Following is a summation of observations and advice put together by Julieta. If you are studying, or interested in studying another language, it is well worth the read.<\/p>\n
To our students, with humor (and love):<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a serious explanation of what to expect when studying a foreign language that is written with humor. The idea is not to offend anybody, but to start with laughing at ourselves, like it should be, when studying another language.<\/p>\n The first question most people ask when they start studying another language is: \u2018When am I going to be fluent?\u2019<\/p>\n Personally, I believe the answer depends on a few variables, mainly dedication and personality.<\/p>\n Dedication<\/strong><\/p>\n This is simple. The more you study outside of class and the more time you dedicate to the language you are learning, the more progress you will make.<\/p>\n Students usually ask what else they can do to improve their Spanish (or English, German, etc.) and the answer is: everything helps. You can watch movies, read books, and listen to music, even those online programs and books that say \u2018Learn Spanish (or French, Italian, etc.)\u00a0 in 2 weeks\u2019 help!<\/p>\n But don\u2019t just do one of those. Some programs are really good, but remember that the goal is to interact with people, real people; you have to be used to talking to real people as well. With a computer program, you can practice, but you always know what comes next or you can play it again. Real life does not have that option. You can find people that are really nice and willing to speak slowly, but others, if they are in a hurry or they are in a working environment, will choose to start speaking in English.<\/p>\n Regarding those books that say, \u201cSpanish in 2 weeks\u201d (or German, Italian, etc.), they are just a lie. No matter how smart you are or how fast you learn, nobody can learn another language in 2 weeks. It\u2019s simply impossible. So if you tried those, don\u2019t feel bad because it\u2019s not just YOU!<\/p>\n Personality<\/strong><\/p>\n Perfectionism and shyness are not good traits when it comes to learning a language. If you don\u2019t like making mistakes (who does?), you are less likely to participate in class or to turn in a written assignment because you know it\u2019ll have a lot of mistakes. With these traits, the longer it\u2019ll take you to learn because participation in class (practice and speaking) is very important. It sounds like a clich\u00e9, but we all learn from our (or somebody else\u2019s) mistakes.<\/p>\n With a little bit of humor, I am going to describe some of the most common student characteristics that DO NOT HELP TO LEARN A LANGUAGE.<\/p>\n – The Lazy Traveler. \u201cI want to learn X language to travel, I just need a few phrases\u201d<\/p>\n I always wonder what that means myself because even if you learn how to ask for a beer or where the bathroom is, what if they don\u2019t have beer and they offer you something else? Or the bathroom, instead of being at the end of the hall to the right, is behind the double doors, down the stairs to the left, and then through the kitchen where you\u2019ll need to explain to the cook what you are doing there?\u00a0 This type of student shouldn\u2019t be taking lessons, but rather he\/she should buy a bilingual travel guide.<\/p>\n – The Perfectionist. \u201cI get in a bad mood if I don\u2019t get it\u201d<\/p>\n All types of perfectionist are a little bit \u2018obsessive\u2019. They need to know absolutely everything all the time. First of all, this causes frustration because it is impossible to know every single word as you go. Second, they want to know so many different things, that they don\u2019t learn anything because they are not focusing.<\/p>\n – The Defensive. \u201cOh yeah, I get it, I get it. What? I\u2019m wrong?!\u201d<\/p>\n Usually, when a \u2018defensive\u2019 does not understand something\u00a0 he\/she does not ask. But if the instructor realizes that the student did not understand, the instructor will most likely ask a question just to be sure whether he\/she did or did not get the explanation. If the defensive did not understand, he\/she will ask to the instructor to explain again. This process can continue with increasing frustration from the defensive student. Frustration is actually part of learning a new language, but the defensive student will ALWAYS blame the instructor, the book and\/or the language. For example: the topic wasn\u2019t well explained or the language does not make sense, etc. \u00a0 If the defensive student is taking private lessons, this will be a repetitive behavior that eventually both the student and the instructor will get use to. If the defensive is in a group class, it is more likely that after a few \u2018defensive episodes\u2019, he\/she will quit.<\/p>\n The main problem with the defensive student is that when they are put on the spot – everybody knows that he\/she did not understand something that they said they did. They get really uncomfortable and they shut down, so even if the instructor tries to explain the subject again, he\/she will not understand it, at least not that very same day.