Have you even been in (a) situation (s) where you were making progress in the language you are/were learning then suddenly hit a wall not knowing what happened? This happens all too often with language learners that many don't know how to get off their learning plateau that it ends up crippling their motivation to the point where a multitude of people give up their language (s) entirely. Their discouragement is usually followed by one of the following phrases:
"I just don't have the language gene", "I don't have a knack for learning languages", or simply put: "I'm just not good at languages."
These phrases annoy me to no end because not only is it not true but the people saying they are unwilling to devote the time and effort or simply expected too many results in a small amount of time!
There are various tasks that you can do to make your learning experience much more enjoyable than just following one way. It's safe to say that most of you reading this have used or are currently using a textbook (in a classroom), self-study course book (ex: Teach Yourself, Assimil, etc), a website (LingQ, Language Pod 101, italki, LiveMocha (Now Defunct), etc), or computerised product (Rosetta Stone, Instant Immersion, etc).
If you are learning in a classroom sitting there is a very high chance that your instructor has forbade you from skipping ahead or using anything that goes outside the framework of the course. They want you to follow each lesson chapter-by-chapter until you learn it threw rote repetition. Unfortunately, what the vast majority of language teachers fail to realise is that foreign languages are too complex to be taught as a simple subject like maths or science.
Do things YOU like in the language(s)
Everybody has their own way or method to learning (a) new language(s) and it is ultimately up to you what you do in the language that pushes you to make progress in the language(s). With that being said, if the traditional method works for you then by all means go for it. It does not work for me and so I do what I can do avoid it. Find what works for you by testing out various methods until you find out what does work for you. This could mean using a combination of methods and products to get results in the language(s).
I was always discouraged from trying to deviate from the course and actually try to do self-study without a guide of the textbook and the teacher's exact method. Most people kept telling me that if I wanted to learn a language fluently that I would have to take several classes in school and follow their course work exactly. It didn't work for me! I was left discouraged, unmotivated and it made me feel like fluency was an impossible task only for truly talented people.
When I decided to finally learn on my own through whatever I could find; people though that I must be really smart, have the language learning gene or have some sort of alternative brain function that allows for multilingualism. [Sarcasm] So my brain came from an alien from outer space and that is the reason why I have a passion for learning languages? It all makes sense now! [/Sarcasm].
Spend everyday in the language and devote as much dead time as you can
So what do I mean by this? I mean spending anytime you have free (Waiting in line/the queue, sitting on the tram/train, on your break at your job, etc) in the target language. This could mean listening to podcasts in your target language(s) while you do other things. (Ex: cooking, cleaning the house, jogging, gardening, etc) In fact, right now as I writing this post (on 24 April 2013) I'm listening to a podcast in one of the target languages I'm learning.
Probably one of the reasons why I didn't make progress in my target languages I was learning was because I was only devoting maybe a hour or two for the entire day. Some days I was listening to an odd song or two in the language and that was it. When I did devote time to the language it was listening to CDs that accompanied my Teach Yourself book and ended up doing 3 lessons in one sitting and then burning out from studying too much and then spending the rest of the day in my day to day language.
Gradually, spend more and more time in the language until you can spend most of the day (if not all day) in the target language. Probably something that I shouldn't have done so much at one time. Nowadays, I do mostly listening but I still read, write and rarely speak. Unlike in the several language classes I have taken.
Speak when you are ready!
Everyone who taken a language course at some point knows that the instructor almost always tries to get their student to output (speak and write) the language immediately. When the instructor knows full well that the students don't have the passive vocabulary gained through input (reading and listening) to use to write essays and express what they want outside of the current chapter. The student is either forced to use the dictionary or will be forced to express it without much vocabulary to describe it.
This occurrence happened in every language class that I've attended (Which were 3 courses in French, 1 in Mandarin, 1 in German and 3 in Japanese). This is what made me feel uncomfortable speaking with a native speaker (and my tutors when I took classes in college) because my vocabulary was so limited and I doubt they would want to hear about you talking about what colour everything in your house is, how much you really like pizza or asking stupid questions you would not ask someone in your native language.
