Since this blog has just started, why not start these tips at the beginning of the language learning process? Before opening your first book, before listening to your first cassette or CD, before uttering your first word, you’ve got to start out with the right attitude.
Granted, if you’ve already opened, listened, or uttered, it’s still not too late to improve your attitude. That is, if it’s holding you back.
I won’t lie: learning a language is a lot of work. And it can be challenging at times, even for those of us who take immense pleasure in learning foreign languages. But it can be done.
I hear people say that they have no head for languages, or that they just can’t learn one even if they wanted to. Of course, they fail to take into consideration the fact that they’re explaining this in a foreign language. At least, it was foreign to them at one time.
I know what you’re thinking: learning a language as a child is easy compared to learning as an adult. Well, there’s some truth to that. Studies suggest that our brains are best geared towards learning a language before puberty. (I’ve heard different age ranges thrown around. I recently read that the best time to learn a language is from two to eleven years old.)
But just because it may be harder to learn after that point doesn’t make it impossible. Far from it. It just might take a little more effort. Millions of products (books, DVDs, software) are geared towards adults, thousands of college and adult ed classes are available to the willing post-adolescent student, kerjillions of websites providing foreign language lessons are cluttering up cyberspace waiting to be surfed and viewed. (Some such sites and products will be reviewed as this blog progresses.) Can all of them be a waste of time? Surely some of them are, but some of them do work.
Now you’re thinking, “Well, learning a foreign language takes a lot of time and effort. There’s no way I could learn one as an adult, especially with my schedule. Even if I had the time, I’d never learn it all.”
My answer to that: You’re right.
Learning an entire language takes an entire lifetime. And even then, you’ll never learn it all. Languages are always changing; some words become obsolete, new words are being formed. Say “23 skidoo” to a teenager and he’ll tell you that you’re “straight up whack.” (Actually, I think “straight up whack” is becoming an outdated term. Ah, kids and their kooky slang these days. Shizzle to the foreign lizzle.)
And generally a language’s entire vocabulary is too large for one person to learn. English has allegedly over 170,000 words (according to the Oxford English Dictionary’s list of entries), excluding obsolete words, derivative words, technical terms, and place names. (Check out this Wikipedia article for more info.)
If English weren’t your native tongue and you decided at the age of 20 that you wanted to “learn” it, you’d have to learn at least 9 words a day until you were 70 years old, and you still wouldn’t have it all down.
Yet despite all that, you (whether or not you’re a native English speaker) have understood just about everything in this post, yes? So maybe “learning a language” doesn’t need to mean “learning an entire language.” In fact, if it makes you feel better, think of it as “studying a language.” There. That sounds easier. So think of this tip and all that follow as “language studying tips.” But I’ll continue to use “learn(ing)” as well. You and I will know what that really means.
So how much “studying” do you need to do before it pays off? It depends on what you want to know. Do you want to be able to talk to anyone about any possible subject? Do you want to be able to ask for directions and order food during a week-long vacation? The more you want, the more time and energy you need to invest. But it can be done.
Now you’re thinking, “But I don’t need to learn a foreign language. Everyone speaks English.” Well, yes and no. The truth is that English can be found almost everywhere around the world...in a sense. Last summer I went to Italy, and to my surprise, many people I met had studied English…but they couldn’t speak it. They knew the theory behind it, but they never used it. Had I not studied any Italian, I would have had to rely on Lucia, my bilingual host, for back-and-forth translations. And for me, that kills the fun of meeting foreign friends.
As far as needing a foreign language, that’s generally true: you don’t “need” one. You won’t die without knowing one. But if you’re reading this, you probably have a reason to learn at least one foreign language. Perhaps you “need” one for your job. Or maybe you’ll “need” to be able to speak to family members you’ll be visiting in the old country. Or maybe you “need” to know enough German or French to fulfill your college language requirement. So now it’s a matter of obligation more than choice, eh? Well, we’ll find ways to deal with that shortly.
For now, just remember these points:
- you can learn a fair amount of a language at any age,
- you only need to know a small amount before you can use it
- there are about 2,374,882,014,556 resources available to you that can help you learn a language (number is approximate)
- as long as you commit to it, even just to learning a little bit, you’ll succeed
OK, I’ll spare you any further pep talking. More tips coming up!
Comments