Language learning myths

We’ll start soon, but before we get underway it’s a good idea to examine some of the oft-held beliefs about language learning:

“This is the only course you will need”

There is no best course. No one course can teach you everything. Mastery comes through practice and exposure to Spanish – a good course can establish a strong base to start from, but no more.

“You should learn A before B”

There is no set order to learning the language. There is a certain natural order in which you will pick things up, but that does not mean you should learn them in that order. A common criticism of courses is that they are too rigid and structured in their approach.

Learning a language properly requires a holistic viewpoint. Students soon realise this as they forget the supposedly “easy” stuff which they covered at the start of their course. If we compare learning a language to a journey, it is not a straight line; it’s more like a spiral. We seem to go in circles, yet we are making progress.

It’s good to be structured, but the first time you have a conversation you will have to go way, way off-piste. Textbooks can give you the tools, but you will have to learn how to use them.

“You need to be clever to learn a language”

Your mindset is more important than your intellect. You don’t need to be clever, you do need to be determined and motivated. We’ve all learnt at least one language, so every able person has the capacity for language learning built in.

“You can learn Spanish as you did your first language”

You will not learn Spanish in the same way you learnt English, if you are an adult. Many courses promote themselves on the idea of learning as a child does, whereby your brain soaks up the language in the most natural way.

As adults, however, we are not starting from a blank canvas as children do. We have already formed a solid world view, and our thoughts and ways of expressing ourselves are conditioned by our Mother tongue. The “soaking up the language like a sponge” idea put forward by many courses is that of language acquisition, whereby we acquire a language through passive exposure rather than active study. As adults, we acquire languages too, but we filter all the information through our adult brains.

This gives us other advantages, in that we can compare and contrast, as well as apply abstract rules to the language (ie, grammar).

The best way to learn Spanish as an adult requires a more active stance than children take – we need to be a little more proactive.

So, without further ado, let’s get cracking!

How to start learning Spanish as an adult

All writers fear having to face a blank page, and we’re in the same situation as language learners! There is so much to learn, and such a bewildering array of options to choose from. What should we do?

Establish a base

As a beginner, the most important thing we need to do is to get out of beginner zone, and learn enough so that we can actually go and start practising. For this, we need a base of vocabulary, a stock of phrases, and an idea of Spanish grammar.

Build your vocabulary

Building up a strong base of vocabulary is one of the most important initial steps in learning a language. When building your vocabulary, you need to consider both the “what” and the “how”. The “what” covers what kind of vocabulary you need to learn, and the “how” is concerned with methods for memorisation and recall.

The “what”

Should you focus on verbs, nouns, or phrases? We love learning phrases, as this gives you something you can use from the get-go. A good phrase book usually contains more than enough to get you started.

It’s also a good idea to start learning the most common verbs, as these will crop up time and again throughout your language learning journey. We recommend learning one verb and a couple of phrases using that verb. Focus on the communicative aspect at this stage – in which situation do you see yourself using that piece of vocabulary?

The “how”

When you learn Spanish vocabulary, you need to learn for the long term. It’s no good cramming 50 vocabulary items a day, only to be able to recall 10 of them a week later. Our brains are efficient, and if we learn something that we don’t use we’ll soon forget it. That means it’s much better to stick to a handful of items (no more than 10 a day), which you’ll be able to re-visit and review more regularly. It’s far better in the long run – you can’t cram a language! Consider learning vocabulary to be a process of “internalisation” rather than “memorisation”, as this places more emphasis on use and long term recall. More tips on how to memorise Spanish vocabulary.

A quick note on word lists

One popular method used is to bulk-learn a word list. Word lists are usually sorted by frequency, with the most common words appearing at the top of the list. Logic dictates that these words should be learnt first as they are used more often. However, we advise against this approach. Many of the most frequent words in a language are “functional” words, which contain no meaning in and of themselves. You need to know a lot about these words to be able to use them properly, as they contain more grammar than “content” words, such as nouns and verbs. Imagine you are learning English, and decide to learn the following common words: