What do you think about this five recommendations to learn a language. Comment below and we will talk about it in class next Tuesday. Have a nice week-end.
“It’s a myth that intelligent people are better at learning languages,” says Anne Merritt in this article in The Telegraph (summarized in The Language Educator). “Most language learning skills… are in fact habits, which can be formed through a bit of discipline and self-awareness.” She lists five ways language learners can soar:
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Listen a lot. Find music, podcasts,
TV shows, and movies in the target language and “listen, listen, listen as
often as possible,” says Merritt.
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Be curious about the culture. “The
culturally curious students will be more receptive to the language and more
open to forming relationships with native speakers,” she says.
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Guess and have fun. Clutching a
dictionary and trying to understand every grammar rule won’t work. “Find a song
or text in the target language and practice figuring out the gist, even if a
few words are unknown,” says Merritt.
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Use a variety of methods. Don’t get
stuck in a learning rut. Practice different skills and see concepts explained
in different ways.
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Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.
“The more learners speak, the quicker they improve,” concludes Merritt.
Anne Merritt was correct when she affirmed that it is just a myth that intelligent people are better at learning languages. Even do I am sure intelligent people have good skills for it, intelligence is not measured in how many languages do you have the capability to learn. I should state that intelligence goes more with the definition of abstract thought that helps you reflect and analyze with the main purpose to then decide or take an election.
ReplyDeleteThe five recommendations she gave are very useful for those persons who are trying always to learn with the same old method. I can confirm (because of my personal experience) that just memorizing data, new words or grammatical things isn´t gonna work.
Lets give a chance to everyone without stating that for someone its going to be easier or difficult to learn a new language. This is not something we can see at first sight. As teachers we should be open to receive different kind of students and at the same time, we should find and look for the best method of teaching.
I like your reflection Betty, you are right, as teachers we should be open to receive all kinds of students.
DeleteI really like this article!
ReplyDeleteThe way the author speaks about how learning a new language is easy to practicing. The first recommendation it's so good and I know that it works because my brother learned to speak english with this "method"; and the second I always do it, listen and then sing a song with the lyrics beside, even with this way you can improve your vocabulary.
the last one is very interesting and it is right, many times the people doesn't speak the language who is learning because they are afraid that they make mistakes, for this reason there is important to generate an agreeable environment in order that they feel comfortable.
Exactly Jaque, if you make your students feel safe and confident they won't be afraid to participate in your classes.
DeleteThese keys of learning a new language are easy to apply. I like the article because do not only state in one method or key, it give to us more tools to get practice and be better at the time we are learning another language.
ReplyDeleteThe point number two, that said, “listen a lot”, I also agree with Jaque, because I like to find the lyrics and sign the song, and most of the times I learn better and also knows how to write that words that I usually don’t know.
I think there are a lot of keys to learn, but we can start with these options that are simples and very well defined.
When you teach a language and you use singing as a tool you will have fun with your students and having fun when learning any subject will help a lot in the learning process. With languages having fun while learning helps a lot!!!!
DeleteThats true, I remember when I went to take the TOEFL exam, and Maty advice me the importance to listen in english, and that´s one of the points that the article mention. I think is very useful to comprehend about this subject because for us, is very practical, most of the group learned english for 8 or more years, and the strategies not always work.
ReplyDeleteI think in this class we understand more about the bilingual education, especially with the educational tools, involving emotions, didactic games, etc.
I believe that the education needs more teachers who love their work, and put into practice this estrategies.
If you love what you do, you will transmit it!
DeleteFinally someone who understand me!
ReplyDeleteI'm totally agree with this five keys to learning a new language. I think it's important to understand that if you get stuck in only one method to learn you're going to be more confused, because you don't have options to compare with what method you feel more comfortable.
My favorite key is definitely the number 1 that is listen a lot, I always listening music, videos, the radio in USA and the movies and I like to repeat the lyrics, the phrases so I can learn more vocabulary. One example is my little sister she is 7 years old and I'm trying to make her listen music in English and its working now she understand some lyrics and when she is singing the pronunciation gets better and better! Again totally agree with the article.
Yes Vale, you have to find what works for you. As we already commented in class, some of us are visual, some of us are auditive, etc., but something that's for sure, when learning languages, a lot has to do with listening.
DeleteEvery single word wrote here is true, to learn something is to like that "something" we just cant go around and say we want all, it has to be a passion to us, sometimes the life force people to know a new language but the true about this is learning from the common things, conversations, music, native people, media people, right like the five steps of Anne Merritt, and the most important about that, is that we have to make it a habit, a daily practice, making our mind switcher more powerful and dynamic in all the possible ways and forms.I liked this article it is very interesting and easy to put in practice
ReplyDeleteI am sure you will use this information Mariana. If it is a passion for you, you will transmit it and they will learn to like it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what she says in the article because it doesn't matter if the person who want to learn another language is more intelligent than other one, provided the person has all the normal mental faculties will be able to learn the idiom that he or she wants, even if the intelligence grade.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that do that the person learn and can apply a new language depends a lot of the interest from the person of learn the new language, for example trying to traduce what see on tv programs or just listening in order to can start to learn it.
On the other hand, the five points that she mentions are a well way to ignite the senses and start learning, and by that way, the new idiom will be easier, faster and enjoyable to learn, but also we need to take a course that teach us the formal language and the gramatic, because in some situations in the songs or in movies, etc. use informal language.