ADSactly Learning - Pineapple Language Hacks #1: Anyone Can Become Fluent in a Foreign Language
Learning another language is one of those things that everyone says they want to do. Most of us feel that we aren’t very good at languages. We assume that some people are just born with a gift that we don't have. While there may be a very select few who are born with a gift, the fact is that everyone is not only capable of learning a language, but under the right circumstances, they can learn relatively quickly and without many problems.
I am living proof.
Almost every day someone will tell me that I am gifted with languages and that they wish they were gifted in the same way. But I know from my experiences that I'm not gifted, that I'm just like anyone else, and that actually, a long time ago, I thought the same way they did, that it's just too big a task or that I wasn't talented enough. It took me years of trial and error to figure out just how to learn a language.
I used to be one of those people who thought it was impossible, that learning a language just wasn't something I was good at. I would even tell my teachers and classmates, half seriously, that I was “bilingually impaired”. After all, I studied Spanish for six years and couldn’t speak a word. I studied for hours at a time but nothing seemed to stick.
I gave up after seeing no real results. A few years went by, I graduated high school and in my second year of university I became interested in foreign cultures. I set to prove to myself that I was not “impaired”, and that I could do anything I set my mind to. I started studying Japanese and worked tirelessly, studying between classes, after class, even during my major classes. Not everything I did was efficient and a lot of time was wasted, but I was making progress through sheer will power.
After three years I could speak relatively fluently. I did it almost entirely on my own, essentially without a teacher. I did enroll in Japanese courses but I did not take them very seriously because I wanted to learn faster than the curriculem. I didn't always show up and when I did, I was usually studying my own material. Most of the progress was made on my own.
I actually managed to learn at a much faster rate than my classmates. I skipped one year of class after 4 months of self-study, then I skipped another three semesters after a summer course and one semester of formal study. I always stayed ahead of the class, something which surprised the hell out of my parents because I had been a B-/C+ student up until that point. I managed to stay ahead because I put so much time and effort into it.
After university I worked as an English teacher and so not only had I tested a variety of study methods on myself, I also had the chance to test out these study methods,tips and tricks on my students to see what worked for who, what was consistent for everyone and what only worked for certain people.
I met a few polyglots and picked up things from watching their progess. One of my friends spoke 7 languages rather fluently, all of which he learned in less than six months. He didn’t really know how he learned so quickly, he just did. I watched him carefully and saw that he had a few habits that were very different from the way most people study languages.
After all that i had learned about language learning and self study, I set out to learn Mandarin using everything that I had picked up along the way. I wanted to try something difficult and learn another language that had a writing system very different from English.
Guess how long it took me to become conversational?
It only took 3 months to learn Mandarin.
6 years and no results with Spanish, 3 years of trial and error to learn Japanese and only 3 months to learn Mandarin!
If I can learn that quickly, anyone can. I am not a natural at learning languages, in fact, it takes me much more time to memorize words than most of my friends. I merely learned what it takes to learn a language and properly applied what I learned.
I have yet to become fluent in any other languages due to having other priorities but I have dabbled in Cantonese, Spanish and French, and plan on working on them more seriously after finishing up some writing and music projects.
What to expect from this series
In this series I’ll teach certain tips, stories, study methods, resources and ways to change the way you think about languages in order to help you learn as effectively as possible, so that you don't have to learn from trial and error like I did and can get the results you want. Most of these posts will not be meant for specific languages but for students of all languages although we may go into some interesting aspects of certain languages. I will gear these post towards those who are self studying but they should serve as great help to those in classes as well.
Feel free to share your progress or to contact me on discord @whatamidoing if you are interested in English, Mandarin (beginner) or Japnese (beginner) lessons.
Authored by @whatamidoing
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Thank you!
My goal is to speak seven languages by the end of my life, it's work but I got rid of "classical" teaching methods and since then I'm progressing much faster.
Thank you for this thought-provoking article.
For me, the site of the Irish Polyglot was a revelation: https://www.fluentin3months.com/
Learning a language intuitively, spontaneously, through practice, reading comic books, consumer articles, listening to podcasts, reading blogs and so on has changed my learning. I still study grammar a little, but much less at school or in high school, and the results are better. Language learning is now an integral part of my daily life.
