6 Common Mistakes Made in Language Learning

As with any practice that doesn't necessarily has aThis issue could be a problem with 9 out of 10 learning
"one way" of being done, language learning has a fewprocesses, but the language learning one is even more
common mistakes that apply to most, if not all theacute. Whether you could pull it off perfectly in say,
available learning methods out there. Whether you'rephysics, if you only used theoretical learning all the time
studying using a free online course, through educationaland you were suddenly faced with a real, practical
games, translated texts, flashcards or any otherproblem, with language learning you're bound to look a
method, you're bound to find one of these mistakes iffool. Theoretical language learning will hardly form any
what you're using is not of good quality.accurate pronunciation skills and whenever you'll be
1. Learning the new language like a sciencefaced with an actual conversation in that language, you
The language learning process is by no meansjust won't be able to express all that theoretical
comparable to say, learning a particular science orinformation you stored up.
learning a profession. Language learning is a skill and5. Using the "all work no play" technique
like all skills, sheer, raw information gurgling won't do theIt's well known that anything you learn while relaxing or
trick. This is a very common mistake that is especiallyhaving fun, you learn with more ease and the
hard to avoid in written language learning methodsinformation you store this way is longer lasting and can
such as courses, online lessons and the likes. It's verybe used more effectively. You'll be amazed by the
tempting for the writers of these materials to simplyamount of language learning techniques out there that
divide the language in big chunks and feed it to youdon't take advantage of this and instead, tend to follow
with a large spoon: "here's the grammar" "here's thethe more rigorous path. Sure, playing vocabulary
spelling" "here's the vocabulary". This will get yougames, using flashcards, completing quizzes or
nowhere, or if it will indeed have any effect, you willwhatever you could deem as "fun learning" won't be
take the longest route to get to it.as fast or intense as the rigid methods, but you get the
2. Taking large breaksabove mentioned effects and you lose the risk of
I'm feeling metaphorical today, so let me compare thegetting learning fatigue.
language learning process to a huge furnace. If you6. Learning monotony
want to light this huge furnace you'll need to constantlyAlthough last in our list, this is by far the most common
feed it firewood and as you do so, you'll see the firemistake that you will find with online language courses
growing bigger and bigger. Now, stop the process andand even with language center practical lessons and
the fire will go out and you'll have to put an almostcourses. Language learning is a long, arduous process,
equally hard effort to get it back on. It's the same withmake no mistake about it. I don't care what those
language learning. Once you get into it and you start"Learn Spanish in 2 weeks" course books say, it just
getting the hang of it, a large break from studying orcan't be done in such a short time span. Or well, if you
practicing could be a killer. Detach yourself completelyconsider grasping the complicated inner-workings of
from the learning and practicing and you'll find yourselfphrases like "Hello, how are you today?" in Spanish
having to bring in a new load of firewood.having "learnt" a language, then so be it. Anyway, the
3. Learning too fastpoint is that in this long and arduous process, we tend
There's a factor that I like to call "learning anxiety" thatto get bored, we tend to lose the initial enthusiasm
usually affects persons trying to study a languagewhen we realize that "hey, this isn't as fun as I thought,
because of a personal or professional need (yourit's actually hard work". Lesson monotony does not
wife's Japanese, your new business partner is French,help this and it's the main reason most people simply
your son is Dutch, stuff like that). This phenomenonquit a course instead of putting up with it.
happens when you're in a rush to get basic grip on aTo avoid learning monotony, try to mix up your learning
language and you skip through some of the essentialmethods as much as possible. Use translated texts,
steps too fast. You go in studying grammar without ause audio tapes, engage in conversations with friends,
basic vocabulary, you get into advanced terms beforeteachers or other students, watch media in that
even knowing the basic ones and so forth. This mayparticular language if available, play educational games,
indeed allow you to understand and make yourselfuse flashcards, use the dictionary to improve your
understood in a conversation, but overall, you will takevocabulary, do ANYTHING you have to do, just don't
more time correcting your wrongfully learnt conceptslet learning boredom overcome you, because trust me
than it would have taken you if you had studied themwhen I say this, it's a foreign language killer in way too
correctly in the first place.many cases.
4. Using solely "theoretical" learning methods