Common Pitfalls of Language Learning – Don’t let them stop you!
Richard Hale
? 26 years' experience & expertise, helping businesses remove the stress & expense of localisation, by providing accurate specialist translation services on time, every time. Over 2600 clients helped so far! ??????????
Apparently one in five Brits will resolve to learn a new language this year, but how many will stick to their resolution and how many will let it slide within a couple of months? Learning a new language takes commitment and dedication and is certainly not easy, but we definitely think it’s worth it! So we’ve identified a few common pitfalls that language learners face and come up with some tips on how to overcome them. We’d love to hear your thoughts too!
1. “I don’t know where to start” – learning a new language is a daunting task and going it alone can be tough! That’s why we recommend giving yourself a helping hand – this doesn’t mean you have to commit to weekly classes, although this is a great way to keep yourself motivated! There are lots of other tools out there that can help you on your language-learning quest though. Apps like Duolingo and Babbel provide fun and structured lessons to keep you on track, and if you’re not a big technology fan, language textbooks like the For Dummies series will also take you through the language step by step in an entertaining way.
2. “I don’t know which language to learn!” – when it comes to learning languages, the world is your oyster! But with so many to choose from, how do you know which language is the right one for you? This is where it helps to think about your goals and interests, as well as your reasons for learning a language and how much time you have on your hands! Fancy a challenge? Choose a language that uses a different alphabet to your own. Got a holiday planned? Choose the language of the locals!
3. “I don’t have enough time” – it’s true that learning a language as an adult takes some serious dedication; you come home from work and the last thing you want to do is get your head stuck into a foreign language textbook. But the main thing to remember here is that little and often works wonders when it comes to language learning. Spending just ten minutes a day going over some vocab or listening to the radio in another language can make a big difference! You don’t have to devote hours on end to studying grammar and most of us actually learn more efficiently in short bursts!
4. “I’m never going to be fluent” – we’ve all had it, that disheartening feeling that there’s no point learning a new language when you’re never going to be able to speak it as fluently as you’d like. The problem is that there is always room for improvement and it’s unlikely that you’re going to end up sounding like a native speaker. That’s why it’s important to be realistic when you commit to learning a new language – it can help to think about why you’re doing it and set yourself goals from there. Are you going away this summer and wanting to impress the locals with some phrases in their native tongue? Then why not aim to learn five common words and phrases relating to food and drink every week and focus on perfecting your pronunciation of them? Not only will you have a goal to work towards, but you also won’t have unrealistic expectations of what you can achieve.
We’d love to hear your language-learning stories, good and bad! How do you motivate yourself to learn a new language? Do you have any tips for overcoming obstacles like the ones above? Let us know!
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BA Hons French, Spanish and Italian Multilingual Technical Support Engineer at ORACLE | NTU Alumni Fellow ??| Writer ??? Player and Manager at Bingham Town Women FC ?
7 年Regarding fluency, there seem to be language meetups in every city and you can easily find yourself a speaking partner so you can practice. For grammar Conjuguemos worked fantastically well for me. I enjoyed learning with music, Juanes is a good one to start with if you decide to learn Spanish.