Essence of learning a foreign language I
No doubt that English is the widely spread
language in the world. Roughly 700 million people speak it. There are
millions of people who speak English as their second language. It is
obvious that learning English opens opportunities and careers that
didn’t even exist some years ago. It helps us to increase the
communication and negotiation potential of the situation and to get
rid of misunderstanding, moreover it helps us to expand our knowledge
in different spheres of life. So we may predict that English will
never die out. On the contrary … However, some linguists are sure
that English does have only one possible mortal enemy – itself.
They stick to the point that today English is the closest thing to
lingua franca. Lingua f
ranca
is a language chosen for international purposes when there’re
speakers of several different languages. Latin was the lingua franca
in the Middle Ages in Europe, it was taught in schools as a second
language. So some linguists claim that just as Latin broke up into
French, Italian and so on, the same will happen to English. They mean
that English is gradually breaking up into unintelligible varieties.
But of course the process will take centuries. We may agree with them
or not, but the fact is that more and more people are learning
English and of course every nation brings something new to the
language. In order not to lag behind the time we must learn different
foreign languages. We realize it; we learn. It goes without saying
that both teachers and learners are interested in more effective and
enjoyable language learning. Teacher-trainers are always full of
ideas how to make foreign language lessons more active. But I’m
sure the best part of your progress depends only on you.
Before tackling a foreign language ask yourself what for you’re going to do that. May be you want to do that for your career success or to expand your knowledge, to learn the culture of this or that country or may be just to follow the fashion. Whatever your motivation is you should know how to master a language in the most effective way.
First make a list of the things you intend to learn on your language course.
Then assess your ability in different skills, such as listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary or grammar.
A) As far as listening goes, I should advise you to listen to the news in English if you have access to the BBC world service and then it’s a good idea to relisten to the news in your own language in order to check how much you understand.
B) What’s more – I believe that videos also provide a great way to hear the language in the context of natural conversation. Full-length films are loaded with idioms and other language specific characteristics.
C) Don’t forget about reading. Read as much as you can in your own time: simplified readers, magazines – anything. But try to avoid dictionary dependence, of course you can’t understand every word – but just skim and read what you can. Don’t worry – sooner or later unknown words will fall into place.
D) You should try building up your own grammar in a separate note-book, alphabetically, and add memorable, personal or humorous examples whenever you come across them.
E) It’s a good idea to find a pen-friend and write to him/ her as often as you can.
F) And it’s wonderful if you have a chance to visit the country where the language is spoken. Because it goes without saying that practice is the key to success when learning a foreign language.
G) Next write new vocabulary words and phrases on index cards. So you can learn them anywhere, and at any time you feel like it.
Finally for me the important factor is your desire to master a language. It seems to me that this is the crucial point in a language. If you even don’t have a good ear, a bad memory – don’t get upset. If you take pains – you’ll manage everything because while learning a language you will also perfect your language skills. Learning a language is a hard job and don’t forget that “learning of a foreign language has the beginning but has no end”.
ESSENCE OF LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE II
I
t’s
true that we’re living in the world that’s getting smaller and
smaller and we’re going to have to be able to communicate in more
than one language if we’re going to be successful. When applying
for a job people who know a foreign language will be given
preference, even if the language is not requested for the job. This
new trend towards emphasizing foreign language skills is opening
doors for many individuals who have risen to the challenge. When they
are seeking a new job or advancement at the current company bilingual
and multilingual individuals often have the competitive edge. This
doesn’t mean that people must have a foreign language major to
benefit professionally. Actually in a business situation you don’t
even have to be fluent in a language. Sometimes even knowing a little
of a foreign language puts a foreign individual at ease and increases
the communication and negotiation potential of the situation. Of
course people tackle a foreign language for different reasons. Some
people do that for their career success promotion, some people want
to expand their knowledge in different spheres. But anyway, before
mastering a foreign language it’s a good idea to ask yourself what
for you’re going to do that, and how much of the language you
really need. Your answers to these questions should be your goals and
your incentives.
So if now you’re in the right frame of mind, listen to some tips for learning process.
1) Avoid crash courses. Crash courses often teach too much, too quickly not allowing the brain to absorb all information.
2) Listen to audiocassettes for pronunciation and cadence.
3) It’s a good idea to listen to foreign radio, especially to news.
4) Try to watch video in a foreign language. Whether they are for pleasure or learning, films provide a great way to hear the language in the context of natural conversation. Full-length films are loaded with idioms, hand gestures and other cultural and language specific characteristics.
5) Read as much as you can in your own time: simplified readers, magazines – anything. But try to avoid dictionary dependence, of course you can’t understand every word – but just skim and read what you can. Don’t worry – sooner or later unknown words will fall into place.
6) It goes without saying that newspapers and magazines are fantastic vocabulary builders.
7) Try to practice with the vocabulary you have – the more you converse the sooner a fluent language speaker you will become.
8) It’s a good idea to write vocabulary words and phrases on the index cards. They are easily fit in a pocket or handbags and can be pulled out and studied just about anywhere.
9) Your success depends mostly on you.
And now some words about benefits you will get while learning a foreign language.
1) a foreign language has the crucial role in people’s career success.
Moreover, there are numerous personal benefits in learning a foreign language.
a) The process of learning a foreign language flexes your creative muscles – the more you exercise your creativity, the more creative you become.
b) Your memory, particularly the long-term memory gets a good workout. It will also help you in every day situations (when you will have to remember people’s names, figures and so on).
c) Then you’ll feel more confident when communicating because your interpersonal skills will grow no matter which language is used to converse. You become more open to new cultures and places, become quite outgoing.
d) And of course you’ll learn about the culture of the country.
So you see “ The game is worth candles.”
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