Language consists of two key elements: grammar and vocabulary. In the past, traditional approaches to language learning would place heavy emphasis on grammatical accuracy and the written language. These days, modern methodology tends to favor a communicative approach, with grammar and vocabulary receiving a more balanced amount of attention. It is also recognized that the line between grammar and vocabulary is not as clear-cut as once believed. Utterances can be divided into lexical chunks, which are fixed or semi-fixed expressions and collocations. The idea is that native speakers have commonly used expressions memorized and ready to be uttered without having to reconstruct the grammar each time. The expressions are often semi-fixed, that is, they have slots which can be filled with certain words or types of words. (Read more...)
Communication can take different forms, which are broadly divided into four skill areas: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Grammar and vocabulary are not separate from these, but make up the building blocks for communication in each.
| LANGUAGE SKILLS | receptive | productive |
|---|---|---|
| written | reading | writing |
| oral | listening | speaking |
grammar
- Some learners are afraid to produce any language unless they're confident it's grammatically correct. Don't be afraid of making mistakes. It's best to just express yourself as best you can. Others may correct you, or you can go back and look at your writing later on and see your own mistakes. Grammar is important, but remember that it is only a tool to facilitate the ultimate goal: communication.
- Exercises. Do as many grammar exercises as you can. The more you do, the more naturally the grammar patterns will come to you when you produce langauge.
vocabulary
"I'm going to do it yesterday." Oops! That's not an uncommon mistake for a learner to make, however. Why? The mind stores vocabulary in groups of words with similar meanings (big, large, huge), opposite meanings (yesterday, tomorrow), words which belong to the same topic (book, pencil, eraser), place (stove, counter, blender), and words which have similar sounds (sweet, sweat). The correlation between such words in the mind can cause slips of the tongue or fauly memorization to occur. That's why it's actually not a good idea to try to learn such words together. Unfortunately, many course books and vocabulary books love to group such words into lists and teach them in the same lesson. When possible, avoid trying to memorize two new words with a correlation at the same time. Focus on one to memorize well, and just try to be able to recognize the other. Later, upon meeting it a second time in a later lesson or text, you can add it to your active vocabulary.
What is active vocabulary? Active vocabulary refers to words which you can recall and use (i.e. produce) in speech or writing. Passive vocabulary, on the other hand, refers to words which you can recognize when seen or heard, but you don't know well enough to use, yourself.
The majority of words we learn in a foreign language we will not remember long-term after seeing them just once. Memorizing a word usually requires several encounters with it. Every time we see or hear a word we've studied, it becomes more set in our memories. That's why extensive listening or reading are essential to building a large vocabulary.
The first time you encounter a word, be content if it enters your passive vocabulary. That means, when you encounter it a second time, you will recognize it and eventually it will pass into your active vocabulary, especially if you make a sentence using the word.
Once you've learned some words, it is a good exercise to group them into categories to get them sorted out straight in our minds. Make a list of animals you know, common adjectives and their synonyms/antonyms that you already know. Organized into a notebook, this will help with recall of words you've studied but perhaps don't know well, or words you tend to get mixed up in your mind. Remember, you don't want to do this with words you've just learned (words you've only encountered once), but as a kind of review of what you already know (to a lesser or greater extent).
SRS (spaced repetition system): Memorization of vocabulary can be made efficient by taking into account how the human brain works, remembers, and forgets. Reviewing too often or too soon or too infrequently or late is inefficient. Let's use an analog. Going to the gym too often (with no time for muscles to rest) leads to more work with some but less progress. Going to the gym infrequently leads to loss of what had been gained before just to have to start over each time. SRS vocabulary learning programs (such as Anki and Byki*) present words to be reviewed at the optimal time, helping you to memorize more, better, longer. Or if you prefer to organize your vocabulary on paper, try this:
- Get a good notebook.
- Draw a line down the middle or fold the page lengthwise lightly.
- Keep words in your language (L1) and the language you're learning (L2) on opposite sides of the page, not right next to each other. In this way, one side can be covered for testing yourself. The key to best retention is making yourself recall vocabulary items, not just seeing them again.
- Label each page with number at the top. Don't add too many words to a day's new vocabulary list, maybe a maximum of 20 words per day. Review the list several times the first day, ideally once later in the day, hours after having initially studied it.
- On a calendar (best if small calendar is in the notebook), mark "1" in box on the day it was made. Then mark another "1" on the next day on the calendar, and other days as follows:
- +1 / +5 / +25 / +120/
- Each day, look at your calendar and review the page number written. Once the page has been reviewed, circle the number.
