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Foreign language: 15 obstacles


There are a number of obstacles to good foreign language skills. Each of them must be overcome.

Content


Obstacles


1. Underestimation of his talent


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Lack of faith in your abilities reduces motivation.

In fact, everyone has enough talent to master any language.
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We give the language definitions from two points of view.

  1. Language is information , a huge number of connections of the form “sign <-> meaning” (this applies not only to vocabulary, but also grammar: the arrangement of words is also a sign).
  2. A language is the skill of instantly operating the “sign <-> meaning” connections that are already known (in the form of specific phrases). (Compare language with mathematics and natural sciences. In sciences, problems require original, often complex solutions: original connection of existing knowledge into new unique knowledge. Language requires ready-made simple solutions: phrases that have already been heard and used many times. This is what makes language a skill. And here we don’t consider the level of proficiency that allows us to create outstanding literature, since the task is to learn the usual use of the language, and not to become Joseph Brodsky.)


We prove that any language is accessible to everyone.

Proof the first. Any skill is mastered through repetition. And if the creation of original solutions in the sciences may not be available to everyone, then the use of ready-made solutions in the form of language formulas after memorization in repetition is obviously accessible to everyone.

Proof the second. We are all of the same species and it is logical to assume that the ability to develop languages ​​formed by evolution manifests itself similarly. Therefore, there is no such language that would require transcendental abilities. And, indeed, although it is believed that Russian or Chinese are complex languages, Russian and Chinese, no matter how mediocre, can perfectly (!) Know their native languages. (The fact that they learned them in childhood does not change anything: the less “plasticity” of the brain and the lack of time in an adult can be compensated for by an effective organization of education.)

The statement about the availability of languages ​​is not obvious, because at first glance it seems to everyone that there are more complex languages, and there are less complex ones. But the famous Hungarian translator and polyglot, Kato Lomb , graphically describes the speed of progress in learning various languages.

The speed of learning Chinese, Russian, Arabic:
Speed ​​learning Chinese, Russian, Arabic

The speed of learning English, Spanish, Italian:
Speed ​​learning English, Spanish, Italian
( Source .)

That is, in her opinion, different language arrangements (for example, differences in writing) and their proximity to their mother tongue can give different speeds of mastering them at different stages, but ultimately, to achieve a good level in any language, it is necessary to have about the same time . That corresponds with the second proof.

How to overcome an obstacle


Get motivated in this beautiful fact : you are talented enough to learn any (!) Foreign language.

2. Insufficient attention to practice


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The emphasis on textbooks and courses, rather than in practice, does not work, which reduces motivation.

In fact, more than 99% of the training is practice. No practice - no training. (By practice we mean reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Practice is opposed to theory here; doing theory is understanding the grammatical rules, the meaning of new words, the details of the language).

Evidence

  1. Let us recall: language is information (links “sign <-> meaning”), language is a skill. Each connection must be 1) understand for the first time , 2) be fixed in memory by repetition . From rough estimates it is easy to see that for a good knowledge of the language, the information contained in one textbook and in one dictionary is sufficient. If it were not a textbook with a dictionary, but, for example, ordinary prose, then reading this volume would take only a few days. That is, the amount of time spent on the initial understanding is several days. But there is a fact - it takes years to learn a language. And these years are just spent on fixing in memory by repeating what was once first understood in order for it to become a skill.
  2. Practice is the only (!) Correct form of repetition studied, because it is practice that is the repetition of what is really necessary to remember, that is, that this meaning in all its details, drawn from the whole accompanying context, is connected precisely with this familiar, which is not just, for example, a word, but a word surrounded by other words. (What should be remembered is not, for example, the memory of what “on” in English means “on”, and “scold” means “scolding.” These are all crutches that will not allow instantaneous translation of signs into meanings and back. Therefore, cramming such matches is an inefficient waste of time.)


Thus, if we are talking about a separate connection (a word, for example), then the sequence of its development is: 1) primary understanding, 2) repetition in practice. If we are talking about learning the language as a whole, then the priorities in the work are: 1) repetition in practice, 2) primary understanding of the new.

