http://www.udemy.

com/interactive-portuguese-for-begginers Unit 0 – Course Introduction

LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Find out What Works Better for You

Becoming aware of your learning process is one of the key factors of success. So, before going further
with this course, I’d like to a take few minutes to talk about what works better when learning a
language. I’m not going to lecture you about language theories or repeat to you the things I’ve read
somewhere else. I’m just going to go through some statements that I’ve come across and give you my
personal opinion about them. An opinion that reflects my experience both as a language teacher and as
a learner/speaker of three foreign languages myself.

The traumas of traditional teaching methods

Generaly when people think about learning a new language, they associate that with
studying and memorizing grammar rules and doing a series of repetitive exercises.
Also, more often than not, people remember being afraid of making mistakes
whenever they had to talk, and feeling frustrated to see their productions marked
with red comments.

I remember experiencing those things myself as well. But I also remember that when
I was around ten and was about to start learning English at school I made a list of all
the words I had learned from movies and songs, and I remember English being easy
right from the beginning because of that exposure. In Portugal we are lucky not to have dubbed movies,
and many children’s cartoons also have subtitles instead. When I moved to Ireland over three years ago,
I already spoke fluent English without ever having been in an English speaking environment before.

As to learning French, I remember that when I was twelve I met a French cousin and was fascinated by
the fact that she spoke another language. And I recall starting to use what little French I had learned at
school to communicate and play with her. I could barely remember anything, so I intentionally built
funny silly sentences to make her laugh. That Summer’s playground taught me more than one year of
studies, and opened my mind to the language as an experience instead of a mere object of study. When
I went to France for the first time at the age of fifteen, I was fluent already. Later, I became a French
teacher. And here in Ireland, for the last year and a half, I’ve worked and even lived with native French
speakers. Today I can use both English and French instinctively, without having to think about what I’m
going to say.

I also studied Italian two years while I was in college, and my teacher had just arrived from Italy and
spoke absolutely no Portuguese. Her lessons were in Italian from day one. I remember having long
conversations with her in corridors and subway stations, fascinated by her vast culture and intelligence.
Today, if I come across an Italian native speaker, I can remember enough to express myself in any
subject, regardless of making more mistakes than I do when I speak English or French.

Here are the conclusions I draw from these experiences:

Fact: you need to be exposed to the language you want to learn

This is generally called having input. Make friends who are native or advanced speakers of that
language, listen to songs or movies, look for chat rooms, read small poems or proverbs, or newspaper
articles: whatever works better for you. Internet opens your horizons and offers you a world of content
at any time or place of your convenience, on your PC or on your phone. Bring the language into your
daily life.

Fact: you need a reason to learn

It can be that you are fascinated by a language, or want to be able to speak with your partner’s family. It
can be because you need to have business meetings with someone from another country, or because
you regularly travel there, or are planning to live there. You need a reason, and you should let that
reason guide you in selecting appropriate input, and your goals: how far do you want to go? In what

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amount of time? What specific vocabulary and expressions do you need to learn? Your goals should be
SMART (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria).

Fact: you cannot learn without speaking

We hear this all the time, but why is it that speaking is so essential to learning a language? It all has to
do with how your brain remembers the language. Your brain associates words and expressions to a
certain social and language situation. Simple example: what is one of the first words you learn in a
foreign language? “Sorry” or “excuse me”. Yet, when you go to a country where that language is spoken,
and you accidentally bump into someone in the street, what is the first word that wants to come out of
your mouth? Exactly – your brain immediately goes to your native language. That other foreign word
you know so well, you have heard and studied and wrote so many times, just wasn’t triggered. And that
is because probably you never actually used it in a real-life situation.

Having said so, I believe that there is a right time for you to start
speaking. By speaking I mean talking to another person, as
opposed to repeating sentences out loud, for example – that, you
can do from the start. But imagine you have a couple of friends
who speak the language you want to learn, and you often hear
them talking. If you are an absolute begginer, what they say is
meaningless to you. But after some time of exposing yourself to
simpler input from other sources, gradually, small chunks of what
they say start making sense. And one day you’ll find yourself
having a sentence that pops to your mind as a response to their conversation. Say it. You are ready to
start talking. Your friends will intuitively adjust to your level, and what they will say next will be more
relevant input to you, because it is linked to a real-life situation, and your brain will absorb it in a
completely different way. Oh, and don’t be afraid of making mistakes. The day you start talking, your
friends will not laugh at you, they will be impressed.

Fact: you shouldn’t focus excessively on grammar

This is a controversial issue. Some researchers say that grammar studies should be banned from foreign
language teaching. Their argument is that our brains are prepared to learn a language unconsciously,
the same way a baby does. And it’s true we are all able to speak our native language without consciouly
knowing or thinking about the grammar rules. On the other hand, some teachers are very attached to
their old methods, and to some students memorizing grammar and doing repetition exercises remains a
sort of comfort zone that makes them feel successful without having to expose themselves to actually
getting out there and speaking, facing their true limitations and making mistakes.

