Just a birds have wings, man has language. The wings give the bird its peculiar aptitude for aerial locomotion. Language enables man’s intelligence and passions to acquire their peculiar characters of intellect and sentiment.
G.H Lewes, The Study of Psychology
No human being is foreign to language. language is hard-wired into our brains. Most of our interactions with others, our relations, spouses, children, colleagues, associates, friends, and even total strangers are through language; we talk. We talk face to face, over the phone, chat, text, or talk through apps and social media. It is a world of language we live in.
Natural and easy though our native language seems to be, we often feel intimidated at the prospect of learning a second or foreign language, especially if that need or desire occurs later in life, in adulthood.
As children, we instinctively knew how to acquire our native language. Every baby and toddler is an amateur linguist, receiving random input and managing to subconsciously formulate grammar rules that permit him/her to communicate using the language effectively.
This process is impossible to replicate in learning a second (foreign) language, unless it happens very early in life, in which case it is similar to the native language acquisition and the child becomes bilingual.
In the case of a foreign language, the learner has to deal with multiple levels of difficulty. The sounds of the new language are awkward and strange, the words make no sense, you do not understand grammar or syntax, where goes what, and you don’t know the social status of a word or a sentence, whether it is formal or slang, appropriate or inappropriate.
Learning a foreign language is an awe-inspiring endeavor, an initiation ritual to a code, which, when mastered, opens the doors to a whole new world of communication with new people, getting in touch with foreign cultures, new and exciting opportunities on both a personal and professional level.
Because learning a foreign language can be a daunting task, many, especially inexperienced learners can be easily discouraged if they are not prepared.
In this blog post, we will break down the process of what it takes to learn a foreign language successfully, in a step-by-step process.
STEP 1
Reflect on your motivation and incentives. Try to assess yourself thoroughly. Factors to consider:
- Age and health
- Character traits such as patience and persistence
- Prior experience in language learning
- General studies/education
- Extrinsic or intrinsic motivation
- Monolingual or bilingual
- Experience with foreign cultures
Linguistic and cognitive psychology research has shown again and again that the learner’s motivation and attitude towards the task of learning a foreign language is the most critical factor for success.
Studying and the effort it requires are often associated with negative emotions, such as anxiety, boredom, isolation, anticipation, despair, and frustration.
The motivation and attitude of the language learner toward studying the target language influence their emotions and determine the outcome. The outcome provides the feedback to the learners’ efforts.
We focus on motivation and attitude because you will have more chances to learn a foreign language if it is fun. There are many creative ways to make learning fun! Immerse yourself in the target culture, watch movies, and TV shows, and listen to songs in the target language. Find out how to make language learning fun again!
STEP 2
Set clear, achievable, and measurable goals that align with your motivation (eg pass an exam, hold a casual conversation, travel to another country, etc).
Journals and apps help with tracking your progress and staying motivated.
STEP 3
Choose the right resources
Textbooks and Courses: Select quality textbooks and online courses that suit your learning style.
Apps and Tools: Utilize language learning apps like Duolingo, Babbel, or Rosetta Stone. Another popular app is memrise, which uses interactive games, flashcards, and exercises to help learners memorize grammar and vocabulary. Learners can also use online dictionaries and thesauri, such as Linguee or Reverso to look up words and phrases in their target language.
For more immersive learning experiences, learners can use language exchange websites like italki or Conversation Exchange to practice speaking with native speakers. They can also watch TV shows and movies in their target language with English subtitles, listen to podcasts or music, and read books or articles in the target language. Furthermore, learners can use flashcards and other memory aids like Anki to help them memorize new vocabulary and grammar rules. These tools and resources can be used in combination to create a comprehensive language learning plan that suits individual learners’ needs and preferences.
Native Content: Watch movies, listen to music, and read books in the target language to immerse yourself.
STEP 4
Build a strong foundation
Master Pronunciation: When we hear a language we do not understand it sounds like gibberish. We do not know where one word ends and another begins. Even then we do not know the meaning. Practice the sounds and intonation of the language to improve your accent. Human beings are capable of a vast variety of sounds and vocalizations. Each language uses a relatively small subset of those. Knowing a language means, first of all, knowing what sounds there are in the language.
Learn Basic Vocabulary: Start with common words and phrases used in everyday conversation. Practice using a variety of resources. Apps, tutors native speakers, books, games are all good starting points for beginners.
Understand Grammar Basics: Learn the basic grammar rules to form simple sentences. Learning grammar rules means knowing how to put words together, to form phrases and sentences to express yourself. Depending on the target language and its relation to your native language certain aspects of a foreign language grammar may be unfamiliar and prove challenging.
STEP 5
Practice Regularly
Daily Practice: Dedicate a specific time each day for language practice, even if it’s just 15-30 minutes.
Use Flashcards: Use flashcards or apps like Anki to memorize vocabulary and phrases.
Practice Speaking: Speak out loud, practice with language partners, or use language exchange platforms.
STEP 6
Immerse Yourself
Engage with Native Speakers: Join language exchange communities, attend meetups, or find a language partner online.
Consume Media: Watch TV shows, listen to podcasts, and follow social media accounts in the target language.
Travel or Study Abroad: If possible, spend time in a country where the language is spoken to experience full immersion.
STEP 7
Employ learning techniques and strategies
Employing the right learning strategies will make your language learning experience far more efficient and satisfying, protecting you at the same time from frustration and burnout. Learning is brain exercise and as such it needs to be done in moderation by a beginner until the network connections of the brain become stronger.
There are a variety of learning strategies such as chunking, active recall, and spaced repetition to build a strong foundation.
In any case, you need to continually assess yourself, your motivation and your goals.
- Do not bite more than you can chew. Knowledge and brain cell connections build up slowly over time so you need to be patient and persistent. Study a single piece of information that you need to know and focus on it.
- Practice active recall to put this single piece of information to long-term memory. Practice on your own, by saying it out loud, writing it down in your own words, teaching it to someone (if available), writing a summary in your own words, use the closed book technique, draw diagrams.
- Do not hurry, mastery cannot be forced. Progress happens in small steps or increments, and you will need to spend time in the plateau where nothing seems to happen, but a lot of activity takes place beneath the surface. Keep practicing.
- Similar to the above, protect yourself and do not overreach above your level. Trying to have a conversation with a native speaker before a solid grasp of basic vocabulary and grammar and enough practice in speaking and pronunciation, will probably not teach you anything, will intensify your anxiety, and in the worst case destroy your confidence and make you quit. You can make progress only through meaningful interactions and activities.
- Review your materials and resources frequently but in increasingly longer intervals. This will help solidify your Knowledge in your long-term memory.
STEP 8
Remember to stay consistent and patient
Be Consistent: Make language learning a daily habit to see continuous improvement.
Be Patient: Understand that learning a language takes time and effort. Celebrate small victories and keep pushing forward.
Stay Motivated: Remind yourself of your goals and the reasons why you started learning the language.
STEP 9
Finally, find a way to be creative.
It may be cool to say “I can speak another language” but the process can be hard and demanding. It has to do with all the above steps. Consider your motivation. If you have to do it for some outside reason, then maybe you do not want to do it. Then, it is easier to become frustrated and quit.
Try to make foreign language learning fun! Unleash your creativity, do crazy stuff, make it interesting to you. Learning can be boring at times, and those times will inevitably happen, but it most certainly can be fun and interesting!