Here, for the time being, we will only state the priority of practice. The following describes how to approach it, when it seems that it is still too complicated, and how to allocate time between reading, listening, writing and speaking.

How to overcome an obstacle


Make 99% of your study language practice. Use dictionaries, textbooks and reference books in parallel, but only as needed, or systematically, but little by little.

3. Abuse of will


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Abuse of will leads to its rapid exhaustion and the inability to continue working.

In fact, the will can not act as the main engine of study.

Will is the ability to endure discomfort while pursuing the desired goal (deferred pleasure). For example, you suffer discomfort from studying at a course or reading a textbook in order to still learn a language.

Will is a valuable and relatively quickly consumable resource .

Fast expenditure of volitional resources means the impossibility of relying only on him in the long work of learning the language.

How to overcome an obstacle


Make sure that the application of the will does not bother you.

4. Lack of pleasure




The lack of constant pleasure in learning a language makes it impossible to study long enough.

One can identify such obstacles in the study as “lack of time” or “lack of motivation”, but in fact the main root cause here is the lack of pleasure.

Pleasure is the only worthy engine of study because it


The pleasure in the first place is an interesting practice for you personally. The language here is just a tool to access something valuable for you.

The second pleasure lies in the language itself: in its structure and its “music”. But these sources of pleasure will not suit everyone. Firstly, not all linguists are in the shower. Secondly, most often it happens that the most practically interesting language is not the most interesting in the sense of its device and its musicality. An example is English. But still it is worth choosing those educational materials that most interestingly "reveal" the language in front of you. Interest here is more expensive than accuracy and completeness of presentation (example: Petrov courses).

Oddly enough, people do anything, but not what they really want and joy. Most often: read a boring textbook and go to courses. But you should always start with an interesting practice for you personally. Here are some examples.

  1. If you want to travel, start here. Immediately. You should not postpone what you want, get involved at once in the most interesting (yes at least try to place an order in a restaurant) and then accompany the practice with secondary things: reading dictionaries, textbooks and teaching from teachers. You can combine: go to any multi-month intensive course abroad.
  2. If you want to read your favorite books in the original, read. Immediately. Take the simplest book of interest to you, read it, make it your intensive course, if you like (and then many times listen to the audio version of the chosen book; about the benefits of this - next).
  3. If you want to become better as a professional, then find the actual interesting source of information on the profession (book, blog, podcast) and read and listen.

Once again: practice is primary both for training, and for pleasure. You should find some of the things that you love that give you access to the language and concentrate on that. It can be anything: from the libretto to the operas of Wagner to parties in Ibiza. Then all the training will simply become an integral part of your life in pleasure and the problem of lack of motivation will be solved almost completely. There is no other way: there is not enough strength on the other way.

It is possible to spoil the pleasure a little, if you take on too complicated a task. For example, being a novice will not just read, for example, Ulysses.

How to overcome an obstacle


  1. Make it so that all your practice is a pleasure: read, listen, write, speak only about what you personally find very interesting.
  2. Prefer, other things being equal, to a practice that is only slightly more difficult than the level at which you feel free.
  3. Choose educational materials that give an interesting point of view on the language device.

5. Ineffective allocation of time between listening, reading, writing and speaking


Inefficient distribution of practice time between reading, listening, writing and speaking skills slows down progress, which reduces motivation .

It is advantageous to use the following optimal proportions of the time distribution of practicing different skills at different levels of skill.