In my opinion, definetly grammar should not be the center of attention because it’s not what speaking a
language is about. And I do agree that there is an intuitive, subconscious way of learning a language. But
I have observed myself and my students asking grammar questions all my life. Wondering about how to
explain some linguistic phenomenon, and comparing other languages’ structures to their own seems to
be as natural a process as the one that the babies use to learn their mother tongue.There must be a
reason. And the reason is that we as adults do not learn exactly as a child. Adults want to be conscious
and take control of their learning process, and they need to use their past knowledge and experience to
understand the new information that is being given.
Likewise, learning a second language is not like learning
your first language. When you learn a second language,
you use your own as a starting point. You often compare.
And by comparing, you will become aware of a certain
amount of rules: the ones that were relevant for your
individual learning process, which is highly influenced by
your linguistic foundations: your native language.
Therefore, although grammar shouldn’t be worshiped like
an all- saving God, it shouldn’t become a taboo either.

So how can we draw the line? Simple: look only for the answers you need to the questions in your mind,
don’t transform the grammar text book into your bed reading – unless you love it. Even if you do, and if

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you are serious about speaking a language, don’t forget to... speak it. Teachers: react to your students
specific needs above all, and explain only what is relevant to understand a certain chunk of text. Don’t
dump the whole list of 12 grammar rules that explain all that relates to subject and adjective gendre
agreement. Tell the student only enough to understand why a certain sentence is built in a certain way,
and... only if they want to!

Fact: aptitude does not determine how far you can go – attitude does
Let me compare learning a language with exercising your body. We are all born with different physical
capacities. But you really cannot excel unless you want to work hard. And sometimes, those who were
born with more limitations end up going much further than those who seemed blessed by nature. The
latter were lacking the right attitude, and the right attitude is knowing where you want to go, being
proactive in searching the way to get there, and work on it as much as you need until you do. Another
aspect is being positive and constructive. Look for what gives you pleasure and see every obstacle as a
challenge.

Fact: not all students need a teacher

No rambling, no “buts” or “ifs” here. I know I’m a teacher, but not everyone actually needs one. Some
students can be amazingly independent, and feel like fish in the water when looking out for their own
solutions. And even for those who have chosen to have a teacher, that teacher can have different roles,
according to their preferences, their level, and their personality.

In my early years of teaching private lessons, I’ve

had one student from Spain who simply said to my
face: “these exercises are boring, I just want to
talk.” And I thanked him for that!... He was right, he
knew what worked for him. Even if he was
surrounded by Portuguese speakers, he felt that
having someone who was especially available to
interact in order to help him improve was helpful –
but that was all he wanted.

More recently, after having explained some

grammar topics to a student of mine, I asked her if I
had given her too much theory, and she said: no, theory is good. And she was right as well. She can
actually remember many of the things I explain to her, and is able to self-correct based on that when
she is talking. And I just keep reminding her of any relevant grammar topic, so long as she asks for it and
is happy to hear about it.

Finally, students often ask me questions like: “how many hours of study do I need per week?” or “what
book do you recommend?”. Some students may need help in setting goals, understanding what works
better for them, finding adequate sources of input, or simply the fact of having regular lessons keeps
them focused.

In conclusion – find out what works better for you.

- Why do you need or want to learn the language? How far do you want to go?
- Do you prefer an intuitive method and just learn from hearing and talking, or are you interested in
looking at grammar?
- Where and how can you find sources of input?
- Are you ready to start talking, or do you need more time just listening and reading?
- If you want to start talking, who can you reach out for?
- Do you really need a teacher? If so, what do you need that person to do for you?

The answers to these questions will evolve as you become more experienced with learning a foreign
language, and it will also depend on the type of opportunities that you’ll have in time. But the important
thing is to remain focused on them and keep the positive, proactive and hard working atitude you need
to get you where you want to go.

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If you want to learn more:

1. Orlando’s blog page “General principles in Learning a Foreign Language”. Orlando is a Spanish
and Portuguese teacher at the University of Texas. His motto: “Love learning foreign languages,
without worrying about perfection.”
http://orkelm.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/general-principles-in-learning-a-foreign-language/

2. John Fotheringham’s slide presentation “Language Learning – why most people fail and you can
succeed”. John is the founder of Foreign Language Mastery (http://languagemastery.com) and
author of Living, Learning & Teaching in Taipei (http://livelearnteach.com)
http://www.slideshare.net/L2mastery/language-learning-why-most-fail-and-how-you-can-
succeed-complete

3. Steve Kaufmann’s testimonial. Steve is an example of a very independent learner who managed
to speak 9 languages fluently by finding out what works better for him and being embedded in
the culture of the different countries he lived in.
http://www.thelinguist.com/en/en/book-contents/

4. “Principles of Adult Learning”, by Stephen Lieb, Senior Technical Writer and Planner, Arizona
Department of Health Services and part-time Instructor, South Mountain Community College.
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/adults-2.htm

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Liliana Gaspar 12 January 2011