How to Really Learn a Language Page 7

  When I studied English in grade school, learning grammar rules, verb conjugations, and parts of speech really bored me. Understanding meaning and observing proper usage is what helped me understand the rules. I learned what made sense, and poor grammar stood out to me. If something was spoken or written with poor grammar, it just didn't feel or sound right. Even today it be real obvious when someone speak with bad grammar.

  As you may remember, I learned Portuguese and Spanish without a course. I became fluent mostly by speaking with natives. I learned most of the grammar rules by paying attention to the conversation, and later thinking about concepts that I had learned. Whenever I learned how to say something, I simply paid attention to the way it was said. If it was a verb, I noticed how it ended. If it was a pronoun, I paid attention to the placement. If the noun required an article, I noticed it was there. Simple. By doing this, I was able to absorb many of the grammar rules and apply them to new thoughts and ideas in the language. If it was something that I didn't quite understand, I would ask questions until I fully understood it. I would often spend time pondering different phrases and mentally analyze the grammar involved. I would come up with different language scenarios in my mind and imagine myself talking to a native speaker. I would practice speaking with my imaginary friend until I could figure out why certain things are said in certain ways.

  With all that being said, there is a difference between fluency and sophistication. When I decided to become an interpreter, I learned very quickly that I lacked sophistication in my language skills. The best way for me to remedy that was by improving my grammar and increasing my vocabulary. In other words, I had to learn how to speak and write at a level that an adult native would. Using grammar workbooks was helpful, but it was still an attempt to learn by analysis, which didn’t fully help me to be able to produce the language at the level of a native speaker.

  One thing I did to help me reach higher levels of fluency was purchase books on idioms and slang, as well as verb books. They did help some, but I still didn’t feel like what I was learning was becoming a part of me, since I was merely learning examples of the language. I figured that the best way was to use authentic language sources; written and spoken language produced by natives. If I could learn to fully comprehend and reproduce the language in the same way as it was produced by natives, then I would eventually reach native-like fluency.

  The turning point was when I decided to use monolingual sources for learning. I began to research grammar concepts by searching the terms only in the foreign language, reading about the grammar rules in the same language. By simply typing the foreign word for “grammar” into a search bar, I could easily access monolingual websites designed to help native speakers of the language improve their grammar. I recommend that you do the same thing.

  I’ve mentioned the concept of shadowing several times in this book. Shadowing has been by far the best thing to help me build my sophistication in a language. If I can successfully shadow a passage, maintaining the proper speed, intonation, and pronunciation as the speaker, while at the same time understanding everything that I’m repeating, then I am reproducing the language at the level of a native speaker.

  Granted I am only referring to my performance of what is being shadowed. If I can shadow audio clips on certain subjects but cannot do so on other topics, then I’m in no way considering myself to have native-like fluency. Again, doing this would be easy to do in my native language. I would have little difficulty shadowing just about any news program, podcast, talk show, audiobook, sermon, lecture, or any other recorded speech in my native language. The only time I may have trouble would be if the topic was specialized and in a field that I have had no experience with, such as engineering.

  When you make your first few attempts at shadowing in the foreign language, you may be shocked at just how difficult it is to reproduce the language at this level. The best way to overcome this difficulty is by taking very small segments and working on those until you’ve mastered them. I’m talking about 10 to 30 seconds at a time. For example, if the passage you are shadowing is an audio commercial, it may last 1 minute, but be spoken so quickly that you can’t possibly keep up your pace at first. Use the skip back feature on your playing device, and only focus on the first few words. If your device can skip backwards 10 seconds, then the whole audio clip should be mastered in 10 second cumulative blocks. The key is to set very small goals, such as being able to shadow for 10-30 seconds, then a minute, gradually moving up to several minutes.

  It can be easy to become overwhelmed when building your shadowing skills. It might be a good idea to have a few different shadowing projects. Work a few minutes on one podcast, a few on an audiobook, and a few more on a tv show. The good news is, the more you shadow a certain passage, the more likely you are to memorize it, thereby causing the words to become a permanent part of your vocabulary.

  An advanced technique that you can use to reach lingual sophistication is transcribing. Transcribe the same audios or videos that you are shadowing. This is incredibly difficult, but it increases your listening skills. If a written version of that which you are transcribing is available, only use it as a last resort. Once you have transcribed a portion of the track, go back and shadow what you’ve transcribed. After you have made some progress with your transcribing skills, you’ll be amazed at how much you have increased your skills in the language.

  The point of these exercises is to get you to the level at which you can watch almost any show, movie, program or read any book or article without the need to look up any words, just as you are able to do in your native language. Once you have reached this level, you can proudly say that you have achieved native-like fluency in a now-not-so foreign language.

