By Daniel White
As many of us know from experience, trying to communicate effectively with someone who speaks another language can be frustrating at best. It depends on the language the two of you are speaking as to how much of a challenge this can be; if you speak only English and are trying to converse with someone who only speaks Japanese, you can imagine how difficult it is. Learning another language is perhaps one of the most rewarding things you can do, and whether you want to be able to communicate more effectively, travel to another country, or improve your mental capabilities, there are several advantages. Starting young makes the process or learning another language easier, although you are never too old to learn.
Developing the Mind
The progress that people can make when learning another language at an early age is phenomenal. Linguists and development psychologists are all in agreement that the best time for learning a new set of vocabulary and grammar is when your body and mind is still developing. What a five year old child can learn in one year may take an adult more than five years to learn. This is due to the fact that parts of the brain that deal with memory and speech grow fastest when a child is between four to ten years old, but once a child becomes a teenager, the rate of growth slows down before stopping altogether. The ability of a child to absorb new things can be compared to the way new storage units can accommodate new information, because they are still growing. Since not everyone is a child, the question becomes how can adults who have mature brains learn new languages?
The immersion
Because language is used in several areas of your mind's memory, it is more difficult and complex a task to master a new language than to learn how to fix a car. You basically need to replace your entire grasp of grammar and vocabulary in order to talk fluently in an other language; it is not as simple as just calling up the specific words that you need. Your brain will start to automatically adapt to the process of talking and thinking in a different language if you are exposed to another language. You then have no choice but to think in that language, and if you want to learn French for example, there is no better way than to spend some time in a French speaking country. Compare the experience you will get from immersing yourself in an other culture and language, to simply spending an hour or two at home each day trying to learn that language. Studying the language at home means that you are not really exposed to it, making it that much more difficult to learn. If every sign, TV show, menu and conversation was in a different language, it would be a lot easier to learn it.
Aim For Ok, Not Great
Trying to learn a foreign language perfectly is unrealistic and you should accept that there is no such thing as the perfect translation. Instead, start to think about how to effectively and clearly make your point. many people fail or find it difficult to learn a new language effectively, because they strive for perfection, not realizing that such a thing is just about impossible. Never get frustrated when you cannot find the perfect word or phrase; you should be happy that you are able to carry on a simple conversation in another language.
Look over the web
While academic study, textbooks and classrooms can be very handy in helping a person learn another language, the world wide web is without a doubt the greatest resource available for people who wish to learn something new without having to leave their homes. The internet can help you to connect to people living in different parts of the world, find language-specific forums and meetings, communicate via video chat and write posts among other resources that can help you to practice with like-minded people. When you want to travel abroad, you can search the internet using your preferred search engine for activities to engage in, or places to stay that will require you to utilize your newly acquired language skills, and get better at communicating in that language.
Developing the Mind
The progress that people can make when learning another language at an early age is phenomenal. Linguists and development psychologists are all in agreement that the best time for learning a new set of vocabulary and grammar is when your body and mind is still developing. What a five year old child can learn in one year may take an adult more than five years to learn. This is due to the fact that parts of the brain that deal with memory and speech grow fastest when a child is between four to ten years old, but once a child becomes a teenager, the rate of growth slows down before stopping altogether. The ability of a child to absorb new things can be compared to the way new storage units can accommodate new information, because they are still growing. Since not everyone is a child, the question becomes how can adults who have mature brains learn new languages?
The immersion
Because language is used in several areas of your mind's memory, it is more difficult and complex a task to master a new language than to learn how to fix a car. You basically need to replace your entire grasp of grammar and vocabulary in order to talk fluently in an other language; it is not as simple as just calling up the specific words that you need. Your brain will start to automatically adapt to the process of talking and thinking in a different language if you are exposed to another language. You then have no choice but to think in that language, and if you want to learn French for example, there is no better way than to spend some time in a French speaking country. Compare the experience you will get from immersing yourself in an other culture and language, to simply spending an hour or two at home each day trying to learn that language. Studying the language at home means that you are not really exposed to it, making it that much more difficult to learn. If every sign, TV show, menu and conversation was in a different language, it would be a lot easier to learn it.
Aim For Ok, Not Great
Trying to learn a foreign language perfectly is unrealistic and you should accept that there is no such thing as the perfect translation. Instead, start to think about how to effectively and clearly make your point. many people fail or find it difficult to learn a new language effectively, because they strive for perfection, not realizing that such a thing is just about impossible. Never get frustrated when you cannot find the perfect word or phrase; you should be happy that you are able to carry on a simple conversation in another language.
Look over the web
While academic study, textbooks and classrooms can be very handy in helping a person learn another language, the world wide web is without a doubt the greatest resource available for people who wish to learn something new without having to leave their homes. The internet can help you to connect to people living in different parts of the world, find language-specific forums and meetings, communicate via video chat and write posts among other resources that can help you to practice with like-minded people. When you want to travel abroad, you can search the internet using your preferred search engine for activities to engage in, or places to stay that will require you to utilize your newly acquired language skills, and get better at communicating in that language.
About the Author:
Daniel White is an expert in world languages and travel for several years, who is sharing is experience, reviews and knowledge through is own website blog. if you want to know extra about it, you can visit is languages website. if you want get extra information and reviews about studying languages from around the world, you can go visit is studying languages reviews, videos and articles pages.
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