LEARNING TIPS
I want to share these tips to language learners out there and reveal how I’m getting the most out of my studying. Some are from my own personal observations while the rest I gathered from elsewhere and find useful. On occasion, I may add more useful tips.
Read – Whatever language you’re learning, read frequently—even if you’re a beginner. For instance, I read books in Spanish aloud on a daily basis since January and it has helped a lot. Here’s why I recommend reading:
- Reading gives you a general idea of how the language functions and weed out the English-ness of it. Keep note of how words are use. Learn their limitations in grammar. You may find that what you can do in English (or whatever is your native language), you cannot do the same in another language and vice versa.
- Reading out loud to yourself—or whoever’s willing to listen—to practice speaking effortlessly. It helps your mouth adjust to the pronunciations and build confidence and fluency.
- By reading, you will learn new vocabulary words. Make a list of words you don’t know and look them up in a dictionary. Add them to your list to study.
- Because it’s fun reading in another language, even if you may not always understand half of what’s going on.
Listening
–Watch films/shows in original audio, avoid dubbed. Being a longtime fan of Jackie Chan since the ‘80s, I only watch Jackie Chan Hong Kong films in subtitles instead of dubbed and I started doing the same with any movies and anime.
–Take note of speakers with foreign accents: I notice that some English speakers who have an accent from their native tongue are helpful. Even though they are speaking English and pronouncing words the English way, the sounds–phonetic/phonology–from their native language are still in use…most of the time. It gives a general idea of how the language sound in contrast to your native tongue. But beware, their speech may not always be base on their native language.
–Listen passively and actively.
Active listening—try comprehending what’s spoken, put your mind to work.
In passive listening–not paying attention and/or just listening.
Speaking –
- Form sentences freehandly at the moment you want to express a thought. For example, when I want to express that I’m hungry, I say, “Nodo ga suite iru” or “Quiero comer” and then I translate. Along the way, it’s sometimes good to avoid translating.
