Learning a new language is one of the world's most difficult journeys. It requires years of toil and patient determination. Payoff usually comes slowly. The way is not well-marked, so the journey requires frequent treks up false trails, demoralizing backtracking, and constant experimentation to find new routes. Reliable guides are few and far between. Their guidance can be confusing and contradictory, and every traveler's path looks different.
I made so many mistakes when learning Arabic, and wasted an extraordinary amount of time on learning strategies that brought little return. I have often reflected on what I would do differently if I could start all over again. Now I'm getting that chance... sort of. Two months ago I began learning Turkish.
This time around, I was determined to get my strategies right from the beginning. They are far from perfect, and I'm always tinkering with my study regimen, but on the whole my experience learning Turkish has been far better than learning Arabic. I have a passive vocabulary of roughly 1600 words (meaning I can recognize them), have a basic grasp of most common grammar, and can follow the main ideas of BBC articles. I'm making constant forward progress, and my comprehension is improving each day.
Everybody learns differently, so I don't claim any special authority on the subject. I know others will vehemently disagree with my methods. So much of language acquisition depends on personality and learning styles. I'm much more comfortable with books and ideas than with socializing, and my learning style reflects that. But for those who are interested in hearing, I'll share a few of the principles I learned with Arabic and am now applying to Turkish. Take them or leave them, as you will.
1. Set specific goals. Language consists of many different skills, and students can get bogged down if they don't know what they're trying to achieve. Overall proficiency in the four major skills (reading, listening, speaking, writing) is desirable, but not necessarily required. For Turkish, I set a very limited goal at this stage: I want to learn to read, because for me personally, reading is the fastest way to build overall language comprehension and is a necessary prerequisite to being able to listen, speak, and write. Also, during this early stage, I wanted to learn the fundamentals of grammar. I am slowly working in some listening, and at some point, I will switch to a new phase and focus on speaking.
2. Have a strategy for managing a rapidly growing vocabulary. This was my single biggest problem with Arabic. I need constant repetition (i.e. flashcards) to learn new words and review old ones, but in four years I've never had a single system--mainly because I never found a system that worked for me. I tried most of the software on the market. I used flashcards. I wrote in pocket-sized notebooks, large spiral-bound ones, and in the margins of texts. Because I was never consistent, my vocabulary is scattered everywhere and I never learned many of the words. I wasted a colossal amount of time and energy.
I was determined to get vocabulary right with Turkish. Serious language learners seem to prefer a spaced repetition software (SRS) program called Anki, so despite my misgivings about the program's clunkiness, I made myself learn it--and have now grown to really like it. From Day 1 of Turkish, every new word I've learned has gone into the program. Because my goal at this stage is reading, I only have Anki quiz me passively: the software presents words in Turkish, and I answer in English. Each day the software quizzes me on new words and reviews old ones, with a review schedule based on how well I know each word. For each card, I customized Anki to include the English word, the Turkish word, an example sentence in both languages, and Turkish audio. The system is working well so far. Reviewing vocabulary in Anki is tedious, but for me it's essential--especially in the early stages of language acquisition.
3. The best way to learn is comprehensible authentic material. When I started Arabic, I spent most of my time drilling vocabulary, doing boring exercises in my curriculum, and looking up countless unfamiliar words in a paper dictionary. My biggest change in strategy came around the five-month point, when I realized that I learned and retained far more if I devoured BBC articles and used a Firefox plugin to translate unfamiliar words as I went. I could consume much more material and get comfortable with the language in real contexts. I've never looked back, although my consumption has grown to include more complicated news sources, radio stations, and TV shows. Apparently, research shows that consuming comprehensible input is the best way to develop language skills.
4. That being said, the first stage of language learning involves reaching the point that authentic material becomes accessible--as quickly as possible. A key word in principle #3 is "comprehensible"; authentic material is only useful if you understand a decent portion of it. So the best way to learn a language is through consuming authentic material, but you need a certain baseline in the language before authentic material becomes accessible. How do you break out of this trap? My personal conclusion is that the first stage of language learning is substantially different from everything that follows; it requires tedious things like a curriculum, lots of vocabulary memorization and drilling, and grammar. My goal at this stage is to reach the critical mass where authentic material becomes accessible; at that point, I can thankfully back away from the tedious, old-school methods and focus on more enjoyable tasks like reading authentic material
I see this shift as the first big milestone in language learning; once a student can access authentic material, learning occurs more rapidly, vocabulary gets committed to deep memory, and the language becomes less perishable. The bad news is that the opposite holds true in the early stage; knowledge gained by rote memorization perishes quickly. The student needs to study and maintain forward motion every day; to stand still means rapid backsliding. One reason I think some students get frustrated, burn out, and believe they are incapable of learning language is that they never leave this first stage.
By the way, everything I just wrote about "comprehensible input" applies to speaking as well. Just like interacting with authentic texts, using the language in real conversation will bring it to life and commit it to long-term memory.
