These 5 Language Learning Myths Are Sabotaging Your Progress
How many times did you put “learning French” or “becoming fluent in Italian” on your New Year’s resolutions list?
In the thrill of possibilities that come with a brand-new year, you can vividly see yourself residing in a beautiful château in French countryside conversing with a guy named Sébastien about the fine wine produced in Languedoc-Roussillon. Regardless that in real life you’re perfectly satisfied drinking $15 boxed wine and can’t even pronounce château.
There are probably multiple things keeping you from fulfilling that dream. Overwhelm, fear, time. Besides, there are heaps of misconceptions about what it takes to learn a foreign language. That’s why so many people end up solely relying on apps like Duolingo. It doesn’t take much time or dedication and it feels like you’re making a progress.
The road to becoming bilingual is hard, especially if you give in to these simple solutions.
Myths about learning a second language
1. Language learning apps are sufficient to become fluent
Let’s get this one out of the way. No, they’re not.
The most effective way to learn a language is to speak it, but not many learners take it to heart. Understandably so. It’s daunting. What if you end up accidentally insulting someone’s grandma while trying to praise their delicious pie? Or what if somebody laughs because you sound like a hissing cat trying to pronounce Eichhörnchen?
Using an app or doing grammar sets is the easier option but it’s not going to get you where you want. Speaking will feel like you're pulling hair out of a rug but it’s essential if you’re aiming to be bilingual.
2. You can learn a foreign language only if you live in another country
Exposure to a language is not the same as active usage.
There is a lot to be said about immersion since it’s a useful tactic when learning a language. I know from experience that I made huge progress in English when I listened daily to podcasts, binged TV shows and read everything I got my hands on, even articles about what other things you can do with dental floss. But the important thing is that I already had a baseline with the language.
Living in the country of your target language can be a game-changer but only if you’re making connections with native speakers. You also gain a plethora of other advantages — cultural awareness, context of the language, etc.
Simply travelling to live in another country does not guarantee fluency. A report by Expat Insider from 2017 showed that 52 % of British people living abroad spoke ‘only a little or not at all’ of the local language. A lot of the time native English speakers end up relying on their first language, which brings us to the next myth.
3. Speaking English is enough
According to the US Census Bureau, only 20 % of Americans can converse in two or more languages, while in Europe it’s 56 %.
Language education might hold different importance in each part of the world. In my country, kids learn English since elementary school and some high schools even require students to pick a third language, usually, it’s a choice between Spanish, German, French or Russian.
For native English speakers, it might seem useless to learn another language because English is so widespread and in many scenarios functions as a lingua franca. However, the global job market would have a different opinion.
There is a huge demand for language skills as you can read for yourself in the New American Economy report from 2017. According to the report, the demand for bilingual workers doubled between the years 2010 to 2015. Even though the report focuses on the American job market, the importance of languages is similar all over the world.
While you’re learning a language, you should make effort to get familiar with the culture of the country. Being knowledgeable about customs and cultural nuances can be incredibly useful in closing business deals.
4. Learning a new language requires talent
There might be some people that have a natural linguistic predisposition, but mainly it comes down to being passionate and having effective studying techniques.
Learning a second language requires determination and patience. Usually, the promise of becoming fluent in a few months is just that, a promise. Even Benny Lewis in his book ‘Fluent in 3 Months’ makes it clear that becoming fluent in that short amount of time depends on what exactly ‘being fluent’ means to you. You would also have to invest a lot of hours every week into studying, which might not be plausible if you are juggling multiple responsibilities.
“There is a great deal of evidence that, whereas oral communication skills in a second language may be acquired within two or three years, it may take up to four to six years to acquire the level of proficiency for understanding the language in its instructional uses (Collier, 1989; Cummins, 1981).” — B. McLaughlin (Myths and Misconceptions About Second Language Learning: What Every Teacher Needs to Unlearn, 1992)
The acquisition of a new language might not take as long as was stated in the above quote if you implement more effective methods. If you’re not making as much progress as you hoped, you should re-evaluate if you’re using study techniques that fit your style of learning. As already above-mentioned Benny Lewis states in his book ‘Fluent in 3 Months':
“In many education systems, especially in English-speaking countries, languages are taught the same way as any other subject, like geography or history. Teachers provide the ‘facts’ (vocabulary) so the student will ‘know’ the language. Or, as in mathematics, students do the exercises to understand the ‘rules’ (grammar).”
Are you spending enough time talking in that language? Are you using spaced repetition to learn new vocabulary? Change things up to find what works best for you.
5. You should work on your pronunciation after you’re proficient enough
When I’ve learned languages by myself, I’ve never placed much attention on pronunciation. In school, I was corrected only when I completely butchered a phrase or a word.
I have been fluent in English since I was approximately fifteen. Writing, reading and thinking in English came to me without any hurdles, so I felt my pronunciation was good enough. However, when I tried to read out loud a page from an English-written book, it struck me how many words didn’t come out ‘right’. Even though many of the words were familiar, I didn’t try to pronounce them while learning, that’s why I had trouble sounding them out correctly.
I even recorded myself and cringed hard when I listened back. I was fairly confident in my proficiency, but I realized I didn’t sound all that fluent. I jumped on Forvo and tried to emulate the words I was stuck on. Doing this regularly greatly improved my pronunciation.
I recommend you do the same. Speaking the language and reading aloud can help you discover words you struggle with and make you sound more like a native. Even if the words sound clear in your head, vocalizing them might be surprisingly hard.
Bad pronunciation makes it harder for others to understand you and this might take away your confidence when speaking. So, even if you’re only starting to learn, pay careful attention to your pronunciation.
If some of these myths stopped you before, I hope now you have more confidence in yourself. Anyone can learn another language with enough passion, discipline, and effective learning methods.
