“You should take classes with a native teacher”
“You have to use an app like Duolingo or Rosetta Stone.”
“You must move to the country where the language is spoken.”
“Reading is key. Read as much as you can at a lower level and then raise your reading content.”
“Speaking is key. First you speak as a child and after 5 or 6 years think of learning how to read or write in that language.”
“Listening is key. Stay at least 6 months only listening to songs you like – even if you don’t understand anything at first.”
Or even worse: “Forget about it. You can’t learn another language after the age of 12. Not even bother.”
Well… all I can say is that any of the steps above will help, but there is
no magic bullet. In order to learn another language you MUST immerse yourself as much as possible. Not necessarily living in the country where it’s spoken but becoming almost obsessed with it.
In other words, unless you become passionate about the language you’re
learning, you will never grow with it but just become its slave and at a
significant cost (in time, money and effort).
Happy learning,
Cheers,
Moacir
Debunking language learning myths
This time of the year many people ask: “What do I have to do to learn
English, Spanish, French, or whatever language this side of Babel?”
The advice will vary according to who you ask and as many times you ask.
“You should take classes with a native teacher”
“You have to use an app like Duolingo or Rosetta Stone.”
“You must move to the country where the language is spoken.”
“Reading is key. Read as much as you can at a lower level and then raise your reading content.”
“Speaking is key. First you speak as a child and after 5 or 6 years think of learning how to read or write in that language.”
“Listening is key. Stay at least 6 months only listening to songs you like – even if you don’t understand anything at first.”
Or even worse: “Forget about it. You can’t learn another language after the age of 12. Not even bother.”
Well… all I can say is that any of the steps above will help, but there is
no magic bullet. In order to learn another language you MUST immerse yourself as much as possible. Not necessarily living in the country where it’s spoken but becoming almost obsessed with it.
In other words, unless you become passionate about the language you’re
learning, you will never grow with it but just become its slave and at a
significant cost (in time, money and effort).
Happy learning,
Cheers,
Moacir
“You should take classes with a native teacher”
“You have to use an app like Duolingo or Rosetta Stone.”
“You must move to the country where the language is spoken.”
“Reading is key. Read as much as you can at a lower level and then raise your reading content.”
“Speaking is key. First you speak as a child and after 5 or 6 years think of learning how to read or write in that language.”
“Listening is key. Stay at least 6 months only listening to songs you like – even if you don’t understand anything at first.”
Or even worse: “Forget about it. You can’t learn another language after the age of 12. Not even bother.”
Well… all I can say is that any of the steps above will help, but there is
no magic bullet. In order to learn another language you MUST immerse yourself as much as possible. Not necessarily living in the country where it’s spoken but becoming almost obsessed with it.
In other words, unless you become passionate about the language you’re
learning, you will never grow with it but just become its slave and at a
significant cost (in time, money and effort).
Happy learning,
Cheers,
Moacir
The Americanoid Blog 