It’s Greek to me!

How to be a successful language-learner.

Presented by Professor Christina Fox-Ballí

What traits are helpful to learn a language?

Motivation – Students who want to learn are more successful. Motivation can be monetary, job security, love, friendship, intellectual curiosity, etc.

Willingness to speak – Students who are willing to speak up and to participate actively are more successful and retain (remember) more. Language is designed for communication. If you are using it, you won’t learn the language and you will not remember what you learned.

Risk taking – Students who are willing to take that leap of faith, the risk to make mistakes, learn more for two reasons. First, they test themselves and create with the language. Second, they learn from their mistakes.

Tolerance of ambiguities and differences – Languages are arbitrary HUMAN creations with ambiguities (words that have many different meanings and uses) and differences (likes, feelings, and other topics are expressed differently in different languages). German is not English. Spanish may be similar to French, but there are differences. Remember French is not a foreign language to the millions of French speakers. Spanish is not a foreign language for the millions of Spanish speakers. Accepting the differences and ambiguities makes learning them easier. In addition, there are regional differences in the same language.

Perseverance – Don’t give up. If you don’t get it the first time, try, try, and try again! However, after a few unsuccessful tries take a moment to think why it is not working and correct it. If you can’t figure out what is the problem, try doing it another way. Learning a language is a complex intellectual task beyond memorizing and repeating. It involves analyzing, synthesizing, making analogies, deductions, inductions, and relating to your personal experience.

Listen, Look and Learn

Follow the class closely by listening and watching everything carefully.
Try connecting what is being said with other clues.
You will not understand everything that is being said. However, if you watch your instructor, your classmates, the visuals (the overhead transparencies, the video, the board,…), the actions, and the gestures you will understand a lot more. Be patient and watchful to figure out. Makes notes of what you do understand and what you don’t. The answer may be around the corner.
You will not understand everything at first. Sentences can sometimes involve several different types of language functions. Focus on what is being focused on in that moment. Watch several examples before giving up and asking.
Listen for corrections and for examples. Sometimes language instructors will directly correct you. Instead they will model the correct structure. Listen to feedback.

Listen Outside the Class

Listen to the materials that come with the textbook. You paid for the book and materials (audio CDs, CD-ROMs, videos, audiocassettes). Use them.

Many language instruction materials use authentic material (radio spots, advertisements, conversations…) in which the speakers are speaking at a regular pace for them. Therefore, they are not as easy to understand as your instructor (using teacher talk) and you will not understand every word.

Prepare yourself for a listening comprehension activity. Follow the instructions. Look at the pictures, diagrams, photo captions, title, glossed vocabulary, and the questions. Listen to a portion and answer the questions. Listen to another part and continue until you finish. Listen to the material again to check your answers. Then move on. Don’t listen to something more than three times. Your brain shuts down your ability to receive. You might want to try in a couple of weeks.

Listen to a radio station or to music in the language you want to learn.

Again this is authentic material (radio spots, advertisements, conversations…) in which the speakers are speaking at a regular pace for them. Therefore, they are not as easy to understand as your instructor (using teacher talk) and you will not understand every word. However, this can be a fun way to hear the sounds and different dialects (regional differences) of the language.

Watch television programs or the news in Spanish.

Another advantage to watching TV in the language you want to learn is to be exposed to popular culture and current events as well more serious historical, cultural, social, political, and economic issues that important to the native speakers of the language you want to learn. Learning a language is a key to learning a lot about another culture or cultures. Learning about the culture can be a fun way to value your own culture and experience.

Play the Spanish audio track on a DVD of a movie you know well.

Using something you know will help you understand more of what is being said. At the same time you will be exposed to the language spoken by a native speaker.

Think, Improvise, and Speak

Think about what you want to say. But don’t dwell on it. In short, prepare what you are going to say and then say it. Be willing to take the risk of making a mistake, an educated mistake. An educated guess is better than not saying anything. You will be further down the road.
Talk to your instructor and to your classmates in the target language. You can’t learn it, if you don’t use it.
Participate. You can’t learn it, if you don’t use it.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.

