and language learning materials for tips on this end, too. One of my favorite references for this sort of thing are movies from the target country, because you can see how people insinuate themselves into conversations in most everyday settings.
Take notes and practice it in front of a mirror. Since it’s a new knowledge, you’ll need to “shadowbox” a few times to make it feel natural, even just to yourself. It will also help you remember to do them once you are cast into a situation that requires it.
March 31, 2010
You’re already taking second language lessons, so might as well do what you can to maximize the benefits you get out of it. These study tips should help make your learning more effective.
1. Do some pre-reading.
If you’re attending a class, always do some early reading on the to subjects scheduled to be tackled. It always pays to have had previous time to think about topics before class – it helps you understand the lesson better, as well as think more critically. Additionally, reading notes from previous days is great to help you establish context and continuity, regardless if you’re attending a lecture or sitting down with a language learning software.
2. Prepare questions and responses.
Again, this advice is geared more towards those who are taking a class or getting private tutoring. After doing some early reading, prepare questions for areas that are currently unclear, as well as parts of the lessons you may have strong feelings about. You can refer to these later during the actual lessons.
3. Take notes.
Always take notes of your lessons. It’s highly doubtful you’ll remember everything you hear (or read, for that matter), so having ideas on a separate notebook in a form that makes sense to you will help a lot for later reviewing.
March 30, 2010
Building a vocabulary is much like beefing up your repertoire of skills in any discipline: it’s best to draw from as many resources as you can. While getting the basics handled from a primary language program is fine, using the variety of resources available to you should help you expand your stock of words faster.
Why Variation Works
Most of the time, the best mediums used to teach the basics of a language aren’t necessarily the most ideal way to build a solid vocabulary. That’s why we recommend expanding your horizons beyond it. There are plenty of materials out there designed for the express purpose of vocabulary work alone. Try them and you are likely to find ones that fit your learning style very well.
Types of Resources
If you like things old-school, you may want to pick up a book or tape of vocabulary-building lessons. A quick search on the web can also turn out plenty of paper-pen-thesaurus style exercises that you can take part in. While they’ve been replaced, in some ways, by software equivalents, flash cards remain a popular learning material for folks building a stock of vocabulary in any language.
For those more inclined to newer techniques, you can download computer games and software all designed to facilitate vocabulary learning. Highly-popular with younger language learners, many of them are available for free.
Older Posts » |
