Learning Another Language

We can all be encouraged to learn another language. Although it may help to have special language learning abilities, research shows that learners with a wide variety of intellectual abilities can be successful. In fact, if we look around the world, in country after country most people can speak more than one language, so in some ways it may not be all that difficult. Having strong motivation helps, of course. We all know that if learners are interested in something and want to learn it then they are likely to be more successful. For language learning, feeling the need to communicate is part of motivation and so is the learner’s attitude towards the communities where the target language is used. If we are interested in the people who speak the language and are curious about their culture and way of life then we are more likely to learn faster and more easily. The greater the motivation the more one succeeds, but also the more one succeeds the greater the motivation. This means that it is important for learners to be aware of their success and not only think of the difficulties in language learning.

Practice is also important in language learning. Good learners look for opportunities to practice, they are willing to make mistakes, and they try to communicate messages even if they do not know all the necessary words for what they want to say. In classrooms, talking with a partner as well as with the teacher can provide good opportunities for practice. Even if learners working in pairs or groups do not always provide each other with completely accurate or authentic language they can still offer each other genuine communicative practice if they try to interact with each other and negotiate meanings rather than simply recite what they know.

     It is also important to remember that there is more than one way to learn a language. People can be successful using lots of different methods: some learn visually through images and imagination, others learn better orally; some learn through memorizing, others learn better through physical action and activity. Still, although some learners may feel they know what works for them, and they use certain methods, all learners should be willing to try other methods, including new ones — how will they know what works for them until they have tried a range of methods?

Most learners believe it is important to learn new vocabulary and new rules or more complex language. While this is true, it is very important to fit new vocabulary and rules into what we already know. In learning new words, for example, we should try to relate them to other words and associate them with what we knew previously. Developing a good vocabulary, though, is not just a matter of learning more and more new words. It is also a matter of learning new meanings for words we already know, or combining what we know in new ways. Vocabulary development therefore includes learning the meanings of idioms and metaphors where often the combination of apparently simple words is what gives new meanings.

☆Do some further reading and report what you have learned. The following links maybe of help.

1. How to Master a Second Language

http://www.wikihow.com/Master-a-Second-Language

2. Language learning strategies

http://www.studygs.net/langlearn.htm

3.How to learn a foreign language: Mastering

http://jakubmarian.com/how-to-learn-a-foreign-language-mastering/