<\/p>\n – The Shy. \u201cPass.\u201d<\/p>\n We all know the shy, he\/she is, well, shy. They have difficulty talking to people, they get all red if they say something that sounds funny to others, and therefore, they don\u2019t like talking in class or reading their homework out loud because they don\u2019t like to be embarrassed. Usually shy students go straight into private classes.<\/p>\n I think we all have a bit of the characteristics explained above. Just try to realize it when you are acting in a way that will not help you, and try to change your attitude. It will make it easier for you. We go through school and college reading books we don\u2019t like, listening to teachers or professors we thought were not good, but we don\u2019t blame any of that for not being able to graduate, right?<\/p>\n Why do people quit?<\/strong><\/p>\n We all start things (yoga, guitar lessons, cooking classes, etc.) and then we realize that that is not something we really enjoy. But why quit doing something that we always wanted to do, or if part of our family speaks Spanish, or if it\u2019s needed for work?<\/p>\n Most people quit because learning a language is very difficult.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Especially in a group class, some students feel that they hold the rest of the class back, and then they quit or they are too embarrassed to ask the same thing for the fifth time. It might be true that it takes you longer than the rest of the class to understand, but there\u2019s no other way. Everybody will be in your situation eventually. The good thing is that everybody can learn. It could be very slowly or amazingly fast, but everybody can learn.<\/p>\n One of the most important things for beginners is to \u2018learn how to learn\u2019. At first, every text and every sentence is overwhelming. Where should I start? With the grammar, vocabulary, masculine, feminine?<\/p>\n In an immersion class, no matter how easy you want to make it, everything (and this means EVERYTHING) is going to be in the language you are learning. So, the best thing to do is to pay attention to what the instructor is trying to teach. If the teacher is trying to show you that adjectives also have to agree with the noun in gender and number, for example, just pay attention to that. Don\u2019t try to learn the vocabulary, don\u2019t try to think of the verb tense, etc.. Take things one step at a time.<\/p>\n DON\u2019T FEEL DISCOURAGED IF YOU DON\u2019T STUDY\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The curve for learning a language is very deceitful. The first stage of learning a language can be pretty easy for some: short and simple sentences (that can be easily translated) in present tense, with a few prepositions, etc.\u00a0 That stage does not require much more than a little bit of memorizing.\u00a0 In this stage, everything is easy to understand and with all the new vocabulary, the curve goes straight up. In the second stage, on the contrary, things don\u2019t translate as easily. Students realize that it requires more than just memorizing new vocabulary, or that a very similar word in their language has a complete different meaning in the other language, and that pronouns, verbs, and prepositions go in different places in the sentences. And the worst part is that the same word has or could have more than one meaning!!! OH MY GOD! WHAT DO I DO NOW? You just study or quit.<\/p>\n If you keep studying, you\u2019ll notice that the learning curve will plateau, and after a few months you will notice that the curve will gradually start rising again.\u00a0 Students will go through this cycle\/crisis at least two times.<\/p>\n First crisis!<\/strong><\/p>\n At level A2 you are not a complete beginner anymore, and if you haven\u2019t been studying much, you will realize that you now have to do a lot more to keep up with the rest of the class \u2013if you are in a group class- or if you are taking private lessons you will notice that the teacher cannot move forward because learning a language is \u2018accumulative\u2019. What does this mean?\u00a0 You need to study in order to keep making progress. You need grammar + vocabulary. What\u2019s the point of learning all the grammar topics if you don\u2019t have the words to make a sentence? You are at the point where you have to start reading more (that means more homework).<\/p>\n Second crisis (and hopefully the last)!<\/strong><\/p>\n Somewhere in level B1-B2 you will find yourself with all these verbs conjugations, all these new words, all sorts of pronouns, but you still speak with broken rhythm, but you are capable of getting around. Here is where a lot of people stop studying. The learning curve is almost imperceptible. Some students, on the contrary, feel that they\u2019ve been working so hard to get here that they don\u2019t want to stop, but rather keep going. And here it gets complicated again because it\u2019s all about \u2018details\u2019.\u00a0 It\u2019s like putting a puzzle together, you have the main image, but there are still some pieces of blue sky that are indistinguishable. The advice here is, be patient, you are almost there!<\/p>\n Common problems:<\/strong><\/p>\n Exams<\/strong><\/p>\n Why is it necessary to take exams?<\/p>\n If the results of the exam were satisfactory for the majority of the group, then the class can move on to something new.<\/p>\n Fluency vs. accuracy<\/strong><\/p>\n Why do I need to fill in the blanks when everybody says that \u2018speaking is the best way to learn\u2019?<\/p>\n How am I supposed to speak if I don\u2019t have the words?<\/p>\n How am I supposed to speak if I don\u2019t know the different conjugations?<\/p>\n Filling in the blanks is necessary for practice, but most importantly it is good because in order to write the correct answer, you have to read the whole sentence for context. Most likely, especially in beginner levels, there will be words that you won\u2019t know, and you\u2019ll have to infer the meaning from the context. Most of the time, students rush to ask the meaning of the words without even trying to \u2018guess\u2019. And that is not advisable because if you travel, or meet someone that does not speak your language, you\u2019ll have to guess the meaning of words. I am not suggesting not to ask, but at least try, just try to make the effort of inferring the meaning instead of asking right away.<\/p>\n After 13 years of age (more or less), we stop learning \u2018as kids\u2019.\u00a0 We lose the ability to, let\u2019s say \u2018learn without rules\u2019, and that\u2019s another reason why we need to fill in the blanks a thousand times.<\/p>\n Speaking practice has two main goals: one is accuracy and the other one is fluency.<\/p>\n If the instructor wants to practice something that has just been covered in class, it is most likely that he\/she will want the students to focus on accuracy. That is, the students must answer questions orally in order to practice a specific topic. In that case, the student will need time to think before answering and try to be as accurate as possible.<\/p>\n But fluency is also important because you need it in order to communicate with others. If you are fluent, you will be able to communicate no matter how bad your grammar is. In this kind of exercise, students don\u2019t have to use correct grammar, but should focus on speaking.<\/p>\n Tips<\/strong><\/p>\n How can people learn and speak more than three languages when I can\u2019t even learn one?<\/p>\n Learning your first foreign language is the most difficult. Once you learn a foreign language, you usually get pretty good at your own language and that is the key. First, after learning one, you\u2019ll know all the problems you will face. Second, all the languages have things in common.\u00a0 Italian and Portuguese have very similar grammar, for example: the \u2018B\u2019 in Spanish becomes \u2018V\u2019 in Italian and Portuguese, and the \u2018H\u2019 becomes \u2018F\u2019; Italian and French share pronouns (y, en, ne, ci) that don\u2019t exist in Spanish or Portuguese; German has a lot of words that sound like English (house\/Haus, English\/Englisch, etc.) and the past tense in German has the same structure as the past tense in Italian and French.<\/p>\n Of course these are just a few examples of a much more complicated scene, and by no means is learning a third or a fourth language easy, but it is definitely EASIER. Your brain is already trained, it knows that certain things cannot be translated, it knows that languages have or could have a completely different structure (and it doesn\u2019t get mad about it!).<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u0928\u093f\u092e\u094d\u0928\u0932\u093f\u0916\u093f\u0924 \u091c\u0942\u0932\u093f\u090f\u091f\u093e \u0926\u094d\u0935\u093e\u0930\u093e \u0938\u0902\u0915\u0932\u093f\u0924 \u0905\u0935\u0932\u094b\u0915\u0928\u094b\u0902 \u0914\u0930 \u0938\u0932\u093e\u0939 \u0915\u093e \u0938\u093e\u0930\u093e\u0902\u0936 \u0939\u0948\u0964 \u092f\u0926\u093f \u0906\u092a \u0915\u093f\u0938\u0940 \u0905\u0928\u094d\u092f \u092d\u093e\u0937\u093e \u0915\u093e \u0905\u0927\u094d\u092f\u092f\u0928 \u0915\u0930 \u0930\u0939\u0947 \u0939\u0948\u0902, \u092f\u093e \u0915\u093f\u0938\u0940 \u0905\u0928\u094d\u092f \u092d\u093e\u0937\u093e \u0915\u093e \u0905\u0927\u094d\u092f\u092f\u0928 \u0915\u0930\u0928\u0947 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0930\u0941\u091a\u093f \u0930\u0916\u0924\u0947 \u0939\u0948\u0902, \u0924\u094b \u092f\u0939 \u0905\u091a\u094d\u091b\u0940 \u092c\u093e\u0924 \u0939\u0948\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-learning-language",""],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crlanguages.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crlanguages.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crlanguages.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crlanguages.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crlanguages.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crlanguages.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crlanguages.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crlanguages.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crlanguages.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495"}],"curies":[{"name":"\u0921\u092c\u094d\u0932\u094d\u092f\u0942\u092a\u0940","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n
\n