This article is Part 2 of the 5 part series on learning a language (click any of the following for “Part 1: Why it is never too late”, “Part 2: Myths of language learning” , “Part 3: Routine for the complete beginner”, “Part 4: The routine for the intermediate level”, “Part 5: Advanced routine and learning another”, and the companion piece and review of the LingQ language application here.)
To understand your innate ability for language acquisition it is important to debunk some of the myths that hold us back.
To begin, the animal kingdom largely reacts instinctively; human behaviour, on the other hand, exercises more voluntary control. Our linguistic capabilities are undoubtedly our most contrasting evolutionary advantage to our mammalian cousins. Language is simultaneously instinctive, voluntary, creative and predictable. The complexity of any given language is difficult to comprehend (unless you’re trying to learn one that isn’t your mother tongue); yet, almost every human child can acquire one (and their complex subset of rules) with relative ease.
Simply put, we are hardwired to acquire language, and this ability doesn’t expire.
Myth 1: you learn faster when you’re young
This is just a question of time, unfortunately. The main difference between you and a child is a whole lot of free time.
A child has an infinite amount of time to learn. This is often in contrast to your (optimistic) few hours a month/week. Simply put, given 6 months of paralleled immersion, a grown adult would be discussing complex topics and reading complex material; a child would most definitely not be at this level.
Do not underestimate the hardware. All it takes is motivation, efficacy, and consistency. Above all, you have to have the belief and hope that you will learn the language! The only undisputed difference between a child and an adult is their ability to master pronunciation faster; faster does not necessarily mean better! Simply put, an adult has been developing neural connections on how to produce certain sounds since infancy; therefore, it is often more difficult to master pronunciation as an adult, because your mouth isn’t accustomed to making these new types of sounds. This is in contrast with a child who is making all of these new neural connections for the first time. Where it may prove more challenging to master some of the phonetics of a language, an adult has a massive advantage through learning association with their developed lexicon and language structures. You actually learn a new language by using your own as a reference point for associative learning. This can have its benefits if the learning is done correctly.
Myth 2: Speaking is Everything
Speaking, comparatively, is nothing in the language acquisition process. Speaking is the 1%. The final 1%, really. This is the biggest misconception of language acquisition—that you must speak a language to learn it.
Wrong
It is true that speaking is a necessary component to mastering your target language; however, it is important to understand that before you can speak, you must listen. A parrot can speak (and sometimes in great detail), but a parrot cannot have a deep meaningful conversation. Of course, speaking is a requirement of communication. But this comes later.
So what is the parrot missing? The talented ones can repeat very complex sequences of sounds. But the parrot lacks spontaneous comprehension; comprehension is the key to fluency. And therefore, comprehensive listening is the 99%—coined in linguistics as comprehensible input.
Think about it. Our brains are so geared for language that we can replicate something without ever having constructed the sound. In fact, every new word you’ve ever learned, your brain has listened to it and reproduced those sounds pretty seamlessly. It is the same reason why a mother after many repetitions of the word “mummy”, will be delighted when she hears the repeated word by her infant child. How amazing! The child listens, comprehends, and repeats.
Comprehensible input is the key.
What is this? It is listening to material and having an understanding of what it means, even if that understanding is not totally complete. The material needs to be intelligible and slightly more advanced than the learner’s current ability to understand it. In the beginning, that means listening to short clips of material in your target language that you understand. This process is done over and over again (much like the mother repeating mummy). If that sounds confusing, just wait and I’ll explain…
I owe 99% of my success in French and Spanish to one man and one application: Stephen Kauffman, and his app LingQ. The app harnesses the power of linguist Stephen Krashen’s Input Hypothesis which describes ‘comprehensible input’. It is worth giving you some of the Cole’s notes on the hypothesis:
The input hypothesis is built on the theory that if you comprehensibly listen to material that is slightly more advanced than your current level, your knowledge will progress. Understanding spoken and written language input is seen as the only mechanism that increases linguistic competence; in other words, language output (or speaking) is not seen as having any effect on the learners’ ability to acquire language.
Have you ever heard a foreign language and thought, “there is no way I would ever understand that”. Well, that’s because you haven’t created the necessary neural connections subconsciously to break-down the sequences of sounds into their respective meanings. The key is to create those connections. And how do we do that? Through constant and repetitious comprehensible input.
The input hypothesis can be distilled into the formula “i+1”
If “i” represents one’s previously acquired language in the target language, then “+1” represents the next increment of new knowledge that will be within the learner’s capacity to acquire.
By taking small clips of audio and text that can be readily and easily translated you can rinse and repeat this process and incrementally acquire new knowledge. The focus is on the meaning and not the form. The form, through repetition, will be acquired subconsciously. Of course, you’ll want to look at the rules for reference and ease, but complete understanding of the grammar is not necessary in the same way it wasn’t necessary the first time (as a child) you learned your native language.
Linguistic competence, according to Krashen, is only advanced when a language is subconsciously acquired; in other words, conscious learning (like reading grammars) cannot be used as a source of spontaneous language production (or speaking). Spontaneity is only attainable through subconscious learning. Speaking can supplement the process, but it shouldn’t be the main focus as it is in most teaching methods and apps.
Therefor, the way the world has been approaching language learning has been largely incorrect!
I learned French and Spanish largely on the foundation of one book
One book with 5900 unique words. This was Steve Kaufman’s semi-autobiographical book “The Linguist: A Personal Guide to Learning Languages”. I read and listened to this book in both target languages over and over on the LingQ. By the end of the book I had impressive fluency. I first did this in french, and now I am doing it in Spanish.
That’s not to say I wasn’t supplementing my learning with spontaneous conversations, radio, and television. But my day-to-day work was on this book using the LingQ. For an explanation on Comprehensible Input and how it is applied to the app, you can check out this video by Kaufman.
After less than a year with French, I felt the shift. I felt the fluency. Today (3.5 years later), it is hardwired, and I have since moved on to the next language. Spanish came much faster. I’ll be starting my fourth soon.
Language learning requires desire and will (as discussed in part 1 of this series) which in turn creates action and and inspiration.
In summary, the two takeaways from this myth busting article are:
- all people are capable of learning a language effectively at any age; and,
- listening is everything—and no, that isn’t dating advice.
Mix desire with efficacy, and you will have a wonderful cocktail.
Check out part 3 here.
Al holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Ottawa, and a Bachelor of Arts Double Major in Linguistics & Political Studies from the University of Manitoba. He is currently working in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Al has a passion for language, meditation, health, travelling, business and tech. Al is one of the co-founders of ThoughtNotion. You can connect with him on his personal site or on LinkedIn.
