I’d like to share with you the Language Learner’s Manifesto.
This is a collection of statements (or principles) that serve me as a guide on my language learning journey. I hope they will serve you well too!
They weren’t pulled out of thin air. These principles are based on the discoveries and experiences of language learners and polyglots like Kato Lomb, Stephen Kaufmann, Olly Richards, and many many others.
They are also based on my personal experiences learning languages (mostly failures). I wish I had these principles in front of me earlier!
Manifesto
- Learning a language is a student’s responsibility
- It is never too late to start
- Language learning should be enjoyable
- Language learning is highly personal
- Prioritize input over output
- Maximize exposure to the target language (L2)
- Learn in context
- Balance new with review
- With learning resources: less is more
- It will take time
- Consistency is key to learning
Manifesto in Some Detail
It might be of help to briefly review each principle.
1. Learning a language is a student’s responsibility
Your success doesn’t depend on the methods. It doesn’t depend on the teachers. It depends on you!
Learning is your responsibility, and yours alone.
This is true whether you are learning on your own, studying in a classroom setting, or learning with a tutor.
You are responsible for defining your goals, choosing materials, planning your study, and making the most of the environment you are in.
Don’t wait for a perfect opportunity. It might never come.
Take initiative.
Also don’t hesitate to change things up.
2. It is never too late to start
It is truly never too late to start learning a foreign language.
Age is not a problem. It is not about having a talent either. The secret is the method, and attitude!
Steve Kaufmann started learning Russian when he was 60! He learned a few more languages since.
I started learning Spanish when I was 40. I failed to learn German in university, and then Mandarin Chinese while living in Taiwan. I definitely don’t have some kind of a magical language gene.
Yet, with the right method I made a huge progress in just 2 months!
Language learning should be enjoyable
You will not learn much of anything if learning is a chore. That’s number one reason no one learns a foreign language in school. There is no interest.
Ideally, to learn something well you have to have more than an interest. You have to have an intense interest.
This is true for any subject, but especially language learning. Without an interest there is no joy nor enjoyment in learning. Nothing sticks. You learn to please the teacher, and pass the tests. Of course, poor choice of materials and methods doesn’t help.
It doesn’t have to be that way. You might not have much control over what you do in a classroom, but you definitely can make better use of your time at home!
Learning is highly personal
The problem with learning at school is one size doesn’t fit all.
We all learn differently. We have different interests, goals, schedules, and capacity.
Find material that speaks to you, that matches your goals and interests, and your ways of learning. Tim Ferriss made great progress in Japanese by studying a judo manual.
Figure out how to best fit language study sessions into your schedule. Consider your commute time. Choose learning methods accordingly.
Prioritize input over output
It is a well known fact that we acquire language through input that we can understand (comprehensible input – Stephen Krashen). In language learning it means focusing on listening and reading to the material you can understand, or mostly understand.
Output (speaking and writing) are a natural outcome of input.
You need to give your brain a chance to absorb the sounds and structures of the language before you attempt to produce any output be it by speaking or writing.
Maximize exposure to the target language (L2)
Time is a limited resource. You want to fill the time allocated to learning a language with the language to the maximum.
This means choose material that maximizes your exposure to your target language. Choose to listen and read dialogues or stories in your target language over listening to extensive explanations of when to say what in your native language.
This also means choose to consume the content of interest in your target language. For example, if you like watching Youtube videos about tiny homes why not watch them in your target language?
This brings me to the next principle.
Learn in context
The best way to learn words, phrases (chunks), and even sentences is in context.
Don’t just learn random words or sentences. It is not a good use of your time. Unfortunately, many apps and “methods” are built around feeding the students with random words and phrases. Duolingo, I am looking at you.
Dialogues, or stories, news articles, or videos — all provide great context to learn from.
Even reviewing is best done not by looking at the flashcards but by exposing yourself to words and phrases in context again and again.
Balance new with review
Brain craves novelty but needs repetition.
There is plenty of material in most foreign languages. There is almost too much. It is so easy to hop from one thing to the next. But it can be counterproductive.
To learn effectively you need to balance consuming something new with reviewing the material you are familiar with.
You need to reread the things you read, and listen to what you already heard.
How much, and how often? It depends on your goals.
As a rule of thumb you should come back to the material you learned until you are very comfortable with it. That means you can understand everything easily.
With learning resources: less is more
Our brain can be our worst enemy.
Speaking of novelty again… It is so tempting to hop from one app to another, to try this method and that… looking for the best magical method…
There are dozens if not hundreds of language learning apps, books, courses, and it is fine to try some to see what you like and what works for you.
Your goal should be to find one main resource. Something you can focus on 80-90% of your time.
Then you can fill in the rest of the time with supplemental material. It can be other apps, books, or really anything you want. After all you don’t want to deprive your needy brain of novelty completely.
For me, when learning Spanish I spend most of my time in LingQ. I read and listen to mini-stories and imported material of my choice. I supplement my learning by listening to the Language Transfer course during my short daily commute, and occasionally watching Youtube videos from FluentU and Easy Spanish.
It will take time
There is no magic method. You can’t learn a foreign language in a month. You can’t become truly fluent in 3 months. It is just not possible.
Learning a language takes anywhere from 600 to 2200 class hours. I guess if you dedicate yourself to learning 8 hours a day for 3 months straight you might get somewhere.
The truth is most of us can’t do it. Life gets in the way. We lose interest and spark. We get frustrated, and discouraged. Very few can put in the time and keep going in a steady way.
Good news is there is no need to spend hours a day!
Consistency is key to learning
I doubt Aesop had language learning in mind when he came up with a fable of the hare and the tortoise but it very much applies!
Tortoise won the race by making a slow but steady progress. We can do the same.
It pays off to take it slowly. Shorter daily study sessions work better than long cramming periods.
Nothing will stall your progress like a burnout.
Find a pace that is sustainable for you. It can be 15 minutes. It can be 1 hour. If it is the latter, it is best to take a few shorter sessions during the day than a single long one.
Also find your minimum effective doze of learning. How much material do YOU need to cover to make progress? It will depends on the goal.
Are you trying to maintain a language? Are you learning casually, or are you getting ready for an exam? Plan accordingly.
Please note this language learning manifesto is not set in stone and will probably change with time.
Please let me know what you think about these principles! Are there principles that are missing? What would you add? Let me know in the comments!