Remember: Risk takers are more successful language learners because they experiment with the language using what they know to express themselves.
Learn from your mistakes. Pay attention to the corrections. Your instruction might model the correct way instead directly correcting you.

Remember: Risk takers are more successful language learners IF THEY LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES. If you persist with the same mistake, it is fossilized. If you are corrected try to say something with the correction to imprint in your brain.
Improvise. Reword so that you can use what you know.
Generally, instructors ask questions or give prompts that are going make you use what you are learning in a particular lesson. However, in a casual conversation outside of class topics arise and you have to improvise. Use the question to answer. Reword.
Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to look stupid. If you are asking a question, there are probably at least two or three with the same question. At times, an instructor will tell you if you need to find your own answer. Sometimes you learn more and remember more when you look for and find your answer.

Learning Beyond the Classroom

Speak as much as you can in the target language (the one you want to learn).
Talk to yourself when studying. Say the words as you are writing. Read aloud the examples of grammar explanations and selections.
Practice pronunciation with the textbook materials and songs. Pronunciation is important for listening comprehension (If you don’t know what it sounds like, you can’t understand it.), spelling (If you don’t know the sounds of the letters, it’s hard to write the words correctly.), and vocabulary development.
Try imitating the speaker when you are listening. Watch the mouth. Look at the movement of the lips and the breathing.
Greet your instructor, classmates and Spanish-speaking friends or co-workers in Spanish. Using the language helps you learn, retain it, and making the important personal connection.
Use the target language at home. Count your crunches, identify things as you carry out different activities, etc. Tie the target language to your personal experience and you will remember more.

Read and Learn

Be an active reader. Take notes while reading. Outline the basic points.
Read the textbook and other materials.
Study how the examples illustrate a point. Try to come up with your own examples.
Read aloud the examples and other selections in the target language.
Read fun materials (magazines, newspapers, Internet, etc.) in the target language. Use the language for your own personal use.

Reading Strategies

Don’t translate word-for-word.
Use cognates and content to determine meaning.
Use visual cues to understand the main idea and supporting ideas.
Use format (title, bold font, bulleted items, etc.) to understand.
Determine why you are reading the selection. Focus to achieve that purpose.
Use what you understand to determine the overall meaning.

Learn While You Write

Take notes in class. Review your notes after class and make other necessary notes.
Be selective when taking notes. Write down the main points and examples.
Write notes when reading.
Study the vocabulary by making flashcards or lists.
Write verb conjugations on flashcards or in your notebook.

Writing Strategies

Do the homework and follow the instructions.
Write sentences and simple paragraphs about your life in the target language. Make your own personal vocabulary.
Make up sentences with the vocabulary words or with the grammar concepts.
Avoid writing in English and translating to the target language. Instead, use the writing process (brainstorm, outline, draft, revise, rewrite a final draft).
Use simple language to express your ideas.
Combine what you know into more complex compositions by organizing your ideas.

Practice Makes Perfect

Practice as often as possible.
Do your homework!
No cramming.
Recycle vocabulary and grammar concepts you know how to use.
Take a risk.
Learn from your mistakes. And move on!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Be patient with yourself. Learning a new language takes time and effort. Take notes on your progress.
Take charge of your learning.
Find motivation! Think of how you will use this information in your life.
Take advantage of the similarities between your native language and the target language.

It can be Fun

Have fun while learning.
Note the interesting tidbits (songs, art, food, sports, etc.) to remember vocabulary and grammar.
Play games with/in the target language.
Find some Spanish-speaking friends.
Participate in Spanish Club activities and other activities in which Spanish is spoken.
Accept that the language you are learning is different than English. The differences make it interesting.
Understand that every language is an arbitrary human product that has inconsistent and illogical elements.

Acknowledgements

Some of the points have been taken from the instructor’s annotated edition of Invitaciones:

Alonso-Lyrintzis, Deana, Esther Alonso and Brandon Zaslow. Invitaciones. Boston:Vista Higher Learning, 2004.