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SELF TEACHING MOSAIC – part 4:  Speaking – Last but not least ! Overcoming difficulties

6/4/2013

5 Comments

 
We usually consider the speaking to be the most difficult part of our language learning process and actually, when I think of it now, it is the ultimate goal of all this “effort”. Language is about speaking, it is no doubt about it. The natural way for children to learn is to 1. listen and after some time (one, two or more years) they start with 2. speaking. And speaking very simply at the beginning. They IMITATE their parents and family members. It is natural way. No reading and no writing is involved, no lists of words to memorize, no grammar rules... and parents do not correct them every time when they make some mistake or when the pronunciation is not so perfect. They enjoy the process and go forward. Naturally.

So, from my personal perspective, the LISTENING and the SPEAKING are our natural, maybe genetically inherent abilities, which we, as human beings have inside of us for millions of years. We do not need any school education to attain them. Rather different situation is with reading and writing. These skills need the school or some teacher support (in most cases).

But why is the speaking for us learners with ESL (English as Second Language) so problematic? I think that the reason is that we approach it from the wrong direction. We start usually with learning lists of words (and it is a mix of our native language and target (learned) language, we learn a bunch of grammar rules (riddled by exceptions) and then we TRY to combine those words together, using those complex rules … Sometimes, we (as children) hardly know the meaning of the words (even in our native language, because we do not use them actively very much, or at all, or they are for us rather meaningless. The topic is irrelevant, but school book forces us to learn them anyway). We learn a lot ABOUT that language, about its structure, grammar... We learn a lot ABOUT it in our native language. A teacher is not, in many cases, a native speaker. We hardly know the correct pronunciation because of it, we hear more our own language during lessons of foreign language then foreign language itself. This MIX of languages creates its equivalent in our head.

Yes, it is as it is and we cannot do too much with it. We cannot change the school system immediately. I think that such learning about the language can be useful to some extend too. But it is not real language learning. It is learning ABOUT it. And it is a big difference. So, what we can do? We can return to the natural process – “listen and imitate” and the school let as kind of supplement only.  About listening we were talking before. So, to the speaking - how to “imitate” the speaking? Simply: You can listen a speak together or slightly delayed as you are listening at the same time. Do it this way: You are listening native speaker (you already perfectly understand because of previous activities) and you imitate his (her) pronunciation (you are familiar with too). After while you can be even slightly beforehand. Advantage is that you can compare yourself with the “real” speaker, you do not need (at that phase) any partner and you are becoming familiar with yourself (with your voice) speaking in the foreign language.

The second way (or (sub)phase) could be similar to the writing exercises we did – after listening you can try to say it in your own way, preferably using same (or some) vocabulary from the material you have just heard. /Here I would like to make a little remark – chose the topic you are INTERESTED IN, which has some MENING for you!/ You can notice that some words are more difficult to remember and to be used for you – you can mark them somehow (color). You know (understand) them but you cannot use them in your speech. It is you passive vocabulary. And to activate it? It needs speaking, using it, be active … there is no other way! Repeat, practise.

What I found very useful, after years of listening and some reading (but being unable to speak well) and after some attempts to speak with my friend via Skype (which had some impact, but made me feel a bit frustrated) is the method called Brain Speak Activator – which is “easy” to use, it does not need any partner, you do not need to be under any pressure, to be self-conscious, shy... or to "suffer" anyhow. You can do it on you own, with your own pace. Originally it was not intended to be language learning tool. But It had enormous impact on me and my speaking! I will write about it next time (noticing that the post is rather long already) and I will reveal my “English story” to you.


To be continued …

5 Comments
Jirka link
6/4/2013 17:18:53

Look at the picture "Language Learning Process" RIGHT here ->
(was created afterwards)

Reply
Sm4o link
6/4/2013 18:28:37

Thank you for your post!! :)

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Jirka link
6/4/2013 18:37:01

You're welcome! :) Share it, please

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Jarno link
7/4/2013 05:51:47

Hello Mate!

You all right?

I like a lot reading your posts. I found this blog yesterday as I got an email from G+ community; I guess we both are members of it. Anyway, it is great to see that there are people like you telling about how to learn English and how to make it easier. I also learn English as a second language or should I say as a foreign language. There are some differences between ESL and EFL. However, whether you are ESL or EFL learner the aim is to learn English.

I totally agree with you that the listening and speaking are two main factors what comes learning English language or any language. The first language acquisition normally happens automatically when child grows up and if family is bilingual the child acquires two languages instead of one. Main thing is anyway interaction and communication and that is, speaking to child and tells about surrounding nature. Without that there might be some problems child developing of speaking. Also for child is very important to see other people and their communication and encounters.

What comes to second language acquisition that is the other story? Children can learn other language easily even their parents are monolingual. If parents are interested in languages and want their children learn more than one language they can put their children to international kindergarten and their children learn the language by playing, singing, etc. However, when adults want to learn languages unfortunately it doesn’t happen that way. Like you mention the school and its way to teach, still adults are forced to learn same way. I see that adults should also learn languages like children in an international kindergarten.

In term of learning language as an adult we have to try many ways as learning a whole lot of new words and try to memorize them by heart. Repetition is one key, boring key I would say, but important when learning words. As an adult this is a big jungle and there are lots of possibilities to learn languages. I have been almost everywhere in a jungle and I can say that making learning as a habit helps a lot. One thing I have noticed during my way, there are no shortcuts for learning language!

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Jirka link
7/4/2013 11:00:33

Hi Jarno,

thank you for your replay! Yes, you are right. The children play and learn, no need for grammar rules or similar stuff (I do no want to say shit) and it is easy for them anyway. We adults try to do it the different way hoping to reach the same (or better?) results only to find that it does not work. We try again, harder, we put more effort into it, more will and it does not work again. We take some time to rest, to gain some energy, and the circle repeat itself. Progress is slow, very slow. No joy, no play like children, just frustration, effort and disappointment. