The Linguist On Language

If you are trying to master a new language, there are certain things that you are not going to remember, or get right, until your brain is ready. Al you can do is to continue to use the language as much as possible, to read, to listen and to speak and write. Eventual y that elusive word, or that difficult phrase, will start to become natural.

Each time you make a mistake, and get corrected, is a chance to remember that word or phrase. This is easier in writing than in speaking. If you are corrected when speaking you are already a little tense so you do not remember too much. You are keen to say what you want to say, so the corrections are a bit of a distraction and can even discourage you a little bit. A t best you can remember one or two things from each conversation.

However, if you write and have your writing corrected, you have time to real y look at what you wrote. You have the time to think about the mistakes you made. You can look at the learning opportunities you created. If you take it the right way, your mistakes are your opportunity to improve. Some mistakes you wil have to make over and over. The most important thing is not to be upset over mistakes. They wil correct themselves eventual y with enough exposure, but only when your brain is ready. So just keep enjoying the language.

Take it easy

I was asked to talk a bit more about my experience as I went through the stages of language acquisition.

One thing that al learners have in common is the feeling that there are always situations where they do not understand what is going on, or words they do not understand. I often hear people complain of frustration that they are not doing better.

―I have been studying English for eight years and I use it in my work, and yet when I go out for a drink with my col eagues I cannot fol ow their conversation very wel , or I do not feel confident enough to real y jump in with my own comments." I hear this kind of comment often.

I never felt this way. As I struggled to understand and express myself, often the language was just flying by me and I did not understand most of it. This never bothered me. There wil always be situations in another language when you have trouble fol owing the conversation. It stil happens to me, even for languages that I speak quite wel . It stil happens. It does not matter. I participate to the extent I can and feel happy that I am able to do so.

The more familiar you are with a certain context, the better you wil be able to communicate. Maybe you can talk about your work, but you cannot talk about sports or politics.

I lived in Japan for years, did al my business in Japanes e, and yet for a long time could not understand television dramas.

You learn to recognize that even when you are having difficulty understanding, just hanging in there and listening is helping to train your mind to some extent. To improve in a certain context, you need to expose yourself to it, and even to "overload" in this context area. Read up on politics. Listen to the news more. Learn the key words and phrases. Then you wil be able to discuss politics. This only works if you are interested in the subject.

A deliberate effort to "overload" a particular type of context wil certainly help you, but in the meantime do not worry about it. Relax and give yourself credit for the success you already have achieved. A positive and relaxed attitude wil only help your learning.

Overcoming fear

Chris asks ―What do you mean speak without fear? If you haven't mastered the language and you're nervous about being in a situation, how do you overcome that?"

It al depends on your goals. Stage one of using a new language is what I cal the "hit and run" stage. You are just want to try out saying "hello", or "what is the time", or a phrase you just memorized, or perhaps a vulgar swear word that you heard. You throw it out and then smile and throw up your hands when the answer comes back at you. This is not communication. It is just test firing a new gun. You have limited expectations and therefore you are not disappointed.

In the next stage you would like to have a limited conversation, to try out what you have been learning. Usual y this is in a classroom or with friends. You do not expect to cover too much ground, but you do expect some conversation. You struggle and you are frustrated by your inability to use al of the words you have learned. But stil your expectations are limited and you are facing a friend or teacher, so there is no fear, just frustration. Hopeful y this frustration drives you back to more studying.

The fear stage happens when you want to use your new language to communicate in a real situation, where the native speaker may not have the patience of your teacher or friend. Here you do not want to fail. You want to understand and you want to be understood. It matters to you, so you get nervous. The more nervous you are, the more poorly you do.