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Top Ten Language Learning Mistakes | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| cordelia0507 Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5838 days ago 1473 posts - 2176 votes  Speaks: Swedish* Studies: German, Russian | Message 1 of 51 01 December 2009 at 10:19pm | IP Logged | ||
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I am interested in what mistakes people have made when they have attempted to study a language on a course, in school or individually.
I don't think that there is any "perfect" method for learning languages. On the other hand -- it is possible that there are some truly bad idea methods / approaches / tools etc -- things that most, if not all learners should avoid. What have you done / tried that later proved to be useless or counterproductive? Mine (this was back when I was in school) 1) Demanding Logic where there is none. Believing that I had to "understand" why grammar and spelling is the way it is. Allowing myself to be angry because languages aren't logical like mathematics or computing. Waiting for a "revelation" that transforms the grammar to a logical algorithm that can be grasped and processed. Basically, the trick is to accept that it doesn't make sense, memorise it anyway and move on... Eventually you will learn, even if it's illogical. 2) "Cute accessories overload...." Getting distracted by the props: Spending far too much times on having neat organised notebooks, stationary, colourful pens.... Hello Kitty, lol!!! 3) "Pride" / "Perfectionism"-- Thinking that you shouldn't use the language until you can speak almost like a native because it's so embarassing to make mistakes... 4) Plus lately: I think I'm addicted to "Anki"... I think I'm using it too much. 5) Buying too many expensive text and reference books that I never really use... I always buy too many books - it's a bad habit. Having a book about something doesn't mean that you know it. It's better to borrow the book at the library and read it, than to own the book but not read it. Keep the purchases to a minimum. It's the study time that counts. What mistakes have you made? Edited by cordelia0507 on 02 December 2009 at 12:40am 12 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cainntear Pentaglot Senior Member Scotland linguafrankly.blogsp Joined 6011 days ago 4399 posts - 7687 votes Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*, French, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic Studies: Catalan, Italian, German, Irish, Welsh | Message 2 of 51 01 December 2009 at 10:52pm | IP Logged | ||
I'd generalise that to two things: 4) Playing on your strengths as a means of avoiding accepting your weaknesses, rather than addressing your weaknesses head on. (Definitely guilty of this one.) 5) Score fixation You want to measure your progress, but because "language ability" is a very hard thing to measure, you end up going down an artificial path simply to "score". I've tended to avoid this in language, but in essays... I usually start by writing a couple of hundred words of waffle just to get my word-count up. Guilty. 6) Not accepting the least worst option. Unlike Cordelia, I believe in the idea of the perfect course. Sadly most courses are nothing like it. I find it hard to force myself to work with what's available and tend to whinge instead about what isn't available. Not a useful learning strategy, really. 6 persons have voted this message useful | |||
 Iversen Super Polyglot Moderator Denmark berejst.dk Joined 6703 days ago 9078 posts - 16473 votes Speaks: Danish*, French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Esperanto, Romanian, Catalan Studies: Afrikaans, Greek, Norwegian, Russian, Serbian, Icelandic, Latin, Irish, Lowland Scots, Indonesian, Polish, Croatian Personal Language Map | Message 4 of 51 01 December 2009 at 11:21pm | IP Logged | ||
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I couldn't find comprehensible spoken Russian videos about themes that interested me (literature doesn't qualify, and the GLOSS texts were too difficult at that stage), so I have heard far too little of the language. And this means that I have started to think in the language far far too late. You don't get a natural relationship with a language when you mistreat it like that.
I partly solved a similar problem in Modern Greek by translating a whole book about Rhodos and parts of a book about Delphoi, but I have not been able to spend as much time on Russian, and therefore my idiomatic 'feel' for Russian is still limited. But it is just a matter of time, and even Russian will yield in the end. The funny thing is that Serbian (and Croatian) which I only started to study two months ago is threatening to catch up with my Russian, in the sense that I already now understand almost as much from a typical magazine or internet article in Serbian or Croat as I do from a similar Russian one. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Gusutafu Senior Member Sweden Joined 5521 days ago 655 posts - 1039 votes Speaks: Swedish* | Message 5 of 51 01 December 2009 at 11:49pm | IP Logged | ||
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I think Cordelia's number 3 above is the largest single obstacle for most people. If you don't worry about getting it 100% right all the time, you'll increase your opportunities for practice hundredfold. I know some French, and I can read books in some subjects written in it, but wouldn't be able to order an entrecote in it. On the other hand, when I lived in China I somehow didn't worry about this at all, with the result that I was able to start conversing within days. I suppose it is easier to throw your pride overboard when you are an obvious stranger anyway. In France I fit in until I open my mouth.
Another thing would be to focus too much on the written language. I advocate learning to speak before you tackle writing, especially if the spelling is complicated or very different from your own language. Some would say that you will risk getting stuck with the wrong pronunciation, but I believe that it's worse to be stuck with trying to find out "how to pronounce this letter". (You shouldn't think of it as pronouncing letters, writing is just a way to record speech, not the other way around. If you use Assimil for example, first listen through the lesson several times without looking at the transcript, then check how to write the words you just heard. As to point 1, it is not really true that there is no logic. For example: close to all, if not actually all, sound changes have been completely systematic and have logical explainations. English spelling as an example is indeed logical, but perhaps the logic isn't immediately apparent. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| irrationale Tetraglot Senior Member China Joined 6050 days ago 669 posts - 1023 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog Studies: Ancient Greek, Japanese | Message 6 of 51 02 December 2009 at 12:39am | IP Logged | ||
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Learning a language not based on a true desire to speak and communicate with people, better yourself as a human being, but one's fantasy of what one would be like be fluent in another language. How intelligent they would appear, how debonair, multicultural etc, when they are "fluent".
Learning a language based on the fantasy "coolness" factor, the stereotype that is assigned to it and the culture, rather than actually expanding your mind and destroying that stereotype. Basically having the consumer mindset of a language shopper when choosing a language. This is the primary mistake of all failures, while having a true desire to cultivate your mind and spirit is the source of all success. 14 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| cordelia0507 Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5838 days ago 1473 posts - 2176 votes Speaks: Swedish* Studies: German, Russian | Message 7 of 51 02 December 2009 at 12:49am | IP Logged | ||
Irrationale's points were great, I thought... Chinese has that effect on me.. It just seems so cool and chic to be able to speak it fluently... In reality I couldn't imagine living in China or being any kind of Chinese scholar...
Oh - you believe in "the perfect course" (holy grail..) that explains your passion for learning methods. Footnote - there is something very close to a perfect language course. At least a course that has that repuation, It's a language school in Tours, in France. I have forgotten what it's called but several friends of mine did a term there and went from useless to excellent at French. Everything about it was excellent according to what I heard - books, teachers etc It's in some kind of old country house or castle and it's supposed to be the ultimate French course... Perhaps someone heard of it. (residential course). Edited by cordelia0507 on 02 December 2009 at 1:05am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| global_gizzy Senior Member United States maxcollege.blogspot. Joined 5703 days ago 275 posts - 310 votes Studies: Spanish | Message 8 of 51 02 December 2009 at 1:39am | IP Logged | ||
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cordellia: http://www.cle.fr/ -- Could that possibly be the link to the school? I remember reading about a school in Tours France once in an article, at least I think that I did. When I read your post it seemed familiar to me and thats the top result from a quick google search.
One (of the very many) mistakes that I tend to make about language is undervaluing the importance of the written word. I'm always trying to find someone to teach me HOW to read a language (French, Italian, Spanish and Arabic) but I dont care too much about how to write it. Or should I say that I didn't care that much. I've learned better these past several weeks that while speaking and understanding are the MOST important aspects of a living, reading and writing are also VERY, VERY important and I'm getting better at spelling in Spanish, and can write some short sentences. I want to work on how to really write so I'll be practicing maybe paragraphs next semester. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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