Learning a new language- a few tips
Learning a new language is not an easy task. It takes time and requires perseverance.
There is no magical ingredient that will make you fluent in a language overnight.
In fact, if there is one magical ingredient, it is your dedication to work over time.
So, yes, I say it again: learning a new language is not easy.
But it does not mean that it is not possible.
And it also does not mean that there is no fun involved in learning a new language.
Many people speak a second and even third language. So why shouldn't you?
Here are a few tips that I give to my students when they start learning Japanese, English or French with our company:
1- Taking many notes will hinder progress.
This is one of the reasons why many students give up learning: too many notes will cause to feel as if you are drowning.
What happens when you take notes?
The information that went to your brain (and was supposed to stay there) is actually going down your arm and is transformed into ink that dries forever on your notebook page. If you are not reading your notes in between classes, most part of the information will be lost forever.
Your notebook is like a toilet, and your pen is the flush.
And even if you are the kind of student that reads his or her notes after class, what will happen after you have been learning a language for a few years?
You will have thousands of notes and you will probably spend more time trying to remember on which page you wrote this or that information, than trying to remember the information itself.
Too many notes will make you drown, and learning will lose its fun.
If there is something to write, it's the sentence pattern that will help you remember the structure of a sentence, and then you should practice that structure using different nouns and verbs.
But that's it.
2- Spending too much time memorizing vocabulary will also hinder your progress.
When you were a baby and your dad asked you if you like milk, did you have to practice the word "milk" ten times a day until you could remember what your dad was asking you from the start?
Obviously, an adult's brain is not as malleable as a baby's brain, so, let me give you another example: when a new movie is coming out on screen, do you have to practice its title ten times a day in front of a mirror until you remember it? Do you have to write down "Leonardo Di Caprio" every day until you remember the name of the actor in Titanic?
Certainly not.
You just remember it because you like movies, because you want to watch it, and probably because you hear the titles or names many times a day through TV and your friends.
The same concept applies to vocabulary; if you use new vocabulary with a simple structure and thought process, you will subconsciously remember the vocabulary and its use.
The fun of learning will do the rest for you.
Yes, it is true that you can memorize terminological words by using flashcards. These are words that have a specific definition that does not need to be integrated in a sentence to reveal their meanings.
In this particular situation, we recommend using flashcard software such as
Anki, which will help you organize your studies.
By using a flashcard software, you will not waste time studying vocabulary that you have already memorized, and you will not have thousands of flashcards. Remember rule number one? Too many notes and flashcards will make you lose your joy of learning, and you will eventually drown.
If you still want to remember other vocabulary using flashcards, don't write words only: use them in a context.
For instance, let's say you want to remember the word: "evolution."
If you just write "evolution" in the targeted language, there are great chances that you will never be able to use it in an appropriate manner.
However, if you write on your flashcard:
"The specific evolution of each region in Japan",
then you know when and how to use it in its appropriate context. You will be able to say "the different evolution of each country in the world," "the fast evolution of dance in Greenland"...
By using all the words and adjectives you know, you will be able to say hundreds of sentences just by remembering one.
3- Do not try to memorize sentences; try to understand and then practice
Imagine that I give you a manual that explains the rules and strategies of soccer. You have one week to remember every page in the manual.
The next week, I will ask you to play as a defensive midfielder in a live game.
You probably will not last five minutes on the field.
The next week, I will offer you a manual that explains how to be a pilot. You have one week to remember it. Then you are to fly the new A330 the following week.
What will happen?
You are going to crash. Not on the ground, but somewhere in the airport because you will not even be able to get the plane off of the ground.
When I was in junior high school, and I had to study Spanish, the instructor made us write verbs conjugations every day. When I think back on this it seems so ridiculous. It never helped me remember how to conjugate verbs in Spanish even after three years of study.
When I finally understood, for instance, that verbs ending in -ar have their subjunctive ending in -e, and verbs ending in -er and -ir have their subjunctive ending in -a, in other words that each group of verbs switch tracks, I was able to understand in 5 minutes what 3 years of study could not teach me. And I was able to use the language for the first time in my life.
It is pointless to try to remember all of the rules. Try to understand what they mean, how they work. Once you have formed an understanding, practice them until they become a part of you.
Don't try to memorize how to spell the word "WHY," try to understand its meaning. And then you will naturally understand "HOW" and "WHY."
4- Make tons of mistakes!
It is important for you to make mistakes so that you know where your weaknesses are. If you are looking for perfection when you are doing your homework, for instance, and you are constantly looking up words in the dictionary, you will not make much progress.
5- Never underestimate yourself!
Are you not a genius? Neither am I!
If only geniuses could speak multiple languages, all the countries of the World would be at war with each other everyday. (well, we are not far from that now though...)
You do not need to be super smart to speak a second language.
Are you making the same mistakes over and over again?
It's OK! It's even normal. Eventually, you will learn from these mistakes and evolve from them.
Are you finding it difficult to remember vocabulary?
This is also normal. Keep learning new sentence structures and the vocabulary will slide into place.
Trust in yourself and in your potential.
6- Have fun while learning!
Do you feel tired of learning? Do you feel that you are not making any progress?
Stop everything. Just leave it for an hour, a day, a week...
...and get back to it when you are in a better shape, when you feel like doing it.
You can't be happy and feel wonderful on a daily basis. We all have our ups and our downs. So do your study habits when learning a foreign language.
Learning must not be a burden. It must be fun.
Every time you learn a new sentence you must maintain the mentality that you are progressing. You must say to yourself, "Yes! I can finally express myself now!"
Try to think in this way, and you will definitely enjoy learning.
These are rules that we have come to understand throughout our years of learning experience.
And of course, we also give them to our students when we teach them. Not as rules, but as guidelines. Everyone has a different way of learning and this process must be respected. You cannot force someone into doing something that he or she does not want to do.
Never forget, the entire learning process must be challenging in a fun way.
