Tuesday, November 4, 2008

The Dos and Don'ts of Learning Language

Learning a language can be interesting and fun. There are no people in the world can be excused from not learning another language besides their mother tongue. This is because the ability to learn another language is not limited by your economic background, ethnic background, nationality, gender, race, religion, age or the grades you got in school.
Maybe we all are not going to become great orators or novelists in another language, but we all have the ability to learn and communicate in other languages. There is no danger of learning 'too much'. You cannot fill up your head with too much languages.
First of all, in learning language, you need to practise using it very often. For instance, you can talk to your friends in this case. This is going a step further than talking to yourself. Even if they do not speak the language, talk to people you know in your new language. Warn them in advance that you are practising your new knowledge. Even a simple 'good morning' in your new language will make these phrases be more natural to you.
Besides, your friend may even start to pick up a few phrases as well. Remember that learning a foreign language is like learning to play a sport game or a musical instrument. Skill is developed through practise, correction and continued use to form a habit.
Next, you need to pronounce the words correctly. Maybe you can listen to the music in your new language. You will hear the language used in a real context and this help you to pick out the rhythm and pronunciation better. You will also come to further understanding and better appreciation of the culture behind the language.Music in some languages might be easier to find than others, but there are many other global websites that can help you to find music in many different languages.
The most important thing is you need to read a wide variety of materials in your new language such as newspapers, magazines,flashcards,dictionary,grammar book or even phrase book.
Finally, do not give up so easily.Go ahead and speak,write and do not be afraid to make mistakes. In fact, you will learn as much from your mistakes as you will from your triumphs. Many people study and learn a language but they would not speak until they are comfortable or fluent with the language.
My conclusion is that everybody must learn another language maybe for their second language or third language or even you can learn as many languages as you can. Go ahead and blab away in your new language. The more you speak the better you will get and the sooner you will be comfortable and even fluent with the language.
P/S: This was my essay writting excersice when I was in Form 3.....Thanks to Mrs. Raj a.k.a Pn.Kanimoli, my English teacher for everything...(exersice on Wednesday,6 August 2008)

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