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Viewing Intermediate Language Learning: Tips for More Complex TasksIntermediate Language Learning: Tips for More Complex Tasks
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By Michael Gabrikow After you have established a basic vocabulary in the language you are studying and feel confident enough that you can pass on to some more complex jobs, it is time to put what you know into practice. The following tips and tricks are meant for people who have already achieved a basic level of understanding in a foreign language and want to improve areas such as speaking, writing, vocabulary improvement, and so forth. 1. Study with a Friend or Form a Study Group If you are studying the new foreign language in class, it will be easy for you to grab a classmate and start studying together. Otherwise, if you are learning the new language on your own, you could try looking for someone with the same interest or someone who wants to improve that specific language. You can help each other out. Studying with a friend is an incredibly powerful way of stimulating the learning process, and you will be able to improve your vocabulary a lot faster. Most importantly, you will not just learn the words, or just understand the language you are studying, but soon you will be able to handle conversations with your study-buddy, which will be extremely helpful in allowing you to reach fluency in that language. 2. Evaluate Your Strengths and Weaknesses Each person has his strengths and weaknesses when it comes to learning a foreign language. Some may be better at memorizing words, others will understand grammar rules faster, or get a good grip on pronunciation with ease. To the same extent, a person might have trouble with any of the above-mentioned areas. However, language lessons and course books do not care about this. They have straight on, systematic requirements that you need to follow. However, you should adapt your own strengths and weaknesses to this learning process. For example, if you are having problems with grammar and you cannot really get a correct sentence without checking the book, but the course has already passed on to, say, vocabulary, should you continue? Of course not! You should ensure that you have mastered everything before moving on, or you might end up with serious holes in your learning that can be obstacles later on. However, if you find yourself flying through a chapter and you already have a good grasp on what they are trying to explain - but the course goes on and on for 20 more pages about the same thing, you should skip those pages. It is all about making your language lessons efficient and evaluating your own strengths and weaknesses so that you know what to emphasize or disregard. 3. Find Your Own Language Learning Pace This tip is complementary to number 2, since your pace will be determined largely by your strengths and weaknesses. The most important thing to know is that you should set your own boundaries. Do not let a course book or a free online language lesson tell you, 'It is time to move on to the next chapter'. You must decide when to move on and you should only do so when you are fully confident that you have everything right so far. Remember, skipping or not fully understanding a part of your new language is like taking a card out of the base of your card castle. Sure, there is a chance it will still hold based on the other cards, but you will be left with quite a shaky castle. 4. Practice Consistently and Efficiently One thing I do not like about course books is that they give you set time limits for studying. 'Study 1 hour each day for 2 months' and the like. You will be better off simply studying consistently, as much as you feel comfortable with, otherwise your efforts will not be efficient. If you are going to go study for 1 hour simply because your course book tells you that you should, that is very inefficient. If that is your only motivation, you will probably be unfocused, thus unproductive when studying. You should always study when you are in the mood to do so, and not forced into it by any other factors. Otherwise, you will waste considerable time mindlessly reading things in your new language, but not assimilating anything. In addition, frustration and nuisance will build up. When that happens, many people simply quit. If you study consistently and efficiently and you actually see some results, that will give you enough motivation to study the next day, and the next, and so forth. One last note regarding language learning efficiency: follow tip number 3 and eat the information with a small spoon. Do not overwhelm your brain with too much new information. About the Author: Increase your foreign language vocabulary with online language games at Internet Polyglot. The site contains thousands of lessons in different languages - from English, Spanish, French, and Russian, to Hindi, Turkish, Ukrainian, and many others. Article Source: A Language Guide - http://www.a-language-guide.com |
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