Effective proportions of vrimaniya skills

Evidence

  1. Input (reading and listening) is primary, Output (writing and speaking) is secondary.
    • Let us first recall such common concepts as active and passive knowledge (of a language in general and vocabulary in particular). Passive knowledge is usually considered to be that which only provides understanding (Input), and active knowledge - that which provides the ability to write or say something (Output). But the formulation itself is misleading: it may seem that active and passive knowledge is knowledge in some different types of memory or one knowledge in different states. These are erroneous impressions. In fact, active knowledge is simply knowledge of a larger volume. The fact is that with Output (letter or speech) to convey meaning, we need to choose from the set of synonyms the best, pick up all the surrounding words, set the form for all words and order. This requires a large amount of knowledge. With Input (reading and listening), we need a much smaller amount of knowledge, almost everything is given in a ready-made form: both the necessary synonym, and the necessary form, and the necessary word order. Even the meaning of a specific word is somewhat clear from the context.
    • It is known that any information that is repeated is remembered, even if there is no special effort to remember it. Compare two scenarios. First: we do not have enough knowledge to implement Output and we will immediately deal with them. This will result in a great deal of work on targeted, special study of all the information that is needed for Output. The second scenario: we will focus first on Input. Then many details that we will not pay special attention to will be remembered simply because we will often meet with them, making Input. These details can be said to be in vain. The second scenario is much less expensive, therefore it is profitable.
    • (The idea of ​​the primacy of Input is the most important. Here is more about this.)
  2. Listening and reading are equally important and must accompany each other. First, when reading, we almost always say to ourselves, that is, in fact, we listen to ourselves, and thereby fix the sound of words in memory. It is important that this sound is correct, that is, it is important to immediately get acquainted with it. Secondly, before something to learn by ear, it is easier to first disassemble the text.
  3. In the choice between writing and speaking, writing must first be given higher priority. Letter and speech are related: when we write, we say to ourselves. But when writing more time to think, not to make mistakes and, accordingly, not to contribute to its consolidation. Please note that the letter does not replace the speech: to say to yourself is not the same thing as being able to articulate by speaking out loud. Therefore, it is necessary to practice it separately.

These three points of evidence and allow to draw a conclusion about the approximate distribution of practice time indicated on the graph. Please note that all four skills must be given time at any stage. The question is only in proportions.

In the specified distribution, of course (!), Personal preferences should change. If, for example, a student is so passionate about the practice of oral communication that he does not want to do anything else, then it is more profitable to follow his desires.

How to overcome an obstacle


Allocate practice time as indicated on the chart above. Make edits to this distribution only if for you personally it will increase the pleasure of practice.

6. Ignoring the practice at the primary level


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The conviction that an absolute beginner still needs to complete a course and read a textbook before embarking on practice, makes it impossible to start practice early in pleasure, which reduces motivation.

In fact, in order to begin the practice of reading and listening to the simplest things, you only need to know what is described in the first chapters of a self-instruction manual of the language or in some very, very short introductory course (for example, the courses of Petrov). These are the following things.



These basic things are enough to start reading and listening to the simplest things: adapted sources (in simplified language), short forms (quotes, excerpts, sammari of popular literature , articles).

If we talk about the average Russian who graduated from school, the language he studied at school is already familiar to him at this level.

How to overcome an obstacle


If you are at the very beginning level of training, learn only (!) The very basics and immediately begin to practice.

7. Ineffective organization of the practice of hearing


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Failure to organize for themselves the difficult practice of hearing slows down progress, which reduces motivation.

It is beneficial to organize the practice of listening to pay special attention, because it is the most difficult skill to perform: words go in a continuous stream and there are many variations of their pronunciation.

Because of the complexity of the hearing, it is beneficial to first read the material, then listen to it many times (it can be a book, a lecture, a film with subtitles). In order to have the desire to do this, the material should be extremely interesting for you. Therefore, once again it is useful to remember: find what you like.

How to overcome an obstacle


  1. Make sure you do not avoid hearing.
  2. Listen many times to what has previously been read.
  3. With other things being equal, choose sources with high speech density (the speech density in a film is much less than in a podcast or radio program, for example).

8. Inefficient organization of speech practice


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The inability to organize for themselves the difficult practice of speech slows down progress, which reduces motivation.

It is advantageous to organize the practice of speech to pay special attention, because there are many difficulties associated with it: there can be nobody to talk to, it can be scary to speak, incorrect speech leads to fixing errors.

The main task is to understand which speech formulas you tend to use and then make them correct. This can be done in a simple friendly conversation in pleasure. Just after each such conversation you need to learn the lessons.

How to overcome an obstacle


  1. Make sure that you do not avoid the practice of speech.
  2. When organizing practice 1) do not try to avoid mistakes, just speak in pleasure ; 2) ask, if possible, the interlocutor (teacher) to notice all the errors and provide them with a list after (!) The dialogue (of course, then you should remember the correct versions of what was said).

