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The First Step In Your Expatriation Adventure
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Written by Doug Bower
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Monday, 01 December 2008
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Page 2 of 2
The Failure Factor
The failure factor in learning a second language is that most regard learning a new language as an academic endeavor. They think this is going to be like learning Algebra. The approach offered by educated academics is enough to send any normal person screaming from the classroom. This approach to second language acquisition is not second language acquisition at all. It is the learning something about the target language. It will equip you to read and translate into your native tongue some piece of Spanish text. But, will it assist you in speaking and comprehending the language you want to acquire? Not likely.
The question that must be asked when making the decision to have a go at the target language of the country you are planning moving to and for whatever reasons, is do you want to be able to sit down with a local and chat while having dinner? Do you want to be able to engage not only in rudimentary social intercourse but do you want to be able to go to a Mexican doctor or dentist and not have to hire a translator to come along with you? In other words, do you want to be assimilated into the culture?
How will spending a fortune in classes in the target language help you achieve your assimilation goal? How will attending classes that will teach you all the verb declensions of the target language and the cold, mindless memorization of out-of-context vocabulary words aid you in this quest? When your friend, spouse, or life-long companion keels over from a heart attack, how will having learned in the pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo of any verb in the Spanish language help you to rapidly explain to the emergency room physician the medical history of your loved one?
In my view, based on my research, if what you want is to be able to communicate in the target language, don't begin with a class in which you are issued a textbook, workbook, a list of grammar rules and vocabulary you have to memorize. Rather, begin with something called "Comprehensible Input."
What most try to do when taking classes in a second language is to develop the ability to speak to be understood and to understand the reply. This happens "... when a language learner comprehends words and sentences in a communicative context. These kinds of utterances are called "comprehensible input." (Language Instructor Manual (LIM) Comprehensible Input; http://ling.ucsd.edu)
I think we could all agree than no human popped out of his or her mother's womb quoting Chaucer. Each of us, no matter what our native tongue, heard thousands of repetitions of our caretaker's commands, pleadings, questions, descriptions, and so on before one day trying ourselves to reproduce the speech we heard repeatedly from our parents.
What we were exposed to was an environment in which lots and lots of words and sentences were first heard in a meaningful context. We were not born a linguistic blank slate. At birth, we had a linguistic outline preinstalled of what language should be and hearing our parents and loved ones speak to us filled in the outline. It is hardwired into our brains to learn language and this hardwiring is not ripped out of our heads what we become adults. It's still there, so why not use it to become proficient in a second language?
" Incidentally, there is no evidence that the "biological wiring" for language acquisition changes as the infant develops into childhood and then adulthood." (James Asher, Ph.D.)
How To Begin
First of all, understand the difference in learning speech and learning language. One is the "biological wiring" for language acquisition at work; the other is an academic effort in which something "about" the language is learned.
Secondly, understand that none of us came into the world producing in any language that we didn't first hear. Production in our native tongue came after hearing lots and lots of speech in the target language spoken in meaningful contexts. Listening came before speaking in our native language.
"Never do we observe infants in any culture or in any historical period showing language acquisition starting with production followed by comprehension." (James J. Asher, Ph.D.)
Just as when we were infants, when we try to become fluent in a second language, we have to resort to the same method that afforded us success in our native language: Listening First; Production in the language second.
I am convinced, based on the science as well the personal experiences of my wife and me, that if you engage in this process, speech, and that which we all are seeking, fluency, come as the result of Comprehensible Input. And, refining speech-learning grammar-comes much later than that.
Thirdly, if you are a rank beginner, will listening to Univision TV be of any use? Hardly!
What is meant within the Comprehensible Input Theory is to be exposed to massive amounts of level-appropriate audio communication in the target language.
You would not play tapes and CD's of Shakespeare to teach your infant spoken fluency in your native tongue. If you were to watch a Mexican soap opera as a beginner you would most likely understand nothing.
You must seek input in which the speech is understandable at the level you find yourself and work up from that point. The speed at which the speech is delivered is also paramount. Trust me when I tell you that what you will get out of a traditionally taught Spanish class will not equip you to understand street Spanish. I still have problems when listening to native speakers who are excited or angry.
There are resources available to get you started in the Comprehensible Input approach to second language acquisition.
Resources:
The Learnables - Affordable and Successful Foreign Language Courses
The results of The Learnables® research are published in a variety of applied linguistic journals. A description of the research also appears in two books: Comprehension and Problem Solving as Strategies for Language Training, Mouton: The Hague, 1975 (authors H. Winitz and J. Reeds) and The Comprehension Approach to Foreign Language Instruction, Rowley: Mass., 1981 (editor H. Winitz)
Spanish I and Spanish II Fluency Fast Classes (16 DVD set)
Based on the more than 40 years of neuro-linguistic science of second language acquisition. These are actually recorded workshops that you can view in the privacy of your own home.
Immersion Plus Spanish
One of the most misunderstood parts of becoming fluent in any language is the need of training your ear in the target language. What I mean is, if you cannot hear the euphony or music of the language, you will rarely, if ever, be able to understand what someone is saying to you in the target language. Doug Bower is an author of nine books and syndicated Columnist. You Can Learn Spanish or Any Language No Matter Your Age or Disposition http://www.zyworld.com/theolog/Page2.html
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Last Updated ( Monday, 01 December 2008 )
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