  11 Polyglot

  Juggling Multiple Languages

  People always question how I manage to juggle so many languages. The truth is, it was something I had to learn how to do. In the beginning, I would go all-in while learning a new language, and neglect any previously learned language only to find that later on, when I was exposed to or forced to use a previously learned language, I had lost some basic skills and/or vocabulary. I guess the old saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it,” is true after all.

  Once I realized that this was the case, I tried desperately to come up with a way to keep learning new languages while not forgetting those that I had already learned. I tried many different studying schedules. I tried studying only one language per month for a while, but I found that a month was too much time between languages, and I would forget so much during the gaps. I then tried a language of the week schedule, which did work better, but I would end up longing for the other languages that weren’t on the schedule, causing the current language of the week to lose its attractiveness. Then I tried doing two languages per day on a schedule but ended up running into the same types of issues. After some time, I found something that really works for me.

  Nowadays, what I do is rather effective. I always have a priority language. It can be a language that I’m trying to become fluent in, or a language in which I’m trying to become certified. Either way, that language takes the stage every day. Most of my study time is taken up by that language. For the other languages that I’ve learned already, I simply spend a few minutes on each one every day. This process is quite therapeutic for me, as each language represents a different part of me. Each language seems to stimulate a different part of my psyche.

  What I do with each language depends on the level of fluency I have in each one. Obviously, I strive to maintain contact with native speakers as much as possible. For languages that I have highly mastered, I simply expose myself to audios, videos, books, news, or anything that is authentic and used by natives. If it’s audio, I usually shadow it. For those languages that I have majorly neglected in the past, I usually spend time reviewing course materials to dust off the old cobwebs. I also spend some time exposing myself to the language in its authentic form via podcasts or any of the sources tha
t I’ve mentioned repeatedly thus far.

  My problem has always been that I am absolutely in love with languages. All of them. In the beginning of my language journey, this caused me to start a language, pursue learning it to a degree, only then to become distracted by a new romance and run away with a new language affair. This is the reason for my “knowing the basics in 15 languages.” I wish that the wisdom that comes with age had been available to me back in my younger years, but I have yet to build a time machine with which I can remedy the mistakes of my past. In the past several years, I have come to the conclusion that since I am a language professional, working as an interpreter, my focus should be on that which will provide the next level of income for my family. It’s only fair to them that I live this way, neglecting my fleeting desires to pursue that which will benefit us more in the long run. This decision is what caused me to spend so many years on Spanish to reach the level of certification that I have only recently achieved. I still dabble with those languages that I have only started learning, but only as a hobby. Luckily, my profession allows me to shoot for a higher level of mastery in each language, which is a new type of passion for me. Fluency used to be my goal in each language, but now it is mastery. I wish to achieve native-like fluency in as many languages as possible until my time runs out.

  When I was learning my third language, a friend of mine told me a story of some missionaries that had visited his village back in Guatemala. A few of them claimed to have learned over 40 languages! My friend asked one of them how this was possible. The missionary replied that after you learn your second language, the third one is easier to learn. After that, each language you learn is easier than the previous. I’ve generally found this to be the case. After learning a few languages, I had figured out what the best approach for me was and knew in advance what obstacles would arise. The only exception to this is when it involves a language with sounds that are extremely different from those of my native language, especially if the written form does not use the Roman alphabet. Nevertheless, the challenge is less intimidating when approaching each new language.

  If you are staring out on your multilingual journey, the best advice I can give you is to refrain from neglecting that which you have learned. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Simple daily exposure as well as frequent contact with natives will keep you current on your known languages. It’s probably been a while since you had to study your native language, but you’ve probably been exposed to and have had to utilize it every day. It’s the same thing with your second or third language.

  Another great tip is to not assume that any new language will be similar to those you already know. If you know Italian, do not assume that Spanish will be easy. If you speak Portuguese, don’t think that French will be similar. Many people make the mistake of trying to use what they know about one language to help them learn another. This usually causes a person to speak the new language incorrectly, because they have simply tried to morph the previously learned language into the new one. Approach each new language as something that is unknown to you and you will have better success.

  I’ve heard and read over the years that learning multiple languages will make a person more intelligent, and will even increase a person’s I.Q. While I’m not sure if either of those are true, I can say that I have noticed a difference in my mind over the years. The more I study and learn new languages, the sharper my mind seems to be. Also, there seems to be a higher sense of clarity in my ability to decipher puzzles or complex life situations. I’ve taken some free online I.Q. tests every couple of years since I first began learning different languages, and my score has increased every time. Although I’m not sure about the validity of such tests, I can say that there is an apparent change in my mind, and it continues to change. If it’s an increase in intelligence or awareness, I’m not sure, but I do feel like I can think better than I could 10 years ago.

