In school, we put a whole lot of focus on study. We think that if we study enough, we will learn more, and if we don't it means there must be something wrong with us. It makes sense, right? That's how it's supposed to work right?
When we study we practice memorization to learn all the things we are supposed to know for a given skill, then we can piece that together and use what we've learned. That is the common approach to learning a language or basically any other skill.
I've met lots of students of various languages who have studied a whole lot and can't speak though. Is it because they just aren't good at learning a language? Or is it because studying is merely one half of the picture.
The Yang of Language Learning
Balance is important in everything we do. When we only focus on one half of the picture, we move forward slowly, or sometimes not at all. It's like trying to get around on one leg without the help of any tools. Learning a language is no different, but we can't have balance if we don't identify exactly what the two aspects that require balnce are.
Studying is the Yang of learning a lanugage. It is the effort and time put in to produce a result, the mechanical or logical approach. It is essential, no doubt. It is the brute force, and in it's extreme, it looks like cramming for a test.
When I say "study" here I'm refering to the practice of memorization, reading and listening, doing formulaic exercises that a teacher assigns you, the dialouge and review sections of a textbook, podcasts, study apps and most anything you do to prepare for an examination. Many people are good at this, or at least they focus on it because it's a very straight forward way of learning where you can measure your progress very easily.
Though it is neccesary, when we focus on it too much without a balncing, integrative force, we tend to forget everything we know, or at best we remember it all but have a hard time using it. Can you relate to that? Knowing a bunch of words and grammar and not being able to speak is quite a common problem.
The Yin of language learning which is often forgotten however is not something which allows for the easy measurement of progress, which is why it's so undervalued. Can you guess what it is?
The Yin of Language Learning
The Yin of language learning is none other than PRACTICE. The reason we don't get enough practice is because we assume that study IS practice, and that is not always the case. Sure textbooks have practice sections for you to use what you've learned, but they fail at making the language something personal to you.
Because "study" and "practice" are both flexible terms that can even be used interchangably at times, I must stress that the kind of practice I am talking about is rather specific. The real Yin of language learning is practice that is relevent to your own life and relevent to life in general. Studying words is not the kind of practice I am refering to, and neither is studying sentences. Speaking and Writing with context, formulating your own sentences and understanding the reply is essentially what I mean by practice.
The reason this kind of practice is so effective is that it is interesting to you. If it is not relevent for you, the chances that you will be able to remember it easily are decreased and when you do remember it, it will come with much more struggle. If it is FUN that helps but it is just as important that it is meaningful to you in some way. That means Jose and Tomoko from the textbook aren't enough. They may help but you've got to take it step beyond.
Combining Yin and Yang for Real Results
The real key to improving quickly and effectively is to make sure you are practicing the same thing you are studying. If you try to practice speaking everything at once it doesn't always stick. Focus on what you are learning. The words you speak don't all have to be true, but it should come from either your experience or your imagination. Have fun with it.
The simplest way to practice what you study is to make sentences, to have conversation using the grammar you have been studying. It's best done in person but online with internet penpals also works well, speak and write at every oportunity. If you can't find anyone else to speak with, talk to yourself! You aren't crazy, you are learning!
"I am inside the microwave." "I am outside the universe."
These are some sentences I practiced saying to friends and stranges in Cantonese. I learned the gramattical structure for stating where something is. I also learned the words "microwave" and "universe" and a bunch of other words I substituted these with. The phrase itself may not be useful but all of it's components are so it's a useful sentence to practice, plus it's fun and I made the sentence from my imagination.
I've found that the strongest correlation between whether or not my students succeed at learning the language is whether or not they are practicing outside of class and outside of textbooks. So try it, I cannot emphasize enough. It's ok to make mistakes too, your teacher will correct them, and you can use a textbook to try and find your own mistakes.
Feel free to share your progress or to contact me on discord @whatamidoing if you are interested in English, Mandarin (beginner) or Japnese (beginner) lessons.
##Authored by @whatamidoing
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