Have you ever wondered what polyglots do in
order to learn many languages more efficiently? Have you ever been discouraged
and have told yourself that you are simply “not as smart”, or “cannot retain”
as much as polyglots can? If you have answered yes to either of those
questions, I hope that you realize that anyone, and I do mean anyone, can learn
as many languages as he/she proposes as long as effective methods are used and good
time management skills are implemented into the language-learning process. For
anyone who has ever told me that I am simply smarter, or better at
language-learning than others, I want you to know that I have studied just as
hard if not harder than others who have gotten the same results. I have put
hundreds of hours of self-study in my spare moments throughout the year, which
I will admit are far and few. Either way, I will share 5 secrets that,
according to Lydia Machová, are why poyglots
are generally more sucessful than other language learners.
1. Polyglots do not wait for
languages to be taught to them and learn them themselves
What makes so many polyglots unique is that
they are generally very motivated and are dedicated to self-directed learning.
Instead of being passive, they are active in all aspects of their language
studies. For example, instead of waiting three years before they find native
Swahili language partners with whom to practice their Swahili conversational
skills, which may be hard to find depending on where they live, they may use
iTalki or other language-learning sites to pay online tutors to practice
talking to them. Instead of waiting to enroll in a beginner French class in the
city, which may be a far commute, they go to a nearby bookstore, buy a
French-learning book and start finding online resources to practice what they
have learned. The point being is that they do not let time, lack of resources,
or other factors get in the way from making progress and furthering their depth
of knowledge in other languages.
2. Polyglots have fun
This point may seem somewhat obvious to bring
up, but I believe that it is important to mention it. Too often do I hear my
peers say that they are bored with their language classes, or that they feel
like they are not progressing after months, semesters, or years of study in
another language. I will admit that I personally find learning grammar and
using textbooks to be boring, tedious, and oftentimes very frustrating, so,
instead, I find ways to integrate languages into my lifestyle (read below to
see what I mean). That way I enjoy the process and am motivated to continue
with studies.
3. Polyglots have a lot of contact
with the languages that they are learning
The expert in language-learning who is the
guest speaker in the video above says that she has met many people who have gone
to a lesson twice a week without ever reading a book in that language, or only
doing what their classes require them to do. To put it simply, there are many
language learners that make the mistake to not expose themselves to anything in
their languages, not even reading a book, and expect to become fluent in
another language by only going through the motions. I wish that doing so were
that easy, but unfortunately it is near impossible for that to happen.
The reason for which your college-level
language professor tells you “we always run out of time”, or “I wish that we
had more time to work on this” is because he/she knows that there is not enough
time to get in as much depth as he/she wishes in a paritcular topic in such a
short amount of time. At my university, the more advanced you are in a
language, the more that is expected of you, yet at the same time, the less
amount of class instruction you receive. Therefore, the most ambitious students
are the ones who listen to foreign music, read foreign books, and watch foreign
movies, not the ones who seem to know what they are doing, or who procrastinate
and try to mumble what seems to be a perfectly constructed sentence.
4. Polyglots do a little every day
Instead of setting unrealistic, big goals,
most polyglots take little steps every day and see progress in the long run. A
recommended amount of time to spend on a language is 15-25 minutes a day if you
are busy and cannot do more language study than that. By doing so, you are
constantly feeding and activating your brain to try to retain what you learned
three years ago, as well as what you reviewed the previous morning. By doing a
little at a time, you are more likely to retain information, you are engaging
with several aspects of a language (ex: reading, writing, or listening), and you
are training yourself to start thinking in that language, which is most of our
end goals. I have made the most amount of progress when I have done less, but
have been consistent and have followed a schedule (ex: by reviewing German
every other day) and have managed my time in a way that has made me be more
efficient in my studies. Remember the saying: “jack of all trades, master of none”? If so, that expression applies
to language learning a hundred percent.
5. Polyglots learn in a systematic
way
The last secret that we have is that we follow
a plan, as I mentioned above. Instead of saying that we are going to work on a
particular aspect of a language and putting it off by telling ourselves that we
will eventually do it, we do it. It is that simple. We try our best not to come
up with excuses, and if we find ourselves trapped and confused, we ask those
around us who have been able to do whatever it is that we want to do (ex: how
to pronounce certain kinds of words). We also prioritize what we believe is
most beneficial to us and practice on what we want to improve. As you can see
in all 5 tips, the general trend is that we follow a routine and have
self-discipline. Attitude is absolutely key.
If
you are interested in reading more about hyerpolyglotism and what that means,
feel free to read my posts:
~~“Tim Doner: The Hyperpolyglot That
Inspired Me” from 2/26/16
~~ “How To Learn Multiple Languages At A Time” from 3/23/16
~~“Taking Classes in Multiple Languages: My
Experience and Advice” from 4/17/16,
~~“How to Speak Multiple Languages Without Mixing Them Up” from
8/9/16.
There you go! These were just 5 methods of
many that polyglots use that most other language learners do not. I hope that
you became inspired to start implementing a few, or all of these methods in
your own studies. I wish you all the best of luck trying to better your
methodologies in your languages in this new year. Remember that a new year
means a new you. Which language goals do you want to set for yourself?
