Six Mistakes that Keep You from Learning Your Target Language
Many people start their language-learning journey with a whole lot of enthusiasm and only a little realism. Unlike knitting or rowing or gardening or any number of other things you can learn to do halfway decently within a few months, language is a complex mix of grammar, syntax, vocabulary, culture, dialect, regional slang, and politics that takes time and know-how to even begin to master. Unfortunately, this means that a lot of people give up either because it’s harder than they thought it would be or they don’t really know the right methods for language acquisition. You have to learn how to learn a language — and there are a ton of pitfalls to watch out for on your journey to fluency. Here are six of them.
1. You think apps/lessons are good enough
Formulaic descriptions of grammar or long, dry lists of disconnected vocab words are not the best way to learn a language. Apps and book lessons are a great way to get you started. You can’t begin speaking a language if you have absolutely no foundation in it. But that’s all things like classes and apps are — a foundation. If all you want is to pass however many course credits you need for high school or college, then vocab lists and grammar formulas are just fine. But if you want to actually speak your target language in the sense that you can converse with other people, organize your thoughts, and get around in a country that primarily speaks your second language, then apps and classroom-style lectures won’t cut it. Language is organic, and it has to be practiced organically. You’ll remember a lot more vocab words if you see them in context. You’ll retain a lot more grammar if you’re actually using it in real-life situations rather than reading about it in a textbook. If you’re limiting your practice to non-organic methods like apps, your proficiency will never mature beyond knowing a few vocab words and some basic phrases.
2. You don’t practice every day
A lot of people seem to think “practice” is only defined as conversing with another person in your target language. While this is a vital method for improving fluency, and it certainly shouldn’t be skipped, it’s not always feasible to do it every day. Fortunately, there are plenty of other methods for organic practice. From arguing on social media to foreign-language podcasts to getting into a TV show, the internet has opened up a whole new world of foreign language practice that generations before us never had. Regardless of how you rehearse, the fastest way to guarantee you never gain more proficiency is to be inconsistent. Immersing yourself in your target language every single day is vital to maintaining and improving your current proficiency. Of course, don’t kick yourself if you miss a day every now and again. Putting too much pressure on yourself can backfire, leading you to burnout and quit. However, if you find yourself forgetting to practice on a regular basis, it won’t be long before you learn a brand new meaning of the phrase “if you don’t use it, you lose it.”
3. You don’t think in your target language
I know it’s hard. I know it’s often not fun. I know it really, really limits your ability to cognate. But if you don’t learn to think in your target language, you’re never going to learn to have a natural, flowing conversation in it. Translating in your head is slow and clunky, and it leaves a permanent mental barrier between you and your second language. So it’s imperative that you spend a few minutes every day forcing yourself to think in your target language. It’s very difficult and unnatural at first, but if you make yourself do it in the beginning, it will become more and more natural as time goes on. Plus, it really helps you fill gaps in your vocabulary. There’s nothing that helps you figure out which random words you’re missing quite like making out a mental grocery list only to realize you don’t know the words for peanut butter or batteries. What’s more, there’s evidence to suggest that thinking in your second language helps you make more logical choices. So teaching yourself to do this can have real-world benefits outside of fluency improvement.
4. You get discouraged if you don’t sound like a native
This is something I struggle with because it’s definitely embarrassing to constantly make mistakes and feel like people are losing interest in what you’re saying because you aren’t putting it together fast enough. However, if you’re ever going to gain enough proficiency that this kind of thing stops happening all the time, you have to get over it. Nobody sounds like a native when they’re learning another language. Nobody. If you feel like a moron, that’s a good thing because it means you’re putting yourself out there and actually trying. Let go and enjoy the conversation. Focus on the content, not on all your little errors. If they’re big enough that they affect your clarity of meaning, the people you’re talking to will definitely let you know.
Also, try not to get too torn up about your accent. I mean, definitely put some effort into correct pronunciation. Listen to native speakers so you can imitate their dialects, but recognize as well that as an adult learner, you’re always going to have some level of non-native accent. While there are steps you can take to reduce it (I love to read out loud for this), you just have to square with the fact that when you speak your second language in foreign locales, everyone is going to automatically ask where you’re from or even correctly place your accent. That’s just reality.
5. You only use one learning method
Think about your life in your first language. You read and listen and think and speak every day. So if you have to engage all these different language media in your primary idiom, why would you practice with only one in your secondary? Reading doesn’t necessarily teach you how to listen. Listening doesn’t necessarily teach you how to speak. Of course, all practice methods improve your proficiency to a certain level, but reading in your target language teaches you to read. Listening teaches you to listen, and you cannot just expect one to necessarily translate to the other. Furthermore, different methods of learning target different areas of learning. Reading is the best way to improve vocabulary; listening is the best way to improve your processing speed. In my opinion, there’s nothing better than TV in your target language to help you get to know its dialects and cultures. If you limit your practice methods, you’re limiting your learning.
6. You expect to be fluent in three months
Despite what the apps and the sites tell you, you won’t be fluent in mere months. If you move internationally and never speak your first language again, you’ll probably be fluent in a year or two, but no single-digit number of months is going to cut it. Language learning is a long game, and thinking you’re going to come off a few months of lessons speaking like a native is just setting yourself up for disappointment. Keep your expectations realistic, and don’t give up when you don’t progress as fast as you want to. If learning a second language in adulthood were that easy, everyone would do it.
