How To Learn A Foreign Language In A Self-Taught Way
Language is a crucial instrument that we all use to communicate our thoughts. As a
result, having the ability to communicate in a language other than our native tongue provides
us with numerous benefits. It assists us in seeing the world from a different perspective. It also
gives us greater confidence when conversing with foreigners and. More importantly, it helps
us find a job more effortlessly. In today’s modern era, learning a foreign language can be done
by ourselves only using countless digital platforms and websites. Duolingo, iTalki, WhatsApp
group, and YouTube are only to name a few of them. While learning a foreign language by
ourselves, we need to keep moving on the right path. Its goal is to save us from becoming lost,
as there are many untrustworthy sources as well. In the following paragraphs, we will discuss
several steps that you can follow to make your self-taught learning more effective and
successful.
To begin the steps, you must first identify the motivations that drive you to study the
language. It takes plenty of effort to learn a language. You must make sacrifices in terms of
time, energy, and money. You do not want to quit learning the language in the middle of
learning it, do you? When it comes to attaining a goal, there is always opposition. These
motivations will keep pushing you to move forward no matter how difficult the trouble you are
facing. These motivations can be in every form. For instance, you might wish to learn a
language in order to impress someone. You want to master it because you adore the culture of
the people who speak the language. Another reason could be because you realize that this
language can help you in many aspects of life in the future. Each person might have his/her
unique motivations. That is why you need to locate yours. Consider why you want to learn this
language in the first place.
Secondly, do not just memorize the vocabulary of your target language. Striving to learn
as many words as possible is indeed beneficial, as a word is the most basic unit of a language
that has a meaning. However, memorizing hundreds of words in your target language appears
to be impossible. When you are trying to memorize new words, there is a good chance you will
forget words you have already memorized. That is because our brain does not work like a
computer that can store everything without having to ‘giving up’ what is already
stored. Moreover, you must actively know them to talk fluently. It means that you need to
master the words. Knowing how to employ the words in a phrase is part of mastering them.
One way of doing so is by knowing the collocation of the words. Words have partners. They
only go with certain other words. For instance, it is not natural for an English speaker to say “I
just did a mistake”. You do not DO a mistake, but you MAKE it. Knowing the collocation of
a word surely can help you use them in a sentence more naturally.
Afterward, do not forget to practice the words you just mastered. Words needed to be used.
Let me paint you a picture here. Imagine you have a huge locker in your brain. Each drawer
can store one word. If you know 3000 most basic words, then there is a locker with 3000
drawers in your brain. When you want to use one of the words, you need to get it out of its
drawer. The problem is you need to remember in what drawer you last put the word. You surely
will not check every drawer since you have to use it instantaneously. Otherwise, your listener
will probably not want to hold a conversation with you again. S/he may become irritated while
waiting for you to utter a single sentence. That is not the case if you use the words constantly.
You will not have a hard time locating the words you want to use because you have not used
them in a time which could cause you to forget them.
Then, the next thing you are going to do is pay more attention to your listening skill.
The terms "hearing" and "listening" are not interchangeable. Listening, on the other hand,
necessitates effort. When listening to something, we pay greater in order to get the information
we want. Hearing, on the other hand, entails just receiving every sound that enters our ears
without exerting any effort. Sometimes, one can speak but can hardly comprehend native
speakers at all while listening to songs or watching a movie in the target language. This is
because when native speakers talk at a normal speed, they typically diminish the sound of a
letter in a word. To give you an illustration, native English speakers would naturally pronounce
the word them as ‘em' rather than ‘them'. Therefore, never undervalue the value of good
listening abilities.
To sum up, learning a foreign language can be done by ourselves only with current
technological advances and by following a few simple steps to avoid getting lost in the process.
Firstly, it is important to find the motivations of why you want to learn the language. Then,
master the words, not merely memorize them. After that, remember to use the words you've
learned on a daily basis to keep them fresh in your mind. Finally, never underestimate the
importance of your listening skill.
This essay purposes to assist everyone who wishes to learn a foreign language more
effectively.
It consists of 6 paragraphs; an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement at the end of it,
4 body paragraphs exploring the thesis statement, and a conclusion paragraph restating the
main points of the previous paragraphs.