Introverts and Extroverts (General discussion) Language Learning Forum

Introverts and Extroverts
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Language Learning Forum : General discussion

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Darklight1216
Diglot
Senior Member
United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 4878 days ago
411 posts - 639 votes

Speaks: English*, French
Studies: German

Message 57 of 59

18 December 2010 at 5:28am | IP Logged

I'm defintely an introvert. I'd much rather go home and read (or listen to my Pimsleur CD) than disco or whatever. For the sake of learning French, I'd like to get a Skype buddy or have the boldness to walk up to a stranger and start conversing, but I don't know how to take the plunge.

Iversen wrote:

Crafedog gives some sound advice about inner monologues. Let me just add a few points.

An inner monologue is an extremely fast way of finding out whether you have a hole in your vocabulary or store of expressions. So if you several times wonder how to say something then it would be practical always to carry a small hardcover notebook and a pencil to jot down what you need to look up. I say notebook and not dictionary because you get more information from looking things up in a large dictionary than in a tiny one, you have more time to search and you stand a better chance of remembering the things you find. Well, it is OK also to carry a small dictionary around, and when I'm on travel I often do so - but with more than one target language to tend to it becomes impossible to carry enough dictionaries around. Maybe an electronic gadget will serve that purpose better than paperbased dictionaries, but even then I would make a note of what I had to look up for later use.

Second: a total novice can also have an inner monologue, even though it is restricted to short fragments like "There is a green tree", "I must leave the bus now". And even "there is a ???? tree" is better than no monologue at all. I'm not that worried about fixating errors because normally you know when you are on thin ice. The problem is rather that you stick to a small number of expressions. And that's one of the reasons you have to do a lot of intensive work on genuine texts so that you can extend your range of expressions.

Third: Your inner monologue shouldn't consist in formulating something and then translate it. Do your thinking entirely in the target language if possible. In practice you may have to formulate your lacunes in your native tongue (what else could you write in that notebook I mentioned?), but the idea is certainly not to reinforce a bad habit.

Some persons claim not to have an inner monologue. I have no idea what they do instead, but I guess they have some alternative strategies.

Thanks alot for that advice. I'm going to try the notebook thing. I guess, I'll have to find a good dictionary. Sorry for being off topic, but if anyone wants to recommend one, I'm all eyes.

Perhaps those people without an inner dialogue prefer to speak alot to themselves, or maybe they don't know what "inner dialogue" means.

Edited by Darklight1216 on 18 December 2010 at 5:29am
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starrye
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4872 days ago
172 posts - 280 votes

Speaks: English*
Studies: Japanese

Message 58 of 59

22 December 2010 at 4:49pm | IP Logged

Wow, I'm glad to see this topic here. I agree with everyone that there's a difference between being introverted and being shy, but unfortunately for me I happen to be both. Yes, I do think it has made my language learning much more difficult. I am painfully shy. So the idea of walking up to a stranger and trying to converse with them in a foreign language terrifies me. Why shouldn't it? Doing this in my own native language scares me already! But there are a lot of things in life worth doing that involve facing your fears and dealing with things that make you uncomfortable. This is no different. I suppose I do see it as a form of personal growth, in that sense. It's only a limitation if you make it one.

Personally, I deal with this problem by trying to establish friendships with a select few language exchange partners I can trust. I have trouble speaking to random people. So the obvious solution here is to take the "random" out of the equation and convert strangers into non strangers, right? If that means I have to spend a while talking to them in English first, or indirectly through text and email, then so be it. Then I'll just tell them honestly up front "hey, I want to try talking to you in your language but I'm very shy about it, so please be gentle!" Generally I find people tend to be more sympathetic and understanding if they can relate to where you are coming from.

Secondly, not all native speakers are created equal. Part of the "friends first" method is just so that you can weed out people who share your interests and those who don't. When you find someone you "click with" you'll naturally want to talk to them anyway. So that's another advantage friends have over random strangers.

Third, and I'm not sure if this is just my very limited experience with men in my target language, but I tend to find language exchange with the opposite sex slightly easier for some reason. I don't know why, but my male partners tend to be a little bit more patient with me, and willing to help. Maybe it's the stereotypical "damsel in distress" effect, but I find men are also a bit more likely to initiate things first and talk about themselves. On the other hand, female partners I've had tend to be either too intense (i.e. they want to chat often and a lot).... or else they are just as shy as I am and we get nothing done!

Sometimes you have to go about things in an indirect and roundabout way too. I don't like bars and direct conversations with strangers. And I feel weird trying to solicit restaurant workers for language practice, when I know they are busy and just trying to do their job. But there are other ways. For example, a local woman in my town runs an ikebana class. I know from her website she's a Japanese speaker, and while I am very much interested in ikebana itself, I am also hoping to put a few "feelers" out while I'm there in terms of language. You never know.

Of course, the ultimate goal is to be able to talk to whoever you want, whenever you want-- just as you do in your native language. But for me I have to take baby steps. My theory is, the more exposure I get to easy friendly communication in the language, the better equipped I'll be to handle random situations where things are less predictable. The internet can be a really good stepping stone for that. Although, truth be told, for a very shy person, even skype or video chat can be scary because you still have to "speak" and "perform". But it's like with anything else, if you want to keep pushing your limits, you have to allow yourself to try something new once you get too comfortable.
5 persons have voted this message useful

Splog
Diglot
Senior Member
Czech Republic
anthonylauder.c
Joined 5447 days ago
1062 posts - 3263 votes

Speaks: English*, Czech
Studies: Mandarin

Message 59 of 59

03 March 2012 at 1:25pm | IP Logged

I can recommend an interesting video, part of the TED conference series, about The Power of Introverts.

3 persons have voted this message useful

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