9. Ineffective repetition of the studied


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Not enough repetition of the studied slows down or even stops the progress, which reduces motivation .

Recall: language is a skill, repetition in practice is a way to consolidate a skill. And ensuring repetition is very difficult, because “from a statistical point of view, language is a large set of rare events . ” In practice, this means that once learned will probably be forgotten before you have time to come across it in practice.

The problem of repetition is the most difficult obstacle to learning a language. And this problem is relevant mainly for vocabulary (words, phrases), all other knowledge in comparison with vocabulary is a drop in the ocean.

The optimal rate of repetition - at increasing intervals . For example, you repeat a new learned word every other day, then after three, then after a week, a month, three, a year (there are different algorithms by which such intervals are calculated). But it is impossible to literally every fragment of the first time studied carried out at such intervals. But it is nevertheless necessary to secure a collision with the newly studied before it is forgotten. What is necessary to apply the following approaches.

Approaches to the organization of repetition studied


1 approach: goal setting


It is beneficial to have a goal - to master the vocabulary of one limited area of ​​knowledge - and to relate the whole practice to this goal. Examples of such areas of knowledge: orientation on the terrain on travel, programming, cooking, etc ... Such a restriction will allow to meet the newly learned words more often and thus not allow them to forget.

After achieving one goal, you can either put the next one, or go without a goal and apply the language in many areas of knowledge at once.

2 approach: systematic training


It is necessary to systematically engage in language as often as possible. Ideally - every day, albeit little by little.

3 approach: ignoring details


While reading and listening, you should not translate many words you have encountered, if the meaning is clear without this, but you should read and listen, keeping the speed, further, because the speed ensures a fairly soon encounter with what has already been learned. In any case, you will come across a missed one later.

4 approach: intensification of practice


For some time, you can make your practice much more intense than the usual level, which will allow you to “take a new height” and then hold it with less effort.

Intensive practice can be arranged at home, and you can go abroad (for example, in a language school) for a while.

5 approach: use of adapted sources


An adapted source is a source in a simplified language. In it, the same word or rule is more common, which makes it more likely to encounter the newly studied. But adapted sources deprive some pleasure because of the artificiality of the content. Examples of sources: adapted books, articles in simplified English on wikipedia (only 850 words are used ), sammari of popular literature (they are usually simpler than the original).

6 approach: the organization of interval repetitions


You can organize repetitions at strict intervals with the help of special computer applications. Why do you need to keep words in them and repeat them every day (about 10 minutes). Words are stored on special cards: on the front side - the word to be studied, on the reverse - meaning. Looking at the front side you need to remember the meaning and check yourself by reading the back of the card. In the case of a correct answer, the application will offer to repeat the card at an extended interval, in case of an incorrect answer, the application will offer to repeat the card in the near future.

With this approach, the following is very important.

  1. Repetition should imitate practice (recall: practice is the only true form of repetition studied). On the cards it is possible to imitate only one type of practice - reading. (We omit the proof). Therefore, on the front side should be phrases that set a clear context. It also means that there is only one meaning of a word per card.
  2. On the response side, it is desirable to have an interpretation in the target language, which will provide a more accurate understanding of the meaning and more reading practice (reading interpretations is also practice).

Here is how a card could look like compiled according to the following rules (example for English):
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If you stick to this method for a long time, then you are guaranteed to get knowledge of the language, because the vocabulary is growing, practice is easier and you will not notice how much it will become and this will give knowledge of the language.

The method is very effective, but, unfortunately, most language learning services that allow you to create cards for interval repetitions do not allow you to do this in the best way. A good, but time consuming, solution is to create the cards yourself and use the free Anki program. (Advice for learners of English: the best explanatory English-English dictionary for this purpose is from the publisher Longman).

7 approach: the use of textbooks with good presentation


This method is suitable for those who find texts in textbooks quite interesting. Good textbooks introduce new words and rules gradually, and provide a repetition of the already studied words and rules at the right time, when they have not had time to forget.

But this approach is appropriate only at the initial stage.

How to overcome an obstacle


  1. Set a goal to master the vocabulary of one area of ​​knowledge and correlate the practice with this goal.
  2. Exercise systematically as often as possible.
  3. Ignore many words and details if the meaning is clear without them.
  4. Use at least another (!) One approach to the repetition of the others described.

