Perhaps you've had the impulse to learn a language or have been pondering the idea for some time and have decided to to pursue your curiosity. In this article I wish to convey to you some foresight on your new adventure as a language learner. I feel this to be important as many people begin to learn a language clueless to what they are actually doing. Without the proper beforehand knowledge on how to go about learning a language, the vast majority of people are inclined become frustrated and give up.
So, what exactly am I committing to? A question which few ask before diving headfirst into a vocabulary book. The answer is: life. Some people are illused into believing that they just have to spend half an hour a week for a couple months et bientôt, ils sont les masters de la langue! Others may buckle down in studies for eight hours a day for six months and emerge from their great den/man cave and instantly become [insert nationality here], only to be completely unintelligible. These methods of course are at least better than giving up, however these are not exactly the demands of being multilingual. From my own experience it is simply impossible to stop using a language for more than two and a half months without massive drops in fluent communication. This means if you decide to learn a language you must continue to use it even after "you learn it"; this is a life long endeavour.
Great! If you managed to continue reading then you are ready to take the long term commitment, but of course it isn't exclusive to the long haul. While I will go deeper into consecrating time for learning in future posts, I will sum up the most important point. You may need to shorten time blocks to fit in studying however, avoid large amounts of time, instead your schedule should allow for short frequent studying before and after activities ideally.
Often over looked is ranges of learning methods; studying from books, listening to scripts, computer programs, media and face to face. All of these fashions are best used in combination, the problem is how easy for a learner to get in to a trap of using some and not all of the methods. Focusing on your preferred study methods can cause frustration if another skill* is called into action.
Lastly and finfine a surprising way to loose your confidence is peer pressure and it must be delt with.
Language learning peer pressure comes in two forms; questioning and mocking. Questioning is when someone cannot understand why you have chosen a particular language; this can be crushing if it comes from a native speaker. The second "mocking" peer pressure is when if the learner takes corrections badly and believes that they aren't progressing, being offensive to natives or unable to speak perfectly
Before you begin learning your second language you must take a cold hard look at the above points above. It is easy to think you will not be affected by the these points however, these are still experienced by even the most experienced in the field.
*Reading/Speaking/Listening/Writing
So, what exactly am I committing to? A question which few ask before diving headfirst into a vocabulary book. The answer is: life. Some people are illused into believing that they just have to spend half an hour a week for a couple months et bientôt, ils sont les masters de la langue! Others may buckle down in studies for eight hours a day for six months and emerge from their great den/man cave and instantly become [insert nationality here], only to be completely unintelligible. These methods of course are at least better than giving up, however these are not exactly the demands of being multilingual. From my own experience it is simply impossible to stop using a language for more than two and a half months without massive drops in fluent communication. This means if you decide to learn a language you must continue to use it even after "you learn it"; this is a life long endeavour.
Great! If you managed to continue reading then you are ready to take the long term commitment, but of course it isn't exclusive to the long haul. While I will go deeper into consecrating time for learning in future posts, I will sum up the most important point. You may need to shorten time blocks to fit in studying however, avoid large amounts of time, instead your schedule should allow for short frequent studying before and after activities ideally.
Often over looked is ranges of learning methods; studying from books, listening to scripts, computer programs, media and face to face. All of these fashions are best used in combination, the problem is how easy for a learner to get in to a trap of using some and not all of the methods. Focusing on your preferred study methods can cause frustration if another skill* is called into action.
Lastly and finfine a surprising way to loose your confidence is peer pressure and it must be delt with.
Language learning peer pressure comes in two forms; questioning and mocking. Questioning is when someone cannot understand why you have chosen a particular language; this can be crushing if it comes from a native speaker. The second "mocking" peer pressure is when if the learner takes corrections badly and believes that they aren't progressing, being offensive to natives or unable to speak perfectly
Before you begin learning your second language you must take a cold hard look at the above points above. It is easy to think you will not be affected by the these points however, these are still experienced by even the most experienced in the field.
*Reading/Speaking/Listening/Writing
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