Nowadays, most people have the wrong belief that being good at languages is a matter of talent or special ability, while language is just a skill that anyone can have and practice, just like a sport or a game. The success of a language depends on how much we enjoy it, how hard we try, how patient we are, and how often we practice it.
In addition, language has become one of the most sought-after qualifications in the world of learning and working. Due to the value that language is a special ability, many organizations at least want people who can speak English, which is an international language, to be employees of the company. Or some organizations may want people who can speak a third language to work with them. That is why people with language skills are in demand. And if we have language skills in our hands, we will become people that many organizations want as well.
“I don’t know. I just like learning languages.”
Lýdia Machová confesses that she fell in love with learning languages. She is now a language learning consultant and she continues to learn a new language every two years. Of course, many people think of her as a genius and when they want to be like her, they come to her asking for the secret to learning languages. But she has no answer for them because she does not know what the secret is. The short answer is, “I just love it.”
“What do polyglots do and what do they have in common?”
Lýdia says that when people asked her so many times, she wondered why some people could speak many languages and why others thought they were so special. How do multilinguals learn languages? How are they different from other people who fail to learn languages? What do multilinguals have in common? These curiosities led her to agree to join language events around the world where language enthusiasts gather to talk and exchange languages.
“Learn by making mistakes, even if you make mistakes, but have fun with it.”
One of the people she spoke to was Benny from Ireland. He told her that he often started by studying small conversations through travel guides and then talking to native speakers. He didn’t care if he made mistakes, because he learned from his mistakes. And with today’s technology, he doesn’t even need to travel to different countries. There are many websites that let you talk to people all over the world from the comfort of your bedroom or kitchen.
“Learn from having two strangers sit down and talk to each other, without them even realizing they’re talking.”
In addition to Benny, she also met Lucas from Brazil, who had a very wicked and creative way of learning languages that most people would never have thought of. Lucas randomly added people on Skype. He opened a chat with two people, in which he initiated the conversation with the first person, and in the second person initiated the conversation. After that, he copied the first person’s answers and sent them to the second person, copied the second person’s questions and sent them to the first person, and learned the conversation from their conversation, which they didn’t even know they were talking to.
“Everyone has their own unique way of learning a language.”
From the gathering of language experts from around the world, she found that they all had their own unique methods for successfully learning a language. Some of them had similar methods. For example, many people start learning a language by imitating the sounds of the language they intend to learn, writing down 500 frequently used words of that language, or reading and understanding the grammar of the language they are learning first.
“One thing everyone has in common is that everyone enjoys learning languages.”
If we were to find similarities in terms of language learning methods, it would be impossible because everyone has their own way of successfully learning a language. But when everyone talks about their language learning process, it is clear that everyone is happy, enjoys, and is willing to learn languages as a daily routine. They are not forced to do it or do it in the hopes of being a genius for others to admire. They do it because it is fun.
“Who wants to read a boring book that teaches conversations about asking for directions on the train?”
There are different ways to learn a language. Some people choose to make colorful grammar maps, flashcards, or learn vocabulary through apps on their phones. Lýdia herself is one of those who find a way to learn a language that she enjoys the most. She says that when she was learning Spanish, reading books with conversations and questions was boring. Her favorite book is Harry Potter. She knew that she would enjoy it no matter how many times she read it. So she chose to read the Harry Potter books, but the ones translated into Spanish, and read them all. Even though there were many Spanish words along the way that she couldn’t translate, and it made it difficult to understand the content, because it was Harry Potter, she still enjoyed it.
“Finding happiness in the language learning process is very important.”
Learning a new language took another turn. She decided to learn more German and used her favorite comedy series “Friends” as a learning tool. She watched it in German and even though at first she didn’t understand it, she continued watching it because it was so entertaining and it was her favorite series. After finishing season 2 and 3, she started to understand the conversations in German and she really enjoyed the series.
“We may not be geniuses, but we can find ways to make learning a language fun.”
Not all multilinguals are geniuses. They don’t have shortcuts to learning languages or any special techniques. They just find a way to learn languages and enjoy it. They learn them because they enjoy it, not because they have to or because they are forced to. They turn the boring classroom language learning into a routine that they enjoy and enjoy doing every day.
“The good news is that this can happen to anyone who is willing to learn a language.”
This kind of thing can happen to anyone, we just have to find our own way. If we don’t like writing things down on paper, we can try writing them down on an app. If we’re tired of listening to educational media in books, we can try finding YouTube or Podcasts in the language we’re learning to listen to. Or if we’re a very private person and don’t like socializing, we can practice by talking to ourselves, being in a room and talking to ourselves, being both the questioner and the answerer. There are many examples and ways for everyone to be happy learning about languages, we just have to find them.
The 3 principles of The secret of learning a new language
If we want to speak English fluently, we can’t rely on fun alone, we also need to rely on 3 additional principles as follows:
1. Effective methods: The methods we choose not only make us enjoy them, but they also have to be effective in helping us learn in the long run. For example, memorizing vocabulary should not be just for the next test, but for everyday use. We can try to find methods or inspiration that we like from other language experts on YouTube or Podcasts or websites. Because if it’s a method that works for them, it might work for us too.
2. Organize your study schedule: We often make the excuse that our daily lives are too busy to do anything extra. But if we can make a little more arrangement in our daily tasks, we may actually have enough time to learn a new language. For example, waking up earlier to study the language, listening to podcasts while driving to work, or learning to cook a recipe in the language you are learning. Therefore, having a study schedule is important in learning.
3. Be patient: Learning a language is not something that can be accomplished in a couple of days. It is not like we can try very hard on one day and then on the second day we will be able to speak fluently. Language requires us to be patient in trying to learn it every day. After some time, even if we are not fluent yet, we will find that we have definitely improved. And that is the reward of patience.
“Nothing motivates us more than our own success.”
Lýdia says the feeling of being motivated by the small accomplishments she makes each day is her favorite. It’s an amazing feeling when you find yourself understanding the language little by little. The day she understood a joke from “Friends” she watched in German, it felt so good. That’s why she continues to learn a new language every two years.
“Some people might think that all this sounds good, but it’s also because of talent.”
The truth is, being multilingual does not mean you are naturally gifted. Take Benny for 11 years and 5 years of Irish and German, but he graduated without being able to speak a single language. By the age of 21, he had found his own way to learn languages. Now he can easily speak 10 languages. Or Lucas. He had been studying English in school for 10 years. His teachers used to tell him that he was the worst student. His friends would tease him by buying him Russian books, telling him that he could never speak Russian. But after 10 years of talking to strangers on Skype, he now speaks 11 languages fluently.
“If you call it a miracle, then I see miracles every day.”
Lýdia works as a language learning consultant to many people. She doesn’t teach languages, but she helps people find a fun and effective way to learn a language. A fun, effective, structured and patient way that will help anyone succeed in learning any language they want to.
Conclusion
Don’t let language be just a special ability that you can only have if you have talent, or language is a boring lesson that we have to learn in the classroom. When we feel bored with learning a language, let’s try to find a way to learn a language that makes us feel fun with it, like when we are playing a game, listening to music or watching a movie, happy to learn the language and happy to make the language a part of our daily life. If we can follow these methods, learning a language will definitely benefit us and our future.
“Maybe now we can find a way to tap into our language talents that we never had in our entire lives.”
The secrets of learning a new language | Lydia Machová