I am not saying that classes don't teach you useful phrases. I am simply stating that most of what you learn will be inauthentic and makes be the very thing that outs you as a non-native speaker.
But these phrases can be found in a typical phrasebook. I remember in one of my Japanese textbooks (Nakama), it had a section in it to set up a bank account in Japan. I remember the dialogues in that book being so unrealistic that I could not imagine saying those exact words to a bank clerk in Japan. Especially, since setting up a bank account is much more difficult than the textbook would lead you to believe.
When I went to Japan a second time, I felt like I could understand the signs a lot better than my first time there and I could hold up a conversation with the locals and say much more than I could when I was there the first time. Most of this was from activating my passive vocabulary I obtained from input (reading and listening) prior to departure (No, I did not cram just before I left although I continued to do what interested me in Japanese with whatever free time I did have).
Credit Driven Classmates Are Discouraging
They exist everywhere in every single language learning class you will find them. When the teacher asks the class to practise speaking the language, they always seem to find a way out of it. Let's face it, they are just there to get credits for their degree and to use it on their CV/Résumé that they have the "experience" in the language. Knowing full well that they will never use it outside of the classroom. (If they do, they are meeting with a tutor to practically do the assignment so they can get good marks/grades. Nothing else!
I found it extremely frustrating when I wanted to practise speaking and they didn't even bother. It's worse when they have (a) friend(s) in the class because now they have more initiative to not practise the language with you. Remember the only thing that matters to them is receiving good marks/grades and nothing else.
They are the reason why it is imperative that you practise outside of the classroom on your own.
Many of these students caused my motivation to plummet for that language. In fact, I was more than willing to use the language but I often had a problem finding a native speaker to practise with.
Nobody to practise with
At some point you need to start outputting (speaking and writing) in your target language(s). You can find native speakers on Lang-8 (as of 29 February 2024 has shutdown and merged with HiNative), italki or Preply. One of my biggest challenges with learning languages is that I don't always have access to a native speaker or fluent speaker to practise with. It was easy for me to get my writing corrected but actually speaking the language was always a challenge for me. Especially, since we can't always travel to the country or countries that speak our target languages.
Language Usefulness
Many people choice language based on how useful they are and what they can get out of them. Such as Russian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, French, Korean, or German. However, it is not likely that people are going to learn less popular languages like Catalan, Danish, Finnish or Slovak. Fair enough but if you are going to countries that speak these language then it is absolutely necessary to learn them, even if they can speak English fluently. Getting by with English is not the same as being able to truly thrive in those countries.
Every language has its usefulness (apart from dead languages obviously) whether you realise it or not. For example: In Denmark, you will find that most of the signs are in Danish and not everything has an English translation for what it is. Even though a local could easily translate what it is for you, not everyone is willing to translate every single thing for you. You may also find yourself isolated from the locals when they speak their language with each other.
I have had people ask me: "Why are you learning that language?" Don't you know that you can get by with English there?"
What they don't know is that getting by is not actually thriving in the country. Some expats really make me wonder why they even bothered leaving their own country to begin with because they have basically created a little "Australia", "USA", "Italy", etc in a new country. They live in their own bubble and speak anything but the local language and often ignore important culture aspects and wonder why they got in trouble. Khatzumoto has an article on this topic with expats in Japan. There are certain amenities you can get when you speak the language. Yes, even if they do speak English.
A good example is when I was visiting family and friends in Scandinavia and used Danish and Swedish as much as possible. People were much more friendly with me and were happy that I was actually making an effort in their native language. Making friends is easier when they know you are genuinely putting your best foot forward to learn their language to fluency.
Don't let people discourage you from learning it because it doesn't have as many speakers as one of the majority languages or if you can get by only using your native language. If you want to work in a place like The Netherlands, Denmark or Sweden then you're going to need to learn the language to get a job easier and better integrate as a part of their society. English may not be impressive enough and therefore you will not only need to learn their native language and another major language like French or German as well in order to be considered.
Ultimately a language's usefulness to you is dependent on whether you plan on using the language(s) as a part of your daily life. (In country, online, with customers, etc). A language is far from useless if you use it as a part of your daily life.
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