July 8, 2010
Tried your hand a conversing with native speakers, but can’t figure out a lick of what they’re saying? Don’t worry, it’s normal. It usually takes much more than couple months of language lessons to get your listening skills down pay. Why is that?
- Your vocabulary’s just too weak. It’s possible that you just don’t have enough stock of a language to be able to comprehend what people are saying. The solution is straightforward: beef up your vocabulary.
- They speak in an accent different than your own. Even if you can identify words and phrases, accent can complicate the language heavily. This is why we recommend teaching be done using the target language’s accent – doing so helps familiarize you with their speaking patterns, so you can easily recognize them in real-world situations.
- They bring their own cultural biases into the language. The way native speakers use the language often bring idioms and cultural elements into play that sound perfectly natural in their local environment. Learning more about the local culture should help you on this end.
- They use slang that isn’t taught in formal classes. Slang, especially plays on words, are near impossible for non-natives to make out. Unless you befriend locals and spend time in their company, chances are, they’ll remain a mysterious parlance.
- They talk too fast. Since they’re perfectly familiar with the language, most native speakers will plow through their speech and pronunciations patterns quickly. Your limited time with the vernacular isn’t likely to help you much with regards to keeping up. The solution? Spend more time listening to native speakers, either through actual conversation, watching movies or listening to speeches.
February 1, 2010
Why do we have language? So we can communicate. Sure, we can probably understand each other (somewhat) using hand gestures and grunts, but you have to admit – language does allow for a richer, more complex interaction.
Language consists of four main skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. While each area does help you develop the others, proficiency in one won’t ever guarantee the same level of ability on the rest.
If you want to communicate in a language, you’ll have to learn to speak and write in it. Those two abilities are widely different. In fact, while most second-language learners eventually develop proficiency in the former, many of them never develop skills in the latter. Now, why is that?
Speaking is natural. If you spend time among a group of native speakers of a language, you will eventually pick up bits and pieces of its speech. However, the same isn’t likely to hold true for writing. Putting words to paper, quite simply, is a learned skill – one you should spend considerable time building up.
There are differences in structure and style. When we speak, we rarely bother with formal grammar. In writing, we almost always make sure we write in an organized and structurally-correct manner. Obviously, the former is much less intimidating, making it easier to just dive in and embrace.
Writing is permanent. When you write, there’s a feeling of durability to the form, as the words you commit to paper can literally last a lifetime (and then some). Speaking, on the other hand, is more immediate, allowing you to express your thoughts to people right on the spot.
Understanding these differences helps you gain an appreciation for the learning you’re going to be doing, whether you’re taking language lessons or using a language training software.
December 5, 2009
Speaking and writing, in any language, consists of two very different skills. While one can definitely benefit the other, learning each one is something you will need to pursue independently.
When immersed in an environment where a particular language is used, especially as a child, we pick up the speaking aspect naturally. It’s as good as automatic, provided we have people interacting with us to allow the experience to happen. Writing, on the other, hand has to be taught. Without directed instruction, even in an immersive environment, it’s unlikely you will learn how to put language to paper.
For language learners, this is a very important distinction to draw. If you think you can write in a language without being able to speak a decent amount of it first, you’re kidding yourself. You can’t put your thoughts down to paper simply because you can’t formulate them without having the ability to express yourself in speech.
As such, you have to at least speak at the most basic level, before moving on to reading and writing. Remember that when designing your own language learning lesson plan, so that you don’t end up wasting more time than is necessary.
Most language acquisition software do take this into account. That’s why they integrate different mediums such as audio and video, apart from text. Doing so, you can learn in an immersive manner without being forced to read (or write) materials that you can’t comprehend.
August 19, 2009
As we’ve expounded on so many times, you can’t learn a language in isolation. Languages are a means of communication between people, and the only real way to learn it is by engaging in interactions.
Can’t you learn a language from a language learning software? Of course, you can. Using it, you can
memorize vocabulary, study grammar and learn how to construct sentences, among other things. However, having a store of words and grammatical constructs you can draw from is hardly the most important aspect of learning. Acquiring a language has more to do with developing abilities in communication and interaction, being a part of a community that speaks the vernacular. As such, you can’t ever truly learn a language on your own.
Unlike a skill like riding a bicycle that involve no outside component, other people are imperative to language learning. Language serves as a bridge for understanding. If you don’t use it to communicate, then your feedback mechanism is completely inadequate – about a 1 in 100, if you need a number to gauge just how lacking it is.
A more fitting comparison to the skill of language learning is the art of public speaking. You can practice giving out a speech for days on end in your bedroom, but your biggest progress will always happen once you leave the house and stand on a podium.
Don’t think you can work at language learning the same way you work on Math and History. Language has many nuances that you simply can’t pick up on your own. Read your phrasebooks and finish your language software lessons, but remember to go out and apply it as much you can.
August 14, 2009
New to learning a language? Here’s a brief guide to what skills you will look to develop during the process, as well as specific techniques, beyond lessons and language software, that can help you get there.
Learning The Sound System. You’ll need to learn how syllables are pronounced, how intonations are made and how accents are used in the new language. You achieve this by repeating words to yourself, reading aloud to yourself, singing to songs in the vernacular and other similar activities.
Learning Vocabulary. Of course, you’ll need to know the words before you can use them. That’s why you’ll arm yourself with phrasebooks, dictionaries and all sorts of memory exercises to commit the vocabulary to your recollection.
Learning The Grammar. Just like you internalized the early grammar constructs of English using nursery rhymes and simple stories, you will need to undergo something similar in your acquisition of a new language. From parroting simple phrases to guessing the right sentences to use, you will eventually achieve a native (though, largely, non-academic) facility with the target languages of rules of language.
Learning To Comprehend. One important aspect of language acquisition is the ability to understand others who speak the language. You practice this by guessing at the start, exposing yourself to a multitude of inputs, such as records, music and speeches, as well as by focusing your attention on the new language, thinking in it and similar activities.
Learning To Talk. All of the above skills come together as you learn to speak the language. More than mere parroting of phrases from a language software, learning to talk involves being able to formulate ideas and expressing them concisely, in a manner that other people can understand.
May 24, 2009
Working on your reading skills in a second language? If you like reading news, why not use an online news aggregator to help improve your comprehension skills in the new vernacular?
Experts say that in order to read an English language newspaper with full comprehension, you need to have a fluent mastery of at least 4,000 words in the vernacular. Basing on that, it’s not too far-fetched to imagine newspapers in other languages requiring the same amount of skill before you can competently understand them.
Here’s the good thing, though. Reading newspapers at a language you’re not yet very good in can help you become more competent in it. After all, the more words and sentence constructs you are exposed to, the wider your familiarity grows. It is actually a very good aid to formal lessons, regardless of whether you’re attending classes or studying on your own with a language learning software.
Online news aggregators are some of the best ways to practice reading skills, because of both the breadth of the news items they offer, as well as the customization options you get with them. Large aggregators like Google News have ties with newspapers in most every national language the world over, including some written in regional languages. As such, you have a bevy of choices whatever language you’re trying to familiarize with.
You can choose among dozens of newspapers in French, for instance, along with customizing which sections you want to read. If you don’t want to bother with headlines and just be delivered the sports pages, you can easily customize it, saving you a lot of time as well as only giving items that are most significant to you.
If you’re trying to master the business vocabulary in Italian, for instance, then choose to receive business and finance news in the language. Next month, when you move on to science and technology vocabulary, then choose the appropriate newspaper sections to be delivered. It’s much easier (not to mention, more informative) than running through a dictionary or a list.
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