7 Myths About Language Learning
7 Myths About Language Learning :
People often start learning foreign languages being guided by studying myths. See how to recognize and avoid getting into their traps in this article.
There is a great number of excuses that do not let you learn any foreign language : “I do not have talents for languages”, “I should have started that while being a child”, “I need to go to England or USA for that…” and many other ones. In fact, those are just myths we decided to bust.
Myth - 1 : You Need to Have Special Abilities and a High IQ to Learn a Language
In countries like Sweden and Netherlands, most of citizens know some foreign language. Were they all born with a language learning talent? Of course, they weren’t!
Moreover, most of world level sportsmen and souvenir sellers know English, but not all scientists do. Why is it so? Because what has the main role in language learning is motivation, possibility to practice, invested time and efforts, and the choice of the effective learning method.
So, using college essay writing service might be your last resort not because you cannot write in English but rather because you have to prioritize something else.
Myth - 2: Children Learn Languages Better than Grown-Ups
There are researches claiming that children can study languages better than grown-ups. But this happens not because of children being more talented, they just have another approach towards learning process. Unlike adults, kids “consume” the new foreign language without thinking about rules and logic too much. They are less afraid to speak and make mistakes, and this is one of reasons why they feel it easier to study any new tongue.
On the other side, scientists found out that grown-ups can have a faster progress thanks to their discipline and systemized approach. They are able to understand and to use complicated grammar structures, to learn many new words and to pass a certain topic faster. So, then again: key factors for learning any language are motivation, ability to practice, invested efforts and time, and the right choice about methods.
Myth – 3 : Living in a Foreign Country Guarantees You to Learn the Language
Many people think so, but sometimes American emigrants do not know English perfectly even after spending 20 years in that country. Many foreigners go on speaking with a heavy accent, and make same mistakes for decades, for instance “He help you?” instead of “Did he help you?” or “I call you” instead of “I will call you”.
The reason is that immigrants use language for everyday conversation but do not often put efforts to improve their knowledge. They don’t have the need in that, their English level is enough for basic communication. This example shows the thing that might become a discovery for many people: living in a foreign country does not guarantee that a person will know the language of that country excellently and have a good knowledge about grammar or know many words from beyond the everyday necessity.
It is important to remember that native speakers you may talk to will not correct your mistakes because of politeness. So, even if you live in a foreign country, you have to go on learning.
Main advantages of studying a language in another country are based on more possibilities for practice and on language environment availability. But in our times, it is enough to have a good motivation and Internet access, and you can create same abilities without going out of your house.
Myth – 4 : To Learn a Language It Is Enough to Visit Special Courses
Mastering the grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, listening, and reading skills require a plenty of time, repetition and practice which are just impossible in a class. Additionally, different students perceive the same material with different speed and need different amount of practice. So, if you learn English it a group, we recommend you to support the process with modern technologies. Your personal computer is a patient and free teacher available at any moment of time.
Myth – 5 : The Workbook is Enough to Learn Language
Any General English workbook contains material which is enough only for getting familiar with a certain topic. To learn and work out different aspects of any language, you need to find resources for each of those aspects separately (and yes, some of them are much more effective than workbooks). For instance, any grammar exercise is better to be done online, and not in a workbook: the system can check it automatically and show you mistakes. New words are much better learnt with the help of various mobile apps, and a YouTube lecturer can explain any grammar topic in a way much more interesting than a dull workbook text.
Myth – 6 : The Best Way to Succeed in Language Learning is to Speak
In fact, people learn it through reading and listening. This is how they get new words and grammar structures. While through speaking or writing they practice and use that language. So, in order to speak and write well, you need to read and listen to the language much.
Myth – 7 : You Must (Not) Make Mistakes
In fact, it all depends on a situation. When using the language (for example if you speak to a foreigner), the main thing is about information exchange. So, you should speak with mistakes rather than make your collocutor wait for some minutes until you build the sentence correctly and check every word with a dictionary. If to talk about the situation where you work out the language (for instance, during the lesson) you should think how to tell the sentence correctly, as mistakes are very easy to be remembered.
Still, this is not the complete list of myths about language learning that can be mentioned. But we are sure: if you have enough motivation to learn the language, no stereotype or myth can prevent you from doing that!
7 Myths About Language Learning :
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