Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Learning a new Language?
Being fluent in a language other than your
own is a skill in a league of its own. Even learning one more allows you
to #traveldeeper a little more than before. But what if you could speak
six, 10, or even 15 languages?
It’s not impossible—in fact, a person
who can speak five or more tongues is known as a “polyglot,” and many
people take on languages as a hobby.
We spoke with some of these polyglots—Conor Clyne (Language Tsar); Donovan Nagel (The Mezzofanti Guild); John Fotheringham (Language Mastery); Olly Richards (I Will Teach You Language); and Shannon Kennedy (of the Fluent in 3 Months team)—who each speak anywhere from six to 16 languages, many of which they acquired in adulthood. How difficult is it really for adults to pick up une deuxième langue?
Read on for expert advice from these multilingual masters, who insist
we’re all capable of learning new languages at any point in our lives.
But first: Why embark on such a daunting challenge?
“Even
knowing just a modicum of a new language opens up so many doors that
remain closed to monolinguals,” Fotheringham explains. “When I was
working at a startup in Bangladesh, I only knew a smattering of Bengali
words and structures, but this helped me forge much stronger personal
and professional relationships and helped show respect for the local
culture.” Clyne similarly agrees that it helps to be multilingual. “The
more I traveled, the more I realized how much knowing a language gets
people to open up to you,” he says. For Nagel, “Being a polyglot has
enabled me to get beyond superficial travel experiences and really
connect with people around the world.” An added bonus? Learning new
languages helps us to retain neuroplasticity into old age, keeping our
brains young and active (move over, Sudoku).
Speak, Speak, Speak
“Spend your time actually acquiring languages, not
just studying them,” says Fotheringham. “The two are very different
beasts, which is one of the major reasons most adult language learners
fail, despite years of effort. They spend all their time
reading about the language instead of spending the requisite
time immersed in it. This is like trying to learn how to drive by
reading a car’s owner manual.” This means that you need to actually
practice speaking the language you’re learning, all the time, as much as
you can, and starting from day one. It might be scary, but interacting
with native speakers is essential for growing comfortable with something
that will initially feel downright strange. And that’s not uncommon.
Says Kennedy, “For a lot of learners, speaking is the hardest part of
learning a language because there are so many things that play into it.
It’s more than just knowing the language. The sooner you can conquer
your fears regarding this aspect, the better off you are.”
However, this doesn’t mean that learning
Japanese requires moving to Japan. Access to Wi-Fi unlocks myriad
resources that allow you to interact with native speakers face to face
(such as Skype, for example). Similarly, listening to the language from
your native-speaking friends is also crucial in learning to produce
those same sounds yourself. In this vein, Nagel promotes a method known
as “chunking,” which involves listening to chunks of language over a
period of time and repeating them, verbatim, until they start to come
from you naturally (in the same way that musicians repeat scales until
they become second nature). Fotheringham recommends topping off your
wholly immersive experience with other helpful details, such as changing
your smartphone settings to the language you’re learning and listening
to music in that tongue. You’ll be amazed at how quickly things start to
sink in.
Use the Right Study Tools and Methods
Equally vital to your language-learning
journey is creating an all-star study method. This requires resources.
Do your research and compile a hearty toolkit of helpful translation apps,
websites, textbooks, and/or tutors—whatever combination makes you feel
most comfortable in your path to success. “As you progress,” recommends
Richards, “begin to spend more time listening and reading. Find
listening material in the language you’re learning that is slightly
above your current level. Make sure it comes with a written transcript.
Spending regular time listening and reading (at the same time) gives you
large amounts of exposure to the language, which is essential to
becoming more proficient.”
Note that focusing on grammar is not the
way to go here.
It’s much more effective to put your efforts toward
vocabulary so that people can still catch your drift even when your
grammar isn’t spot-on. Kennedy’s ultimate formula? “More vocabulary,
more practice, more exposure to the language,” over and over and over
again. Once reading your textbook begins to feel easier, move on to more
difficult media meant for native speakers (books, movies, magazines,
etc.). Set goals for yourself that help to push you through this process
but that are equally realistic as well. Fotheringham recommends
“S.M.A.R.T Goals”—that is, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant,
and Time-bound. This process will certainly be easier if you’ve learned a
new language previously, but newbies, have no fear: You have the power
if you put in the work.
Put in the Hard Work
The final piece of this puzzle is a
go-getter attitude. Adding a new language to your repertoire of skills
takes passion, motivation, and some serious dedication. It
requires consistency—a daily dose of consistency. This may
sound daunting, but it’s a notion that each polygot we spoke with
asserted wholeheartedly.
“Think of language learning as a lifestyle,”
explains Richards. “You need to work at it every day. Personally, I set
aside one hour every morning to work on the language I’m studying at
that time. Consistency is the key, and so I recommend you follow the
same approach with your self-study at the beginning. Work at it a little
every day, and after one month you’ll have made a lot of progress.”
Persist through the difficulties, ambiguities, and mistakes. (They’re
inevitable, so embrace them! Mistakes will help you grow.)
There’s no “arrival point” as to when
you’ll reach fluency, for “fluent” in itself is a fundamentally
subjective term. “How long it takes is determined by a variety of
factors,” says Kennedy, “how efficiently you study, how close the
language is to your native language, how dedicated you are, what else
has your attention, if you’ve learned a language before, if you’re doing
it on your own or with a tutor, which resources you’re learning, and
how you define fluency.” As Nagel says, “For some, [fluency is] being
able to order a coffee. For others, it’s being able to discuss economic
policies.” You’re embarking on a constant evolution of learning, so
buckle up, be patient, and be sure to enjoy the ride.
Finding fun in the
process will aid your success by leaps and bounds.
