Language learning
Language learning - misconceptions: "I can’t learn any language."
I am not good at learning languages. I can’t learn any language.
I have been struggling with learning a foreign language. I have to realize that I cannot learn that language. I am simply not talented, so I’ll give up.
Well, let’s see what talent means exactly! How would you define a natural talent in learning language? Someone who learns a language easily and quickly. Oh yes, but how does he or she do it? Is he or she born talented? Well, maybe. I will not say that being born talented in language learning, is something that doesn’t exist. But what is also possible is that he or she acquired that -let’s say- talent by learning languages. Don’t forget: being a genius is only 1% talent and 99% diligent.
Bilinguals are definitely better subjects for language learning because they acquire languages from their early childhood, but it doesn’t mean, you can’t reach a very high, even native speaker level in a foreign language. What bilinguals or natural talents do, is being exposed to the language all the time. You can create a similar environment in your home, for example. You can watch your TV in your target language, you can make friends even on the internet, you can read books in your language. The most important thing is enjoying what you do for learning. If you enjoy it, you will be more motivated. If you have a high level of motivation, you will progress very fast. Most so-called talented people are actually doing well in languages because they have a high level of motivation and they enjoy their language. You can do the same!
Language learning – misconceptions: "I am not perfect. I am not saying a word."
Oh my god, I don’t know the right grammar. It’s better if I don’t say anything. Oh my god, I don’t know the right word. I should rather be silent. Oh my god, I don’t know the right pronunciation of that word. The only way of avoiding embarrassment is to not say a word.
If your goal is to not learn a language, this is a very effective way to reach it. In this way you can be sure, you will not learn your target language. I would not surprise you by telling that’s not the way of to learn a foreign language. However, this approach is unfortunately very common among learners. We all prefer to avoid embarrassment and that’s why we prefer to not make mistakes.
Making mistakes is completely normal and natural. Everybody makes mistakes. First of all, children make mistakes while they learn their mother tongue. Have you ever heard about parents who corrected their children’s mistakes while they were learning their native language? Parents are happy if their children can say a word. Second, we get embarrassed because we fear other people’s opinions about us. We worry too much about it. Even if you don’t make mistakes, people will form opinions about you. And often these opinions may be negative. Don’t care about others’ opinions! Your goal is learning a language in the best way possible. Focus on your goal!
How did I learn foreign languages?
In the university I studied Turkish. I studied it for years, many years. I learned many many grammar rules, I memorized lists of words. And I knew the language very well. In theory. But when it came to practise….well, I was able to say about three words like tamam, hayir, evet and nothing more. Then I went to Turkey to study. I spent only few months there, but I learned more than I did during the study of Turkish in the university. After only one month I got enough confidence to express myself easily in different situations. Of course, the beer also helped me sometimes. Well, what happened there? Why did I learn so fast? Because I did it naturally without textbooks, without wordlists and so on. I stopped stressing about the language.
After that, it happened that I had to learn Italian because I moved to Italy. How did I approach studying? This time, I didn’t want to hear about textbooks and memorizing long wordlists. I wanted to speak from the very beginning. So, I did it. I put my knowledge (even if it was very little) into practice from the very beginning. And the miracle happened in only some months. I remember that after four months I was able to go to a job interview and speak in Italian. After four months! I could have never imagined reaching this level by studying with traditional methods, like I did with Turkish. Well, you would probably ask: ok, but what about the grammar? Without grammar it’s impossible to learn a language. Well, I took a grammar book (a very short one actually), and I read it. That’s all. It bored me after a short time, so I decided to do something else. Something that I really liked to do: watching movies in Italian! I watched a lot of movies with subtitles. But with Italian subtitles, ok? I was sure that learning the target language in the target language is the strongest learning method ever. Here you can watch my video about language learning methods. So, I watched videos and series. I tried out the new words putting them into short sentences. Did I make mistakes? Yes, many of them. But I learned a lot making mistakes. Sometimes I made mistakes consciously because I knew, I would remember it better. So, I learned Italian in a natural way. But what is more important is doing something that you really like to do to learn your language. If you like reading, read short stories or fairy tales or whatever you like. If you like watching movies, do it. You will learn much better doing what you like because it’s not boring to you. Textbooks are usually boring, that’s why it takes more time to learn a language using them.
I have been learning other languages too, but using let’s call it the ‘enjoy the language’ method.
And you? How do you learn languages? Have you ever tried the ‘enjoy the language’ method?
How to learn a language
Tarzan couldn’t speak with humans because he didn’t have a language, that’s why he decided to learn one. He went to a language teacher. The teacher immediately started to teach him grammar and how to write the words correctly. However, Tarzan didn’t understand anything from the teacher’s explanations and after a short time he lost his interest. But the teacher went on explaining the grammar and spelling rules. She was explaining so profoundly that she didn’t even realize that Tarzan had fallen asleep during the class. When she finished the lesson, she asked Tarzan to repeat what he had learned. Nothing. He had learned nothing. He was upset and disappointed. He asked the teacher not to teach him grammar and spelling, but communicating! He wanted to learn speaking! The teacher became angry and started yelling!
Teacher: ‘How dare you? If you don’t learn the grammar rules, you will not learn the language! You must learn grammar and writing! These are the basics of a language, don’t you know?’
Well, Tarzan went on studying with this traditional method for a while, though he had realized he was not learning anything. He decided to change his learning style, so he went to Glottaland to find another specialist, a ‘Glotta-teacher’.
She wasn’t teaching in a literal or a traditional sense. She wasn’t explaining grammar rules, she wasn’t correcting mistakes. She was talking and talking and talking. And Tarzan was listening and listening and listening. In the beginning she was speaking about only basic concepts with basic words, she was asking yes-no questions, and even if she didn’t get a response, she didn’t get angry. As Tarzan was advancing, she told him longer and longer stories. Tarzan was progressing very fast. After a while, Tarzan was able to ask her why her teaching method is so different from traditional methods. What is her secret? She explained it to him:
‘I taught you as I would a child. How does a child learn a language? By writing? By learning grammar rules? Definitely not! Children learn speaking first and then writing. They have a long silent period when they absorb all information about the language that they need. After that they start forming basic words, very short sentences. Why wasn’t I correcting your mistakes? Does a mother correct her child when she or he starts saying something? No! She is happy that her child is able to say even a word! Moreover, when I saw you understood enough, I started telling stories. I base my methods on how the memory works. How do you learn? What do you remember better? If I tell you that John went to the shop and bought some milk, you will probably not remember it tomorrow. But if I tell you that one day Wonderwoman went to the shop and bought some milk, but James Bond arrived and stole the milk from her, you will probably remember it better. This is the key. The stories are colorful, interesting, sometimes strange and remarkable, provocative or unusual, full of amazing characters, full of fun, but never boring! What is different, what is weird, what is unusual, your mind will retain longer.’
So, this is the story how Tarzan finally learned a human language. However, he was like a child: he had no language, no basics. He learned his first language. But he wanted to learn a second language too. However he didn’t know whether this method works for second language acquisition too. Does an adult need to learn a foreign language with traditional methods, so grammar and writing first, or better to learn speaking first like a child? What do you think?