5. Have a plan to get through that early stage, and stick to it. This means acquiring the best resources available for a given language, which will include things like a good curriculum, dictionary, and grammar reference. A good curriculum will walk you from zero to the point that you can use authentic material; it will progressively expand your vocabulary and knowledge, and give you lots of comprehensible reading and listening practice commensurate with your skill level. Whatever you choose, the most important thing is to stick with it--you need to grow your knowledge systematically, preferably by studying each and every day and mastering one unit before moving onto the next.
6. Use multiple lines of approach. I have found it helpful to use more than one resource, because different resources can illuminate one other. When I see a new word or grammar principle from more than one angle, it reinforces that knowledge. For Turkish, I chose four main resources: a Pimsleur audio course, Teach Yourself Turkish, a grammar book called Elementary Turkish that includes exercises, and Rosetta Stone. In my opinion, Pimsleur is the single best resource for learning to speak. Teach Yourself Turkish was inexpensive and portable; although it isn't a full curriculum, it seemed like a good initial resource. The grammar book elaborated on Teach Yourself. Rosetta Stone is highly overrated and a terrible resource for learning a language if you use it in isolation, but it's good as a supplement; it is interesting, progressively builds your vocabulary, and most importantly develops your ear for the language. As a member of the military, I was able to get a free license from Joint Language University. I've just about exhausted the two books I'm using, so ordered the full Yeni Hitit curriculum, which has a solid reputation.
7. Even during the early stage, use authentic material to cement knowledge. It's Day One, you have a vocabulary of five words, and you learned that make plurals by adding "lar" or "ler" to a noun. Great. There's no way you can approach authentic material yet, right? Actually, there is. Log onto BBC Turkish, open an article at random, and look for plural nouns. You won't have any idea what the article says, but you'll master the concept of the plural noun and recognize it in context. Do this every day, looking for familiar words, phrases, and grammar points, and your comprehension will grow quickly.
I should also mention that parallel texts (a text in both your native and target language) can help, because they make even difficult texts immediately accessible. A great resource for this is SCOLA, which provides weekly lessons consisting of a brief news clip and a transcript in both English and the target language. Other popular sources include religious texts and translations of stories or novels. I just ordered a copy of Orhan Pamuk's excellent novel Snow, which I previously read in English. I am nowhere near being able to read it in Turkish, but it will give me a high bar to aim for.
I made so many mistakes when learning Arabic, and wasted an extraordinary amount of time on learning strategies that brought little return. I have often reflected on what I would do differently if I could start all over again. Now I'm getting that chance... sort of. Two months ago I began learning Turkish.
This time around, I was determined to get my strategies right from the beginning. They are far from perfect, and I'm always tinkering with my study regimen, but on the whole my experience learning Turkish has been far better than learning Arabic. I have a passive vocabulary of roughly 1600 words (meaning I can recognize them), have a basic grasp of most common grammar, and can follow the main ideas of BBC articles. I'm making constant forward progress, and my comprehension is improving each day.
Everybody learns differently, so I don't claim any special authority on the subject. I know others will vehemently disagree with my methods. So much of language acquisition depends on personality and learning styles. I'm much more comfortable with books and ideas than with socializing, and my learning style reflects that. But for those who are interested in hearing, I'll share a few of the principles I learned with Arabic and am now applying to Turkish. Take them or leave them, as you will.
1. Set specific goals. Language consists of many different skills, and students can get bogged down if they don't know what they're trying to achieve. Overall proficiency in the four major skills (reading, listening, speaking, writing) is desirable, but not necessarily required. For Turkish, I set a very limited goal at this stage: I want to learn to read, because for me personally, reading is the fastest way to build overall language comprehension and is a necessary prerequisite to being able to listen, speak, and write. Also, during this early stage, I wanted to learn the fundamentals of grammar. I am slowly working in some listening, and at some point, I will switch to a new phase and focus on speaking.
2. Have a strategy for managing a rapidly growing vocabulary. This was my single biggest problem with Arabic. I need constant repetition (i.e. flashcards) to learn new words and review old ones, but in four years I've never had a single system--mainly because I never found a system that worked for me. I tried most of the software on the market. I used flashcards. I wrote in pocket-sized notebooks, large spiral-bound ones, and in the margins of texts. Because I was never consistent, my vocabulary is scattered everywhere and I never learned many of the words. I wasted a colossal amount of time and energy.
I was determined to get vocabulary right with Turkish. Serious language learners seem to prefer a spaced repetition software (SRS) program called Anki, so despite my misgivings about the program's clunkiness, I made myself learn it--and have now grown to really like it. From Day 1 of Turkish, every new word I've learned has gone into the program. Because my goal at this stage is reading, I only have Anki quiz me passively: the software presents words in Turkish, and I answer in English. Each day the software quizzes me on new words and reviews old ones, with a review schedule based on how well I know each word. For each card, I customized Anki to include the English word, the Turkish word, an example sentence in both languages, and Turkish audio. The system is working well so far. Reviewing vocabulary in Anki is tedious, but for me it's essential--especially in the early stages of language acquisition.