10. Adverse learning conditions


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The lack of favorable conditions for learning leads to the fact that you do not learn when you could, this slows down progress, which reduces motivation.

A convenient, albeit short action, which has become a habit, can drastically change everything in your training.

How to overcome an obstacle


  1. Fragment training: provide yourself with the opportunity to give training a minimum of time (from 1 minute). Examples: 1) repeat several cards with words, 2) read one dictionary entry in the explanatory dictionary, 3) read the quote from the collection of quotes, 4) read one paragraph from the boring grammar textbook on the desktop.
  2. Accelerate to the limit access to any information. Examples: various browser plugins for instant translation of words, 2) applications on a smartphone for accessing reading and listening.
  3. . : .
  4. : (, ) . — , . .

11.


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Hoping for a teacher means disclaiming responsibility. This leads to 1) a decrease in the volume of its work, 2) a risk to go in an inefficient way (there is no guarantee that the teacher knows an effective one).

In fact, it is very risky to rely on the teacher.

First, remember that learning is a personal practice. The teacher for you will not be able to lead.

Secondly, the teacher often offers an inefficient way, because the effective one is unknown to him on personal experience. He can know the language for two reasons:

  1. I learned over 20 years of training: a special school, a language university.
  2. This is his native language: there is a teacher, a native speaker, does not know a single (!) Foreign language.

A good teacher will help you make your studies effective, but the probability of finding a good teacher is low.

Fortunately, it is possible to collaborate effectively with almost any teacher.

How to overcome an obstacle


  1. Keep the training organization in your hands.
  2. Ask the teacher (or someone who can help with this) to edit the Output: check your letter and point out errors in speech. This is the main thing you need help with.
  3. Ask the teacher (or someone who can help with this) to recommend dictionaries, computer applications, interesting sources. This whole infinite number and to independently understand this is inefficient.
  4. . , .

12.


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Ignoring the main measure of progress, vocabulary, can lead to an unconscious decrease in efficiency, which reduces motivation.

The growth of vocabulary is a necessary and sufficient sign of progress, because it means that the amount of practice is growing: only a larger amount of practice allows you to keep a larger amount of vocabulary in memory (recall: only practice is learning). Vocabulary comparable to the stock of a native speaker will require such a volume of practice that will provide a brilliant command of the language.

Monitoring vocabulary growth is very motivating. There are services that help in this. For example, LingQ does this for multiple languages. A regular test passing Test Your Vocabulary will help to do this when learning English.

How to overcome an obstacle


Watch the growth of vocabulary: 1) if it does not grow, understand which of the obstacles listed above you have encountered and take action; 2) if it grows, let the confidence that you are on the right path supports your motivation.

13. Lack of knowledge


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If, remembering words, not to associate one knowledge with others, then this slows down progress, which reduces motivation.

Memory for the new is better, the more new connections with the existing one. In addition, more connections mean a deeper understanding of the information.

Knowledge Binding Approaches


1 approach: the study of similar in meaning, spelling or sound of words simultaneously


The study of similar words at the same time allows you to understand well the details of the difference and create a situation when one word helps to remember another. Here are examples of such words in English: implicit, imply; ingenious, ingenuous; indigenous, indigent; appraise, apprise; lifespan, lifetime; broth, stock. Sections that help in comparing similar words are in the explanatory dictionaries.

2 approach: drawing up mental maps (mindmap)


A mental map is a visually represented tree of objects (they can be words). If you are studying a particular subject area and want to be ready to practice in advance, it may be useful to build a mental map of words and phrases that you may encounter. For example, if you are going on a trip, select the places you will be in (airport, hotel, restaurant, museum), for each place, highlight the topics you will be talking to (airport: how to get there, where to find when you depart) for each topic, highlight the words and phrases that you may need. Etc..

3 approach: the study of the origin of words


The study of the origin of words sometimes creates associations with existing knowledge, sometimes allows you to find out the root meaning that binds several meanings of a word. An example from English for both cases is the word nemesis: if you already know that Nemesis is the goddess of retribution, then having learned that this word is derived from her name, you can easily remember or instantly intuitively deduce if necessary all meanings of the word (retribution, undefeated enemy) . Information about the origin of words is in the explanatory dictionaries.

