How Do I Become Fluent In A New Language
Below is a MRR and PLR article in category Reference Education -> subcategory Weather.
How to Become Fluent in a New Language
Summary:
I came across a statement online on a site dedicated to language learning: "Language is like any other skill or aptitude: some people are proficient in languages, while others excel in math, science, or music. Everyone has the potential to learn, but some people are simply more capable of learning languages than others." - About.com
This viewpoint suggests learning a language as one would learn math or music, which is a common misconception for many Americans. It made me question how we become fluent in our native languages. If language were truly just another skill, at what point did classrooms or textbooks play a role in our native language fluency?
When language fluency is treated like an academic subject, it often results in failure to achieve spoken proficiency. If learning a language were solely a skill for the gifted, only some would be able to speak their native language, leaving many of us "language-challenged" individuals out of luck.
The academic community often fails to distinguish between language acquisition and learning. Acquiring a language is instinctual, akin to learning to speak, whereas learning involves studying the language. This distinction is crucial for adults seeking fluency. Without recognizing this, people often end up in classrooms memorizing dialogues but gaining little actual fluency?"a scenario I recall from my seventh-grade German class.
I achieved spoken fluency in Spanish by focusing on acquiring the language first. Living in Mexico, I can comfortably navigate conversations with neighbors or even visit a doctor, despite not yet delving deeply into grammar studies. Speaking fluency came first, paving the way for future classroom learning about the language.
Living in an immersive environment certainly helps, yet many English speakers in Mexico remain monolingual, unable to converse fluently in Spanish. This reflects what the authors of The Ugly American called "social incest," where Americans abroad only socialize with each other due to language barriers.
As blogger Michael Dickson notes in "The Movie Set," few expatriates speak adequate Spanish, limiting their cultural understanding and restricting them to a "Glitz Ghetto."
Claiming Mexican friends while remaining monolingual often means those friends are bilingual. This limits exposure to broader cultural experiences. How can you delve into the rich, intriguing world of a Spanish-speaking culture without the language? You can’t.
The innate ability to learn a language remains, even in older adults. Unless you face significant mental health challenges, you can learn Spanish?"or any language?"regardless of age or temperament.
Source:
http://mexicopeeks.blogspot.com/2005/05/highway-lunacy.html
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