There are some
language teaching methods that are based on the idea that when adults
begin a foreign language, they should try to learn it as children do
during the first years of their lives. In such books, often no
explanations are given in English; everything is explained - albeit in
a simplified fashion - in the target language. Grammar usually isn't
stressed much. Instead, there are a lot of pictures with accompanying
texts, conversations, etc. The teacher who uses such an approach speaks
exclusively in the target language. Naturally, concrete situations
which can be easily recognized by the students are used as settings for
these conversations, for if more abstract areas were dealt with, it
would be extremely difficult for the students to follow what is going
on.
The rationale behind this type of method is that children
learn their native tongue without recourse to grammar, or even reading
and writing. Rather, they learn by listening and repeating. If it works
for them, why shouldn't it work for adults?
I personally don't like this approach for two reasons:
1) Adults' brains don't work exactly like those of children. When you
consider all that a child learns in the first four or five years of
life, it becomes obvious that a child's brain is decidedly more
"absorbent" than that of an adult. I'm certainly not qualified to
explain the scientific reasons why this is so, but my own observations
make it plain to me that children are almost always more open than
adults. Their minds are much more receptive for all they encounter.
Also, they are relatively unfettered by inhibitions. Many adults, for
example, are afraid of trying to speak in a foreign language, for fear
of sounding ridiculous. Children, on the other hand, are seldom so
inhibited: they simply speak out, and if it's not quite right, they
probably don't even realize it, and don't care much anyway!
2) The advantage the adult has over the child is the fact that he/she
has developed a superior capacity to reason, as well as to analyze.
When we try to learn a language the way children do - by simply seeing,
hearing, and repeating, with no attempt to analyze why things
are said in certain ways - we rob ourselves of the chance to use one of
our main strengths, that is, to logically sort out how the language is
structured, how the rules of grammar are applied, the precise
differences between the target language and our native one, and so on.
If you know the verb tenses in Spanish, for example, it's much easier
to learn them in French, Italian, or even in German, since you have a
better idea of what you're looking for. If you wish to say, for
instance, "I will have dinner in the city tomorrow", you know you need
to use the future tense, and if you have taken care to learn the verb
tenses well in your new language, this information will be readily
retrievable.
This is not to say that I don't approve at all of "total
immersion" methods. On the contrary, I feel that "submerging" yourself
completely in a language (preferably by living in a foreign country for
a while) is almost a necessity if you really want to advance quickly,
and to eventually master your new language. However, I feel that in the
beginning (if possible, before taking a trip to another
country), you should learn the language's basic grammar, using a book
that explains everything in your own tongue. This way, you will grasp
the fundamentals of grammar much more quickly.
Even when you are in another country, and are (hopefully)
spending a lot of time conversing with the natives, you will want to
have a good grammar book back in your room, so that you can study
different grammatical constructions you heard during the day, and
compare them to English (should that be your own mother tongue). After
all, there will be many times in the beginning of your stay in the
other country when you will think something in English, and will want
to then transform it into your target language, so doing comparative
studies of the two languages will make it easier for you to convert
what you wish to express from one language to the other.
When you are
living in a "total immersion" setting, you will have many opportunities
to pick up new words and expressions the way children do, and this is
fine. Just don't deprive yourself of all the help your adult, rational,
logical mind can give you in your quest towards acquiring a new
language: after all, you have spent all of your life developing these
facets of your mind, so it would be a shame if you didn't put them to
good use!
And now... have you ever asked
yourself:
20)
How long will I
need to learn a foreign language?
Write to
David at:
 |
