Hello! Probably, you are in the process of learning a certain language?
I have something to say about it because I speak it in English, which is my second language. Moreover, learning English was so hard for me that after thinking about my problems, I wrote
an application that facilitates the words learning process for me. But we'll talk about this later. And now I will share with you my approach to the studying of words. It works for me and, it could work for you too.
What do you think is the most important thing when learning a language:
- grammar that explains how to build sentences
- or filling your vocabulary
- maybe practice with native speakers?
All of that is important, but there is one condition. It's
MOTIVATION. Someone likes to learn languages, and it's sufficient motivation. But what about others? They haven't fun of it. Therefore, they begin to learn the language if it's necessary. For example, you need to travel or have an important speech. Or you need to communicate with someone who does not know your language. In general, when you realize you
MUST. Thus, if you have no motivation, you will not make progress in learning a language. So, you have enough motivation to learn a language. Perhaps you are studying it with a teacher, by textbook or online course. All this time you are learning the rules to build the sentences, grammar. In addition to grammatical rules, you also study new words. Perhaps your teacher or textbook gives them to you, or you meet a new word and decide to memorize it. Let's focus on this.
Here are the main points:
- TWO DIRECTIONS Learn words in two directions: Foreign Word ➡ Native Word and Native Word ➡ Foreign Word. If you learn only Foreign Word ➡ Native Word, you will be able to understand foreign speech, but you will have problems with answers. It will be difficult for you to remember quickly the translation from your native language to a foreign one. And vice versa, while studying only Native Word ➡ Foreign Word, it will be difficult for you to understand foreign phrases.
- LISTEN AND REPEAT You need to LISTEN to the native speakers and try to repeat after them.
- WRITE You need to write new words. When you write, you better memorize words and recognize them in the text. But I want to warn you not to write the words by hand! 99% of the information comes in print and, you may not recognize the familiar word! To avoid this, learn exactly the printed version.
- REPEATING Learned words are quickly forgotten. You will forget some words for the next day after training and the rest of them within the next two weeks. A good teacher will often use the learned words so that you remember them well. But, the more words you have learned, the harder is to keep them in mind. To avoid this, you need to apply the learned words often.
And above all, is the
DAILY training. You must form a
habit of learning the language. It takes about
40 days of everyday practice. This is not my whim, but how the human brain works. That is why to get through these 40 days you need motivation. After a habit is formed, it will be easier for you to memorize the words. And here I want to draw your attention to such an obstacle. From time to time, you will not be able to keep in mind even two words! It's normal. In this case, do not force yourself to learn, only repeat the words. Also, don't bother if you can't memorize many words at a time. As a result of regular training, their number will increase.
To make it easier to memorize the words I created a Word Dolphin. If you have the motivation for daily training, this application will help you to learn and keep in mind the words. But let's talk about this in the next part.