My goal is 10 :-D I've got a lot on my plate right now, finishing a novel and after that I've got to record my album, after that I want to really get fluent at Cantonese and Spanish because I've been dabbling forever.
I know of Benny, some of he talks about is quite similar to what I've learned from 2 or 3 polyglot friends which I've integrated into my teaching and my own studies. I haven't read that much from him but he's great!
Making it part of your daily life is essential! Nice! What languages have you started with?
You may become the salvation of some, especially those of us who do not have the skills to learn other languages, @. It has been difficult for me and although I was always a student with good grades, studying any language has been "uphill" for me. I have always seen how other people can easily acquire another language, learn it, write it, speak it, and I feel some sorrow for myself. I think knowing other languages, especially English and Mandarin, is an investment. Any kind of important work requires you to know several languages; then the one who speaks the most will have the most possibilities. I must recognize that part of the limitations to learn that one has is put oneself, are mental barriers that must have their roots in our childhood, the contact with the environment, the experience in school. It will be interesting to read those experiences of yours, lessons, methods to make the study of other languages easier, faster or more interesting. Thanks to you and @adsactly for sharing these educational posts! Greetings
Thanks for the kind words. I'm sure you will be able to learn another language one day. I'll try to make it easier for you :-)
@whatamidoing, your testimony is a great motivation to learn new languages. It is complex, sometimes, or because of lack of time, or lack of will or because we do not apply the necessary dedication. With your example, it is clear that wanting is power. When you want to reach a goal you do everything possible to go after it. You made it. I was surprised by the short time you learned Mandarin, what was it due to? Will it be easier than any other language? Did you put more interest? It would be interesting to know your answer. Your contribution with the publications that you promise to help those who want to learn a new language is very commendable. I will be attentive to learn from those tips and finally be able to learn, in principle, English and not continue using the Google translator :). Very pleasant this publication, grateful that @adsactly is a channel to reach quality content.
Immersion helps, but I have some very specific kind of immersion that I'm going to talk about in the next few posts. Not being afraid of making mistakes and just speaking helps a lot too, this is where a lot of people mess up. My big mistake with Japanese was spending all my time in the books and not speaking at all. And being interested is essential. If you only want to learn for some intangible goal you've set, it isn't easy.
I quite agree with you on that, being fluent in foreign languages isn't a gift totally while there are people with the gift, there are also people who developed the gift on their own through determination. I am one of those, i speak 3 different nigerian languages fluently, i never attended a class for it, neither did i read a book that thought me what it was saying but it was through practice, and having a book to keep records of what i have learnt in other not to forget it.... Some people who are around my, like you wrote, are quick to hail me that i am a special or different breed but i let them know its just time, practice and zeal that is required to know how to speak these languages .
I think a lot of people are just making excuses for why they haven't succeeded. It's frustrating to put so many hours into it and not have it pay off, but it's more about the quality of time spent than the quantity.
Which languages do you speak?
Nice to see you are finally starting this! I'm sure there will be people benefitting from this and I might be one of them.
It also made me somewhat proud to realize that I am fluent in Dutch and English. Pretty decent in Spanish and German, starting to get there with my Portuguese and I can make myself understood in French ( if I get rid of the dust of two decades ). I would love to learn some non-Latin languages though, one day and am especially interested in learning something that doesn't use the alphabet ( we grew up with )
I am looking forward to your second post, I'm curious what tricks I can pick up here :>)
Damn! I had not realized what a polyglot you are! Lucky to be Dutch! You actually learn languages in schools instead of playing around with them.
You always know who you can practice Japanese and Chinese with. Last night I had a tri-lingual conversation...so confusing!
I wish this were true for my case.
Indeed i will try to apply your lessons, and i am fairly sure i know most of the pieces you are going to write about.
My problem is that i know 0 languages.
Or, often i will tell people that my native language is C.
I often can't remember words.
I don't remember my boss' name (when i had a boss)
Literally, i would look at the name plate, and walk in the door and say, Good morning Mr. X. If anything messed up that flow, than i couldn't remember the name... well, maybe 50%.