  If you desire to become a polyglot, I would advise that you learn each language the correct way, as described in this book. Don’t try to learn more than one new language at a time, as you will only make mediocre progress in any of them. If your ambition to become a polyglot causes even one language to suffer, then your own purpose has defeated you. Once you fall in love with language-learning, this will be your greatest temptation. Simply give each language the time that it deserves. It’s better to speak a few like a native than it is to sound like a beginner in several.

  Do not neglect your pronunciation for a moment, and always strive to sound like a native. I love watching videos of polyglots that speak each language beautifully, striving to speak and sound like a native. On the other hand, I can’t stand to listen to people that post videos of themselves butchering several languages. I’m sure their intentions are pure, but it’s just not attractive to me to hear a person speak a language with a horrible accent.

  Perhaps my standards are higher than those of many people, but to me language is an art, and should be pursued with deep passion. I’m not sure how many languages I will be able to learn throughout my lifetime. However, I do know that in each one that I claim to have achieved fluency, the words will pour out of my mouth just as if I were a native speaker since my goal is to stay true to the sounds of each language. I wouldn’t necessarily expect you to develop such an overwhelming obsession for languages as I have, but I do ask that you treat each new language with the same openness and interest as you did in your first. The sky's the limit when it comes to how many languages you can learn. One day, I hope to personally welcome you to the small world of polyglots, and hopefully that world doesn’t remain small for much longer.

  12 Mouth of Babes

  Teaching Children Languages

  After a fellow interpreter and good friend of mine, Earl Rogers, introduced me to the world of interpreting, he told me about an interpreter he met that was fluent in seven languages. She had told Earl that her parents spoke with her and her siblings in a different language every week when she was growing up. Everyone in the household was required to speak the language of the week. This was before I got married and had kids, but I remember thinking that those parents had done something very special for their kids. Each one grew up with an ability that they could use to earn income, and have no problem finding employment. They also had a unique perspective on life and other people, as language and culture are so deeply intertwined.

  A year before I became certified by the courts, my wife and I found out that we were going to have a baby. I was so excited to become a father, especially when we later discovered that our first baby was a little girl. I wondered what it would be like to love, provide for, and raise a child into adulthood. I also wondered if I had what it takes to provide for her. My wife, Alicia, and I had no life insurance, or savings. We had no way to make sure that she would be ok if something were to happen to us. Financially, we had nothing to pass down to her.

  I was working two jobs at the time; as an aspiring full-time interpreter, and a part-time guitar instructor. Both jobs were benefits of skills that I had acquired after having been exposed to and developed a passion for language and music. My mom taught music at the first school I attended and was the piano player at our church. She also gave piano lessons in people’s homes throughout the week, most of the time taking my brother and me along. I started playing trumpet when my mom signed me up for band in sixth grade. I guess she wanted to pass down her passion and skill to me. I’m glad she did, because I immediately fell in love with playing music.

  My dad was also a musician. He gave me his guitar when I was 12 and I became addicted right away. I’ve been a musician for over 20 years and have been able to experience a deep connection with music. For over 8 years I was able to use my music skills to provide income for my family. My parents gave me that opportunity, and I will forever be grateful. When I learned that I was going to become a father, I decided to teach my daughter music and language, the only two skills I really had.

  I had already started writing this book when Alicia
got pregnant and had been pondering how people learn their first language. I thought it would be really fascinating and exciting to watch my daughter learn to speak. I remembered about the polyglot interpreter and how her parents were mostly responsible for her having learned so many languages, so I started going to the library to research bilingualism and multilingualism in children.

  I learned that early exposure is important, as a child’s developing brain can record language sounds during the first ten months and remember them perfectly for the rest of their life. I also learned that some bilingual children tend to become more self-conscious once they start school. That coupled with speaking and learning in English all day at school sometimes would make the child become a passive bilingual, which is basically having a native like comprehension of a foreign language, but limited speaking skills.

  When Alicia’s gynecologist told us that our baby could hear, I made an MP3 playlist of audio books and music in as many foreign languages I could find, along with some classical music. Alicia would put headphones on her belly throughout the day, and our daughter, Alia, would usually respond to the sounds. When she was born, I burned the files to CDs, and we played the them in her room at night while she slept.

  My first words to Alia were in Spanish. I had decided to speak to her in a different language every three days and expose her to as many languages as possible before she reached the age of 10 months. When she was 3 months old, she started becoming interested in watching television. Alicia and I ran with this opportunity. I purchased several language learning DVDs for children, including some that claimed to teach babies how to read English. While I was at work, Alicia would put them on for Alia to watch throughout the day. Alicia was very supportive of my plan and would follow my language schedule when I wasn’t home. When I got home from work, I would spend as much time as possible playing games, listening to music, reading books, and watching her DVDs with her. The more I participated in the activities, the more engaged she became.