How do you make sure you set yourself up for success?
The most important aspect of language learning is a solid understanding of how a sentence is formed and how we can alter it. Being able to serve our own language needs is an incredibly useful skill to master, when approaching a new language. In other words- focus on learning only what you really need. People often dwell on what they perceive as “basic vocabulary” and spend far too much time memorising numbers, days of the week, greetings, directions etc.
What do I suggest you do instead?
To set yourself for success, do these three things before you do anything else:
1) Engage your analytical skills. Accept Grammar and Syntax as your best friends. Look at the sentences in your own language. Make sure you understand what you are saying and how. Write a short paragraph about how your day went today. Then look at it. What can you see? Can you safely identify a verb? Do you know what an infinitive is and how to turn “I AM” into “TO BE”?
2) Engage your ears. Listen to the language you want to learn as much as you can – you are learning your vocabulary this way! It is much easier to later learn the meaning of a word you have heard before, rather than trying to memorise both; the meaning and the sound. And when you listen, listen for patterns. If you listen for patterns, rather than just new vocabulary, you will be surprised how, instead of just words, you will start hearing verb tenses, plurals, questions and positive or negative answers to these questions.
3) Engage your mouth. New languages, new muscle movements. All of the muscles on your face will need to do new, often unusual things. This might feel unnatural and odd. The sooner, the louder and the more you speak the faster you will become fluid. Practicing speaking aloud will boost your confidence and improve your pronunciation. Find a podcast, movie or even a song. Play, listen, pause, repeat, and then again play, listen, pause, repeat. Do this every day.
Learning a foreign language is not a random process, based on flashcards, drills and repetition. It can not be done thought technology, apps and lately, AI. It is a skilful process. It requires thought, intelligence and enormous amount of focus. A level of focus that engages your brain fully and stretches it often beyond the imaginable. A true polyglot will always put a lot of thought into their learning and will know exactly WHAT they are doing when they learn new languages.