Avoid trying to learn everything about a word all at once. Words have several components: spelling, pronunciation, several meanings or uses, gender, plurals, etc. Mastery of all these components isn't necessary the first time you meet the word,, especially all a word's meanings. Just learn the meaning of the word as it is used in the material you've studied.
reading
When reading in a foreign language, we can read intensively or extensively. It's important to recognize the difference between both approaches to reading and be aware of which you are intending to do before you begin reading.
Intensive reading
Intensive reading emphasizes "quality over quantity", in a manner of speaking. In other words, you focus on a rather short text and study it in detail. Although you do not have to understand every word, intensive reading gives you the opportunity to learn new words, grammar, and examine how words are used in sentences. Intensive reading involves four steps:
- Before reading: Don't go into the reading "blind". Get a sense of what the reading might be about by examing clues such as the title of the text, any pictures (and captions), accompanying vocabulary translations. Having an expectation of the subject matter coupled with your background knowledge will help you deduce meaning from the text more easily.
- The first time you read, just read for gist. Just try to get the main idea and don't worry about every detail. Do not use your dictionary or stop to look anything up while reading. Read from start to finish at a comfortable pace.
- Once you've read the text through, you now have at least a basic understanding. It's time to delve in and analyze the text. Go back and try to guess thte meaning of unknown words and phrases. Read carefully and look for clues to meaning following the word in the same or next sentence. You can also look up some unknown words in your dictionary. Important: You do not need understand every single word. Be selective and only look up ones which you feel might be the most important to better understanding the story or subject matter. Now that you've taken a closer look at the vocabulary, focus your attention on the grammar. How do the words interact? What verb tenses are used? Why? Can you find any interesting structures or patterns?
- Now read the entire text once more from start to finish. You should understand considerably more than you did the first time you read it. Try reading the text again the next day (after you've internalized the new information in your sleep), or days later. You'll find you're much more comfortable with the text. Again, you don't need to understand everything. If you understand 80 or 90%, you're doing fine.
As you see in the steps above, your goal for comprehension should go from a general to a more specific understanding each time you re-read the text. Intensive reading allows you to explore vocabulary and grammar on your own while enjoying an interesting (hopefully!) read.
A good course book should give you ample reading practice. Of course, you read everything in your course book, but I'm talking about actual readings (short stories or articles) with comprehension questions. Once you've reached an intermediate level, you can begin to supplement your course book's readings with other materials: graded readers, short stories or books written for native speakers, newspaper articles, etc, which you can reaad using the four steps above.
Extensive reading
Most people understand intensive reading and approach it as they should--as study. Extensive reading, however, is often neglected or misunderstood by learners. It is not study. It is using what you've already learned to enjoy the language. It's hard for many to get away from the idea that they're not always studying the foreign language when they're in contact with it. Of course, you can always be learning, just as you are when you're using you're native language, but it's not active, conscious study. Extensive reading emphasizes "quantity over quality". In other words, read, read, read. Reading on a regular basis builds fluency and helps to keep the language you're studying from getting "rusty". You'll encounter again and again vocabulary and grammar you've studied, solidifying it in your long term memory. Here are some guidelines for extensive reading:
- Read for pleasure. You'll read more if you're reading something you enjoy and find interesting.
- Variety. Don't always read romance novels. Try a news article, an online blog, a menu. This will expose you to a wider range of language.
- Understand 98%. Don't be overly ambitious in choosing a book. If it's above your level, you'll just feel frustrated at how little you understand, and you'll likely not get past chapter one. You may want to challenge yourself to push up your level, but that's better left to intensive reading. While reading extensively, shoot for something that seems too easy rather than challenging. To read comfortably, you should know at least 98% of the words on a page. It sounds like a lot, but 98% means every 50th word is unknown to you. Let's say there are ten words on a line and forty lines on a page--that's 400 words, eight of which are new to you. Eight unknown words per page is more than enough! More than that, and you know the book is too hard for you. Choose another. Books for young adults are often good stepping stones before you tackle novels aimed at adult readers. Also consider reading something you've already read in your native language.
- Put your dictionary away. You do not need to understand every word. It's hard to resist, but using your dictionary during extensive reading is a bad habit. Using the dictionary not only slows down your reading, it also disrupts the flow of the story. You'll forget what's going on. Enjoy the story, or what you can understand of it on your own. IF (and only if!) you meet the same unknown word again and again and feel it's vital to the plot of the story, should you look up the word. Tip: If you're taking your book out with you, don't even bring the dictionary along.
