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May 11, 2011
Language learning can be exhausting. Day after day of lessons, followed by practice and personal assessments, has left quite a number of language students burned out. It can do the same to you, so making the process more fun might be necessary in order to sustain your enthusiasm for long haul.
Problem, of course, is how exactly do you make that happen? Here are some ideas:
- Find a friend. It’s tough learning a language on your own. The longer your solo training goes, the more you’re going to feel that. Try to find a language learning partner as soon as you can (even an online buddy will do) — having someone to chat with who can understand your concerns is priceless.
- Give yourself a break. If you’ve scheduled your language lessons pretty tight the last month, try loosening it up a bit. Instead of five days a week sessions, cut it down to four and use the last day to do something totally unrelated. You can also suspend lessons for an entire week if you feel like you need a long break. It helps.
- Spend more time practicing. Sit-down lessons with a language software can be boring, especially after a while. If you’re starting to feel restless during your lessons, try shortening them (e.g. from one hour to 30 minutes) and spending that extra time on practice instead. Because it involves application over theory, practice tends to be more engaging and fun.
June 3, 2010
For those of us who have spent some time learning a foreign language, it’s quite amazing to notice the facility by which people can pick up on a new vernacular. I’ve literally seen people gain enough working knowledge of a language to have flowing conversations after a couple of months of using one of the better language software and serious practice – a learning pace I never even thought was possible.
Every year, we discover new methods, new techniques and new ways to improve people’s ability to learn. To me, this has always begged the question: how far can language learning evolve? Can people become well-versed enough to hold sensible conversations within a month? How about two weeks? Three days?
While I do believe there is a threshold to the advancements, I also believe we’re still on our way to finding it. Short of being able to implant chips in people’s brains, I doubt anyone can gain enough working facility within a couple of days. Heck, even two weeks. However, finding that limit is fascinating and I eagerly listen to people’s stories about their learning processes because of it.
Of course, very few of you will probably interested in the same thing. Chances are, you just want to find the best way to learn a language so you can implement it. In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with a one-on-one language software, coupled with opportunities for practice. If you follow lessons diligently and practice as much as you can, you will realize successes faster than most other methods offered on the market.
December 11, 2009
Do you take notes when you get your language learning lessons? You really should. They’re a great way to keep track of what you’re supposed to be learning, as well as an excellent future reference when you need to brush up on past topics.
Why is it better? Your notes are usually written in words that make sense to you. As such, referring to it often gets you better results than rereading the same chapter on a book or even running the same language software module.
When writing notes, you will need to take down as much as you can. There are several reasons for that. Taking notes forces you into an alert state, getting you to pay more attention along with keeping you from dozing out. The more you put down, the less you also need to remember, since you have something to look back on when you need to review.
To write as much as possible, use abbreviations and notations that you can understand. That way, you don’t have to waste too much time stringing long lines. Forget about making your notes look clean – neatness counts, but not that much. Given the choice between being thorough and being neat, always pick the former.
In a haste to take down notes, you will sometimes fail to understand some of the concepts. You can either keep on writing (if you’re on a schedule) or just rewind the software to repeat the parts you missed.
August 4, 2009
Many people find difficulty in gaining competency on a new language. Even after working with a language learning software, taking courses and all the drills those things involve, they remain unable to speak confidently and competently in the vernacular.
If you find yourself still struggling with your own language learning despite going through the usual motions, you might have to do something drastic. This particular suggestion may sound unthinkable at first, but should prove the smartest advice you’ll get once you put it to use.
Stop speaking in your native language and begin using the target language as exclusively as is possible.
Naturally, it won’t be all that sensible if you’re living in your home country. Can you imagine being an American in the States trying to buy a bottle of perfume while speaking German? There are many other things that you can do to use the target language majority of time, however.
Instead of reading English language news, how about relying on sites in the target language for your daily fill of current events? Searching for something online? Use Google in other languages, instead of the default in your locale. Eating out? Have dinner where expats and tourists from your target language’s country usually congregate and chat up a few fellows while you’re there.
Seriously, stop using your native tongue in the meantime and force yourself to adapt using the language you’re trying to learn. It might just be the single activity that finally tips the scales in your favor.
August 2, 2009
What hobbies do you regularly pursue? If you approach it creatively, you can use these fun activities to help you progress in your language learning efforts.
Do you like dancing, for instance? Why not seek out lessons in dance forms that are native to the country of your target language? Not only will you learn a few new moves, you’ll likely learn a few new terms in the vernacular. More importantly, a country’s cultural elements (such as song and dance) offer a great window into its people, something that will greatly aid in your overall language study.
Do you enjoy reading? If you’re not yet up to the level of being able to comprehend materials written in the target language, you can always opt for an English translation of a book originally produced in the foreign tongue. Even though you’re reading something in English, numerous details in the book are certain to give you a tremendous amount of insight into both the culture and the language.
Regardless of what hobbies you have, there are ways to enjoy them while helping your language learning efforts. After all, language training is more than about taking a class or firing up a language software. Assimilating a language into your skillset requires more than memorizing phrases and grammar rules – in many ways, it’s about trying to make yourself a part of the culture.
July 10, 2009
In any form of learning, there are always different ways to achieve the same result. The field of language learning, in particular, can benefit from well-made strategies that can improve the student’s overall acquisition of skills.
Strategies for language acquisition are typically divided into two main areas: learning strategies and communicative techniques. They vary greatly in their overall implementations and are largely geared towards different things.
Learning Strategies
Learning strategies comprise of techniques we usually employ for language learning, such as using cue cards to review vocabulary terms, following exercises given by your language learning software or memorizing phrases grouped by function. Their aim is pretty straightforward: to provide a more effective manner for the student to acquire the language.
While learning strategies typically vary in their overall effectiveness depending on the student, there’s no denying their importance. A good set of learning strategies will allow you to gain facility in a language much faster and in a much more robust manner than a poor one.
Communicative Strategies
Communicative strategies are a set of techniques that help non-native speakers hold interactions in a language they are not yet well-versed in. Carrying a card of common phrases to read to people on the street (e.g. “Where is the bus stop?”), for instance, helps you carry out very basic interactions in a community whose language you don’t yet have the ability to speak. Similarly, using gestures and pro-forms serve the same purpose.
Your Language Acquisition
For the purposes of actual language acquisition, you should focus on learning strategies, while employing communicative strategies when trying to communicate with native speakers. The first expands your knowledge while the second can help improve your confidence when applying the foreign language. As such, employing both sets of strategies can be beneficial to your overall success.
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