After reaching an advanced stage of Mandarin Chinese ability I went on to study a Tibetan dialect. The Tibetan dialect was much harder to learn than Chinese and learning Chinese wasn’t easy. While learning Chinese I also taught English and discovered many of those English students didn’t know the most basic principles of foreign language learning. The language learning technique I used was simply just sticking to the basics.
The benefits of foreign language learning
Learning a foreign language is beneficial for travel, work, your love life and will undoubtedly enrich your life. The foreign language you learn will depend on your foreign language learning motivation and therefore the method that’s employed. Regardless of which foreign language you learn or the method, there are some fundamentals of foreign language learning that shouldn’t be ignored. With so many companies promising unrealistically fast learning techniques, people are overlooking the basics.
Foreign language learning essentials
Study frequently – Studying frequently in smaller amounts rather than infrequently in larger amounts is better. Ten to fifteen minutes of foreign language learning a day is better than two hours a week of foreign language learning. It is a good idea to do large language learning study sessions as well, but to maximize and accelerate your potential, frequent small amounts of foreign language learning are most effective.
Learn whole sentences – Learning complete sentences helps the foreign language learner put words in context. To learn a foreign language well write or record a sentence or phrase and repeat it many times over until it plays like a broken record. Learning one word or one sentence requires the same amount of memory effort, so get several words of the foreign language in context at the one time.
Don’t get bogged down in grammar – When I taught English in China, many of the English students knew grammar much better than I did. My English grammar is quite poor, but I can speak the language fluently. The goal of learning a foreign language is to be able to communicate. Foreign language learning requires you to speak, so start speaking and keep on speaking and the grammar will get sorted on the way.
Use a native speaker – To learn a foreign language well with good pronunciation and to learn culture and context, you must learn from native speaker. With so many great resources in today’s digital era, native speakers speaking the foreign language you are learning are accessible. Native language teachers are also important because they will teach you more than just a foreign language, they will teach you the culture of that foreign language.
Don’t ignore reading and writing – Reading is a great way to expand the vocabulary of the foreign language you are learning. By using signs, newspapers, magazines, children’s books and more, you can multiply your foreign language vocabulary rapidly. Writing can be just as important, especially if you want to learn a foreign language for work like translating.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – Be an active learner, speak up; don’t just sit back and listen. Most foreign language learners learn to listen first and some people even stay in that place for their entire lives, never able to speak a foreign language, only able to understand what is said. Foreign language learning requires making mistakes; if you’re not making mistakes you’re not getting enough practice.
Make a "toolbox" – Developing a ‘toolbox’ of words and phrases can be really useful when learning a language. Learn to say phrases like ‘could you repeat that please’, ‘could you speak a little slower’ or ‘I can only speak a little bit of Japanese’. This type of language learning toolbox decreases fear and gives you a greater sense of control.
Set realistic goals – Don’t expect to be fluent in the foreign language in a month. Although it depends on your overall long term goal and reason for learning language, but generally speaking full time study of the easier foreign languages (Indonesian and most European languages) could take as long as 6 – 12 months to arrive at an communicable level. Harder languages of Asian, Estonian origin or dialects could take anything from 2 years and up.
Get resourced – There are many resources for foreign language learning in today’s modern society that were not available to previous generations. The more foreign language learning resources you can surround yourself with the better. Make flashcards and test yourself, put little signs around your house, eg. Write on a piece of paper ‘where is the toilet?’ and put it on the toilet door or next to your toilet.
I have included other foreign language learning resources for foreign language learning in the list below.
Foreign language learning resources
- Get books, CD’s and MP3’s
- Computers – use the Internet and software programs and get an online pen pal who is a native speaker of the foreign language you are learning
- Listen to foreign radio broadcasts; there are even foreign language learning radio broadcasts aimed at foreign language learners such as your self.
- Record and watch foreign broadcasted news on television.
- Read children’s books in the foreign language you are learning.
- Make flashcards to test yourself.
- Put pictures and signs around the house with your native language and the foreign language you are learning.
- Buy a foreign language electronic dictionary. This can be great to take on the road to revise or test yourself while your riding the train or in your meal break at work.
- Use a digital recorder and record a list of phrases with a native speaker of the foreign language you are learning
Foreign language learning should be fun
Foreign language learning can be great fun and a great way to meet new people and broaden your horizons. When your language learning motivation dies down, make it fun again. Don’t be afraid to put yourself in awkward situations and always remember to have a good laugh at yourself. You will feel like a fool and you will make mistakes, but at the end of the day it will be worth it.
Rhys Emmanuel - Living and doing development work as a medical professional in Asia has given me unique insight into many areas of life and work and a ...
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