- Besides paper books, there's the Internet. There are countless news sources, blogs, stories, poetry, etc, online to read for free. The links listed on Lingualism will direct you to some good sources to get you started.
Enjoy reading in a foreign language. And remember that it is not always study-time! Read, read, read, and watch your fluency develop!
listening
Just as there is intensive and extensive reading, there is also intensive and extensive listening.
Intensive listening
You can practice intensive listening by listening to and studying a short recording for which you have a transcript. This can be a dialogue or text in a course book or a listening taken from the real world, such as a news report.
- DVDs. Subtitles can be a wonderful learning tool on DVDs, if used appropriately. You'll need to watch the DVD (TV sitcom, drama, or movie) three times. For movies, you may want to watch just one or a few chapters per day, then watch the whole movie again.
- The first time: With subtitles in your language (this will distract you from listening carefully, but you'll understand the story better and remember the meaning of what is being said when you watch the second time).
- The second time: With subtitles in the language being spoken. Reading along while listening will help you. Pause and back up to listen to lines again if you don't catch something or it seems like a useful phrase. Have a notebook handy and write down a few useful phrases. You don't need to undertand everything said, but this is your chance to take your time, and study the subtitles.
- The third time: No subtitles! First review your notes, then watch again, perhaps a day or two later if already having watched the DVD twice is enough for you for one day. Pause and back up sometimes to relisten to lines, but you still do not have to understand everything.
- Dictation. Listen to something you have the transcript for. Dialogues from course books are ideal. Keep your finger on the pause button, and write down what you hear, pausing when needed. Check your answers against the transcript, then listen once again.
- Music. There are numerous sites for song lyrics on the Internet. A simple Google search of the son's title and the word lyrics should bring up relevant web pages. Learning the words to songs you like is an enjoyable way to practice listening. Beware of poetic license though! Lyrics are sometimes ambiguous, nonsensical or ungrammatical.
Extensive listening
The more you listen to music, the news, and watch TV or movies, the more your comprehension will increase. Remember that your goal is not to understand 100% of what you hear. If you can only catch a word here and there, that's a start. But if you feel frustrated at how little you understand and turn off the TV, you're listening skills will never improve and you'll always only understand a word here and there! Keep at it and be patient. Over time you'll find that you understand more and more. Make watching TV (news, shows, movies, etc) or listening to audio (radio talk shows, news, etc) a regular habit, even if only a few minutes a day. While doing this, however, you must engage in active listening, that is, paying attention to what you're hearing. Simply having the TV on, or tuning out what's being said because you're relying on subtitle translations won't help you. Try turning off or covering up subtitles to see how much you can really understand without them.
writing
Writing is a great way to put what you've learned to use. Don't be afraid of making mistakes--just try to express yourself as best you can. The more you write, the more fluency you will build.
- Keep a journal. Don't worry too much about grammar and spelling. Just work with what you know to get your thoughts down on paper. If you don't know the right word, try explaining what you mean with a phrase. Write according to your level, even if your writing seems simplistic or childish. My first journal entry in Mandarin was "I have a cat. His fur is long. His name is Oppie. He is cute." And that's it! As with extensive reading, keeping a journal is not study, but rather using the language that you know. That means that you don't need all of your writing corrected by a native speaker. Just write, write, write. Periodically, go back over an entry from months earlier. You'll likely see your own mistakes and be delighted to see that your level has improved since then! Also, consider starting a blog journal online. You can share your blog with your native speaker friends and maybe get them to correct some of your mistakes.
- Penpals. There are numerous online communities where you can find others learning your language with whom you can email or chat online. You'll find a list of such online communities on the links page.
- Summarize. Watch a TV show or movie, read a book or article. They don't even have to be in the language you're learning. Then write a summary in your own words as if you were telling the story to a friend. This is excellent practice for narration and description. It will also help you realize what vocabulary you do not know and perhaps need to learn to communicate better.
speaking
The tips for the other productive skill, writing, can be adapted for speaking practice.
- Keep an audio journal. Record yourself and save the file. You can listen to yourself and hear your mistakes.
- Make a friend. You can find a language exchange partner on an online community (see the links page) and chat on Skype. Nothing beats chatting with a native speaker for speaking practice.
- Summarize. After you've watched or read something (in any language!), record a summary of it or tell your language exchange partner about it.
- Talk to yourself or your pet. But make sure no one's around or they'll think you're crazy. (Your pet already knows you're crazy.)