Language training is a rewarding activity that allows students to discover new ways of conceiving reality, expressing it and relating to the environment within the context of a specific culture. Therefore, when we decide to learn a language, whether for pleasure or for necessity, we automatically assume the task of mastering it and learning to communicate with proficiency as soon as possible. And this is partly legitimate: the point of learning a language is to learn how to speak it properly and how to put it to use, but occasionally, expectations are at odds with reality and end up creating frustration, as it often happens that students do not reach the desired results in a given period of time. This is normally due to the underlying problem that exists in most learning processes, which consists in establishing a strong final goal in the long term, when ideally, we should work towards short-term goals to thus generate confidence and reward student’s progress. For example, if after two months of learning a new language, we listen to a podcast and cannot grasp more than 10%, we may think that our efforts are in vain, and overlook the many small advances that we have been making with regard to syntax, vocabulary, writing, etc. A long process with gradual forward steps is required to become fluent in another language, and every person’s timing is different. Why might this be?
When it comes to acquiring fluency in a language, there are a series of factors that will generally determine the time required or the learning difficulties ahead. For instance, the distance between the language pair may be one of those factors. This relates to the fact that speakers of a certain language may find it easier to learn another language that belongs to the same language branch, as the syntactic characteristics and phonetic aspects are more likely to coincide, with terms that are shared or similar. Indeed, the learning process will dedicate time to all these areas in a methodical manner, but it is possible that we will note more pronounced progress in this case. Moreover, it is also important to note the relevance of personal factors and our background.
On the other hand, the personal factor and our own background also play an important role. In other words, every person has a different predisposition, which can be due to a natural talent for learning languages or to previous experiences of learning a second language, which facilitates the task of internalizing and becoming fluent in another language. And last but not least, the daily study time we can commit to will also exert some influence on the matter. It is crucial to incorporate both language study and use in our daily activities, so that the new language finds a natural space in our lives. If we manage to do this, we will be taking a giant step towards language fluency and mastery. Well, and which strategies are within my reach?
It is worth highlighting that language mastery is a skill with many branches which, when combined together, determine each person’s level of knowledge. Specifically, these are reading comprehension, listening, writing and speaking skills.
In the latter case, speaking skills are crucial for increasing our confidence during exchanges, as well as working on phonetic pronunciation and verbal speech. To do this, the best strategy is to find people to practice with, such as attending language exchange events, or with acquaintances. In fact, one can even practice alone out loud; the key element here is to let go of the fear of failure and understand that mistakes are a necessary part of the learning process.
In the case of listening skills, we can use the above, but we can also find it useful to search for multimedia material of our choice that prompts us to analyze how speech is naturally configured in our target language. This category includes limitless options, as technology gives us access to different types of audiovisual content, such as movies and TV shows, radio shows and podcasts, audiobooks, etc. In this sense, passive learning also plays a role which we can use while resting or even when carrying out other duties, for example, at work.
In the case of written expression, it certainly is a more academic skill, which is why it is a good idea to write different types of texts and have a knowledgeable reader correct them. Sometimes, it is as easy as getting into a chat with a local speaker via a phone, for example, via instant messaging applications or social networks to start bonding with overseas speakers.
In the case of reading comprehension, students need to develop their ability to extract abstract data and draw conclusions to the maximum, since although we may not understand a text completely, it is important that we can gather an approximate idea about it. The best course of action here is to read and compare parallel texts, meaning the source language and its translation.
And this is how we will see in practice how our knowledge is expanding and we start expressing ourselves with much more fluency, with the help of the communication exchange with native speakers and the reinforcement of consulting materials in their original language. These strategies will have a positive impact on our learning process and we will become more confident speakers.
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