February 2, 2012
Some language learners I know do all their studying and practice on weekends. While there’s obvious value in that, I believe it’s an inferior way of studying. A new language is one of those things best acquired if you surround yourself with it on a daily basis — a once or twice a week thing just doesn’t seem ideal.
If you’re serious about your language lessons, we suggest planning a daily study routine. There’s no need to do serious rearranging of your schedule either. A short but daily routine is often all you need to keep the knowledge and skills fresh.
Why? Two things.
- Shorter study periods allow you to stay fresh throughout the whole session, letting you maximize what you can absorb of the material. It also keeps your perspective clear, so you can focus on what matters instead of trudging through things blindly.
- Daily study keeps you sharp. A lot of things can be forgotten in a week. What you learn today, though, is more likely to remain accessible to you tomorrow, giving you more opportunities to really etch in your brain.
Is studying enough? Of course not. If you want to truly learn a new language, you must use it. Actively seek opportunities for interaction with native speakers and fellow learners. If they don’t come, then practice by yourself.
July 23, 2011
Keeping an organized study area may not be the most important thing in the world. We’re pretty sure messy people can learn language just as well as organized ones can. We’re also willing to bet that things go a lot smoother for the latter than the former, though.
What does your study area look like? Do you have notes, books and papers piled on the desk? The messier your study area, the less conducive it will be to study. Why?
- The more mess, the more distractions. If you’re finding yourself constantly disrupted by thoughts during your language lessons, consider that the problem might be your study area. If the bills are piled there, you’re bound to notice and begin thinking of them; so goes for the reports from the office, the book you borrowed from a friend and so on.
- The more mess is around you, the more cluttered you think. It’s tough to think clearly when your environment is filled with clutter. For a more pronounced visual, imagine getting work done in a battlefield after an encounter, as opposed to inside a weather-controlled room with a desk and comfy chair. If you have a messy study area, think of it like a smaller, more contained version of that battlefield.
- The more mess you have, the harder it is to find what you need. If your table’s messy, you can end up wasting time looking for your notebook or a Post-It where you wrote down the exercises you were planning to do for this session. The more organized your study area is, the less likely that will be.
July 15, 2011
Any kind of study can be stressful. Whether you’re cramming for a finals in college or trying to memorize language phrases for next month’s trip, the pressure is on you to perform. And managing that stress is key to keeping your wits while you go through your lessons.
- Use it in the real-world as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the bigger your fear of using it is going to grow. Get over the hurdle of using the language early and you’ll realize there was nothing to really be afraid of.
- Work on a reasonable schedule. If you take 8 hours of language lessons a day and feel exhausted at the end of the week, don’t be surprised — you’re going a bit overboard. Instead of getting greedy early, start slow and add hours gradually until you find your tipping point.
- Don’t worry about grammar. Grammar, regardless of language, can be confusing. Don’t dwell on it. Instead, focus on memorizing phrases and using them in practice exercises. Doing so requires less stress and can actually be enjoyable, compared to the textbook feeling that grammar studies will bestow upon you.
- Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Trust that if you follow the material and do the exercises, you’ll progress. It’s a much better strategy than constantly worrying about where you are in an imaginary scale and comparing yourself to others.
August 10, 2009
All you need to do is take one look at many practitioners of personal development to know that people don’t always get what they want. For the most part, you’ll see these individuals spending a good portion of their lives attempting to achieve a goal, yet remaining unable to get it.
The same holds true for many of us, whether that faraway idea that persists in our minds are of being infinitely rich, ridiculously famous or immensely successful in some form. While we spend a lot of our time reading instruction books and teaching manuals about those goals, we remain largely unable to achieve them.
Language Learning Growth
In the area of language learning, we often see the same thing. Students will spend a good deal of their time poring over instruction books, language learning software and video tutorials of all sorts, yet fail to show much progress towards mastery and growth in the field.
Reading, studying and watching all sorts of informational materials isn’t bad. It’s just that too much can get in the way of actual learning. While part of progressing in any field involves such forms of study, most people tend to have a propensity for dwelling on it excessively, leading to plenty of time spent, with little results to show for it.
The reason is simple. Learning is largely a function of application. While theory and study does have its place, the field is the only real place to learn in. In fact, many students end up using studying as a substitute, to mask their fear of live, real-world interaction.
If you truly want to learn a language, you must apply yourself both in study and practice. The further along you go, the more time you should be spending on actual application, instead of theoretical learning. That’s simply the way it truly works.
May 11, 2009
There are a thousand techniques for studying a new language. Remember how many strategies people came up for their studying back in high school and college? Almost every single one of those can be applied to language learning, with potentially similar results.
Personally, I encourage students to develop study techniques based on their personal strengths. Even the best techniques can get you mediocre results if it’s not a good fit with the way you naturally learn. The following items are some things you can do to ensure a better experience of learning a new language, whether you’re working on the skillset using an audio course or a language software.
1. Acquire an ear. Even before starting your lessons, try to listen to songs or watch videos in your target language, without attempting to decipher or speak it. That will help you develop a familiarity with hearing it – an invaluable tool as you progress towards your overall skill development.
2. Think phrases. The best way to learn a language is to work on phrases, instead of individual words. That’s the reason why early language practice usually involves common phrases, instead of single-word lessons. Phrases give the words context as well as start you on the path to adopting the nuances of grammar.
3. Imagine stories around words and phrases you learn. As humans, we learn better when there’s an emotional component to anything we try to master. Stories crafted around your target language can make learning all that much easier – not to mention more fun.
4. Involve your life. If you can find a way to involve the target language into your life, the faster the learning will be. If you are living in a foreign country where the target language is the local vernacular, this becomes a default part of your everyday studying. Under different circumstances, though, you’ll have to be creative and find out how you’ll best be able to integrate it into your daily activities.
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