4 approach: mnemonics


A mnemotechnique is the method that most often uses images as intermediaries for memorizing words. (For example, you notice the similarity of the Chinese character for a person with the image of a person). Mnemotechnology is not always useful. First, these are a kind of DBMS (database management system) in the head, the access time to which is less than the dictionary, but more than is necessary to use the language: after all, the search for the “sign” <-> “word” relationship should be instant. Secondly, this DBMS requires support: it needs to learn how to use it, constantly update it in memory. Thirdly, the images are badly suited for memorizing the absolute majority of words (the most convenient thing is to memorize only the names of objects).

However, mnemotechnics can be useful in two cases.

  1. .
  2. . . — hineasy.org .


  1. , .
  2. , .
  3. .
  4. .

14.


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Hope for quick results leads to frustration and loss of motivation.

In fact, a good level requires a lot of work. “There are no royal ways to geometry.” (Euclid).

We prove the statement.

We assume that a good level is the ability to read fiction relatively easily and freely understand speech in feature films. Such a level in listening and reading will automatically mean a sufficient level in writing and speaking, even if you do not practice them often.

We will consider that a lot of work is years, from an hour to day.

Proof (on the example of English). According to some dataa native speaker knows 20,000-30000 words. Imagine that you can manage 10,000. If you learn 100 words a week, you will need two years. 100 words per week is a very decent pace, and meeting new words is not even the most important thing to do. Therefore, the need for several years and more than an hour per day of work is obvious.

But if you find pleasure in practice, it means that learning a language will become just a part of life and will not be a hassle. You simply will not notice how you are learning: you will read, listen, write, speak for your own pleasure - and all this will be learning.

How to overcome an obstacle


Tune in to a long (but interesting!) Job.

15. Ignoring theory at an advanced level.


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Ignoring textbooks and serious dictionaries at an advanced level does not allow making the knowledge of the language sufficiently good for any amount of practice.

In fact, the details of the language must be specifically studied. But at an advanced level, reading a textbook will be very easy and even enjoyable.

How to overcome an obstacle


At an advanced level, pay special attention to educational materials (and especially grammar).

Your personal method


You will have your own personal method of learning the language, because in approaches to overcoming obstacles there is enough freedom:


and so on.

But still the obstacles for all are one, so the paths to good ownership are similar, as seen in the following examples.

Examples to follow


thelinguist.com


Canadian Steve Kaufmann has learned more than 10 languages. The features of the method are as follows.

  1. A very large amount of practice of all four skills: the recommended hearing is 1 hour per day, the recommended vocabulary acquisition rate is 100 new words / phrases per week.
  2. Repetition of words by cards (not by the method of interval repetitions, but in a simplified way).
  3. Using bilingual dictionaries.

antimoon.com


Two Poles, Tomasz P. Szynalski and Michal Ryszard Wojcik, learned English at a very decent level. The features of the method are as follows.

  1. A very large amount of practice: “ ... if you want to follow up for a few years .” Or: “Around 1997, Michal and I decided to use only English to communicate. It has been worth noting that it has been spent on schooling. ” .
  2. Using the method of interval repetitions to memorize: ( ““ I was a heavy SuperMemo user for about 2.5 years. In that period, I added 6,000 items to my English collection. <...> My friend and ex-partner at Antimoon, Michal Ryszard Wojcik, added twice as many items as me. ” ).
  3. Avoiding mistakes: every wording in the letter will be checked through a search engine.
  4. Using monolingual (explanatory) dictionaries.

efl.ru


A girl from Russia (Nina - on the forum) studied English at a very decent level. The features of the approach are as follows.

  1. A very large amount of practice: “I read hundreds of five books in English before I began to read, without noticing what language they were in” .
  2. Systematic preparation for passing and passing international exams: FCE, CAE, IELTS. (An example of the fact that for everyone is pleasure in his own way: the success of exams can motivate).
  3. Using monolingual (explanatory) dictionaries.

What do you think?


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Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/365839/

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