However, i know more languages than just about everyone i know.
I am very good with language structure. noun-verb endings are easy peasy.
The chinese alphabet is not very difficult when you know the root of the pictographs in the words. (yes, i studied ancient chinese to learn Japanese. And damn the Chinese govern-cement for adopting the easy symbol set... they lost so much meaning in doing so.)
So far, the best way for me to be able to use a language is to learn phrases. But, it only works as phrases and if the triggering situation or the syntax slightly changes, then it becomes as if i know nothing.
"My native language is C" hahaha C++?
Sounds like you are just a brain-farter hahah I can relate. I try so hard not to find out peoples names until at least half an hour of talking to them because it doesn't stick.
What languages can you kind of almost speak?
I'll see if there is a post or two that can help you :-)
C++ has internal inconsistencies. And so, i have trouble with the language, not that i don't use it. Qt is awesome for writing quick programs.
These are the ones i have more than a one semester course understanding.
Awesome!!! Same as me really but my Spanish and French are rough because I haven't had much time or motivation for practice. English is your native language, right?
Supposedly. But it would make a lot of sense if it was my second language. A lottt.. of.. sense. Unfortunately, that would make my memories a bit suspect.
I'll be following your posts for sure! I'm just trying to learn French and I'll take any tips on how to do it. When are you going to post the first one on this topic? I can't wait :)
I believe these posts will come out every week. I'll alternate between challenging the ideas we have about languages, useful study methods and some other stories related to language learning that might be helpful to anyone studying.
French conjugation is rough right? I know the pronunciation is a little tricky but not as bad as some other languages. I want to get around to it one day.
Thanks for showing interest!
Oh you tease! Where's the tips? Gimmie gimmie! :)
Well, I'm not a native speaker of English myself and everything I've learned, I've learned by immersing myself into English-language content. Though my neglect of actual English language courses and textbooks is also the reason behind my occasionally questionable use of punctuation...
The biggest obstacle to learning a language seems to be having motivation in the form of a specific target, as in: "I really want to understand this specific piece of content/person".
For example, learning to read Simplified Chinese hieroglyphs might be a useful skill overall, and I consciously understand that. But I don't have any particular application for it in mind right now.
I can't put everything out at once,. :-D We will get there soon enough!
You are right about that, wanting to have more opportunities isn't always a good motivating factor, and grades are the worst motivation for actually learning to speak, though some people can use that as motivation to memorize words and pass a test. If you want some good Chinese media I can try to come up with a few things to motivate you since I studied it myself. There isn't a whole lot that I like but there are a few things I can recommend. Making friends helps too!
Could I keep you to that promise at a later date? :) I talk a good talk about learning languages but right now I'm learning a bit of 3D modelling and Python in my spare time off work (and this whole STEEM thing), I'd like to get at least a fundamental knowledge base in there.
That's another thing that I found is best learned by doing, diving in and starting building\coding checking with manuals as you go instead of following rigid textbook exercises. Sure, for some minds rigid exercises may actually work best, but a book and a task can only be built for one type of person -- I've mostly never been the person text books are made for :(
But when you learn to adapt one studying process to your unique style, you can apply it in other disciplines too :)
I know how it is. Even though I'm planning on learning Cantonese and Spanish, I'm quite busy finishing this novel and preparing this album, learning how to record, building up my work online and getting ready to start work in real life.
As a follower of @followforupvotes this post has been randomly selected and upvoted! Enjoy your upvote and have a great day!
Well, well, well, what more can I say. Should I agree or disagree with you on this?.
Well I have this believe that most people are been giving the gifts speak different languages and that's quite correct and on the other hand, you not having the gifts of speaking different languages doesn't mean you won't or you can't be able to speak but rather it'll take you much time and hard work.
Someone with a gift or skill is at a better angle in archiving something than to does who don't have such gifts. Well that's just my opinion.
It does take more work for some people, but I was one of those people who failed at learning for many years before I figured out what I was doing wrong and so what I'm trying to do here is show the shortcuts :-D