Pineapple Language Hacks #4：The MOST EFFECTIVE study method for learning a language.
There are countless choices for how to go about learning a language. Book stores are full of books with titles such as "Learn French in 10 days" or "Easy German" or "Swahili for Busy People". There are serious textbooks that you can buy online or at a university book store. There are classes and schools that use a formal classroom environment to teach you. There are even expensive computer programs and apps that supposedly work better than anything else (verdict out on this one). There are podcasts and Youtube series and clubs and language corners and tons of other resources out there.
All of these methods bring varied results. Most work for some people and not for others. In general though, none of them are as effective as everyone hopes. Very few find themselves conversational in a short period of time, especially when they are only putting a few hours a week into study. Most of us also have other responsibilities and can't put much more time into study and so we just hopelessly hope that one day we will achieve some level of fluency.
What if I told you that the most effective method of learning a language was the simplest and least fancy of them all?
The most effective method of learning a language, one that has consistant results among all those who practice it is something that we all do anyway when we join a class or hire a tutor or use a textbook, but it's something that we severely underestimate the importance of and therefore don't spend enough time on. It is literally more important than everything else, and you can learn a language doing nothing but that one thing. It can be summed up in two words:
Make Sentences
It’s so simple. The reason textbook work and classes and tutors are so useful is mainly because you have a chance to make your own sentences. They are also usually sentences that are related to the grammar that you are studying. This is a very important point. You don’t want to just make sentences at random, you want to make sentences which use certain grammar that you are practicing.
You can use textbooks or classes to practice making sentences, and of course it is very helpful to have a teacher, but you can cut out a lot of the fluff and save yourself a lot of money and time if you just do it yourself. Textbooks are useful but the practice sessions talk a lot about Bob or Mary, and you are not Bob or Mary, you are you and the things that are related to your life are far more relevant and important for you to talk about than anything you can find in a textbook. This makes everything you practice much easier to remember.
Having a systematic approach to making sentences can really help speed up your progress
Those who speak at random without any proper study or formula do learn eventually, but their understanding of grammar is full of holes, they make many mistakes and often can't understand everything being said. Here are some points keep in mind when making sentences:
- Choose a grammatical structure that you want to practice.
I think it’s good to have a textbook for this. I will usually review the dialogue section and the grammar section just to make sure I understand the nuances and then use this grammar section as a reference to make sure I’m not making mistakes. You can also check with a friend and ask for a few more examples so you can compare them.
- Make sentences
Instead of doing the practice section of a textbook, or in addition to doing the practice session (or in addition to the grammar you learned from a friend) make lots and lots of sentences. Write them, speak them to yourself or people you know.
Here is an example of what I might practice in my second week of learning a language:
I_________like_______________dogs
I_________like_______________microwaves***.
I_________don’t like_________pop music
*** - strange sentences are ok, they help you remember new words.
- Practice only what you’ve learned.
Don’t go outside your comfort zone without consulting a textbook or a native speaker. Every language has different rules and so you need to make sure you are following them. It’s good to start simple, for example, just using positive sentences and just talking about yourself at first. Then as you become more comfortable figure out how to make it more dynamic by either checking the book or asking someone.
I__________________like_________________your sister.
You______________don’t like____________me.
Your sister_______doesn’t like_________me.
See, the conjugation and negation might be confusing if you don’t read an explanation or see a sufficient amount of examples.
- Practice until you are comfortable
One thing that people often fail to do is practice enough to actually feel comfortable with the grammar. They learn it, then they move on, or they review it until they can recall it, but really it needs review until it comes AUTOMATICALLY. You shouldn’t really have to think about it. You can move on and come back to review but don’t forget to review.
- Make sentences that are fun and interesting
Interesting means relevant to you. It’s also nice to make ridiculous sentences because this helps you remember them. Context helps you remember things and the best context is something you can relate to or something you enjoy. It’s also easy to make friends when you say ridiculous things.
- Talk to whoever you can
If you don't live in that country, find someone on the internet, talk to a friend who doesn't understand just for fun, or talk to yourself. I cannot stress enough that talking to yourself is better than talking in your head.
We spend so much time and energy figuring out how to improve at a language when the answer is staring us right in the face. I bet you didn't think it could be that simple, but I can attest that ALL my students who do this regularly improve at a decent rate, and if they put more time into it, they can improve at a rate far faster than the average university course.
Keep speaking!
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