Learning Foreign Languages: Part Two

I have written it in the previous article, the most important thing when learning a foreign language is speaking! In general, we can say it is practice. When you study a language at university, you learn all about the grammar, rules, exceptions, local differences and dialects. But to speak well a language, you don’t have to do all this.

Instead of reading and memorizing rules, people shall watch movies, read books, talk to people, listen to music and write as much as they can.

Why are these activities so important and why are they more useful then learning vocabulary? Because if you learn vocabulary by heart without ever using it, and unless you have really exceptional memory, you will forget all the words sooner or later. However, if you go one step further and use every word in several sentences several times the word stay fixed in your head. It’s better to write the few sentences and read them once in a while (in public transport for example) but if you just repeat it in your head, it’s still very good.

• Watching movies - watching movies helps in several ways.
  
  • First – you get to understand some bits of the culture, you see the humour, the ambiance of the environment.
  • Second – you see the people speaking and you can read their lips to better understand.
  • Third – even if you don’t understand every word, you can figure out the whole meaning and don’t miss the whole point of the movie.
  • Four – if you watch a movie several times, you get to understand better and you can memorize some expressions or phrases.

• Reading books – replaces the grammar by showing good language style and structure.
  • At the start, you don’t have to read difficult books, there are usually simplified versions or multilingual books. (Warning: multilingual books entice to read the mother tongue version!)
  • You get wider vocabulary (Tip: write down only the words that appear more often, you find interesting or are essential for understanding the point of the article or book! Do not try to translate every single word because you will not concentrate on the book itself and will miss the whole point of it.)
  • Never read with a dictionary in your hand! It distracts you.

• Speaking – is the best way to practice what you have learned. 
  • Local people appreciate it if you make at least some effort. It does not matter you don’t say everything correctly. On the contrary, sometimes it sounds cute if you don’t pronounce perfectly. (But watch out, sometimes miss pronouncing changes the whole meaning of the phrase – you surely know the joke about Italian guy in Malta:-) ).
  • Sometimes, speaking common language sounds much better then formal “book” language. People don’t speak formal language in everyday lives.
  • Getting in touch with local people also allows you to understand the culture and make new friends.

• Listening to music – with simple texts, you can easily learn the vocabulary by humming the melody and you can explore new styles.

• Writing – helps practising what you have learned. 
  • The best way is to get a pen friend. There are some specialised web sites where you may meet people who wants to learn your language and whose language you want to learn as well. 
  • You can also start your blog and write your ideas in foreign language. It does not matter it’s not absolutely correct. The more you learn the better texts you will write and then you will be also able to correct what you have written before.

Good luck!