3. The best way to learn is comprehensible authentic material. When I started Arabic, I spent most of my time drilling vocabulary, doing boring exercises in my curriculum, and looking up countless unfamiliar words in a paper dictionary. My biggest change in strategy came around the five-month point, when I realized that I learned and retained far more if I devoured BBC articles and used a Firefox plugin to translate unfamiliar words as I went. I could consume much more material and get comfortable with the language in real contexts. I've never looked back, although my consumption has grown to include more complicated news sources, radio stations, and TV shows. Apparently, research shows that consuming comprehensible input is the best way to develop language skills.
4. That being said, the first stage of language learning involves reaching the point that authentic material becomes accessible--as quickly as possible. A key word in principle #3 is "comprehensible"; authentic material is only useful if you understand a decent portion of it. So the best way to learn a language is through consuming authentic material, but you need a certain baseline in the language before authentic material becomes accessible. How do you break out of this trap? My personal conclusion is that the first stage of language learning is substantially different from everything that follows; it requires tedious things like a curriculum, lots of vocabulary memorization and drilling, and grammar. My goal at this stage is to reach the critical mass where authentic material becomes accessible; at that point, I can thankfully back away from the tedious, old-school methods and focus on more enjoyable tasks like reading authentic material
I see this shift as the first big milestone in language learning; once a student can access authentic material, learning occurs more rapidly, vocabulary gets committed to deep memory, and the language becomes less perishable. The bad news is that the opposite holds true in the early stage; knowledge gained by rote memorization perishes quickly. The student needs to study and maintain forward motion every day; to stand still means rapid backsliding. One reason I think some students get frustrated, burn out, and believe they are incapable of learning language is that they never leave this first stage.
By the way, everything I just wrote about "comprehensible input" applies to speaking as well. Just like interacting with authentic texts, using the language in real conversation will bring it to life and commit it to long-term memory.
5. Have a plan to get through that early stage, and stick to it. This means acquiring the best resources available for a given language, which will include things like a good curriculum, dictionary, and grammar reference. A good curriculum will walk you from zero to the point that you can use authentic material; it will progressively expand your vocabulary and knowledge, and give you lots of comprehensible reading and listening practice commensurate with your skill level. Whatever you choose, the most important thing is to stick with it--you need to grow your knowledge systematically, preferably by studying each and every day and mastering one unit before moving onto the next.
6. Use multiple lines of approach. I have found it helpful to use more than one resource, because different resources can illuminate one other. When I see a new word or grammar principle from more than one angle, it reinforces that knowledge. For Turkish, I chose four main resources: a Pimsleur audio course, Teach Yourself Turkish, a grammar book called Elementary Turkish that includes exercises, and Rosetta Stone. In my opinion, Pimsleur is the single best resource for learning to speak. Teach Yourself Turkish was inexpensive and portable; although it isn't a full curriculum, it seemed like a good initial resource. The grammar book elaborated on Teach Yourself. Rosetta Stone is highly overrated and a terrible resource for learning a language if you use it in isolation, but it's good as a supplement; it is interesting, progressively builds your vocabulary, and most importantly develops your ear for the language. As a member of the military, I was able to get a free license from Joint Language University. I've just about exhausted the two books I'm using, so ordered the full Yeni Hitit curriculum, which has a solid reputation.
7. Even during the early stage, use authentic material to cement knowledge. It's Day One, you have a vocabulary of five words, and you learned that make plurals by adding "lar" or "ler" to a noun. Great. There's no way you can approach authentic material yet, right? Actually, there is. Log onto BBC Turkish, open an article at random, and look for plural nouns. You won't have any idea what the article says, but you'll master the concept of the plural noun and recognize it in context. Do this every day, looking for familiar words, phrases, and grammar points, and your comprehension will grow quickly.
I should also mention that parallel texts (a text in both your native and target language) can help, because they make even difficult texts immediately accessible. A great resource for this is SCOLA, which provides weekly lessons consisting of a brief news clip and a transcript in both English and the target language. Other popular sources include religious texts and translations of stories or novels. I just ordered a copy of Orhan Pamuk's excellent novel Snow, which I previously read in English. I am nowhere near being able to read it in Turkish, but it will give me a high bar to aim for.
2 comments:
Are you fluent in Arabic? And if so how long did it take you to master this language?
It depends how you define "fluent." I can communicate almost any idea I want to, and can understand the main ideas that someone is communicating to me... which meets some minimal standard of fluency. But I am nowhere near "native", do not understand 100% of what I hear, and make mistakes when I speak. I've been studying the language for about four years, but don't know that I'll ever master it!
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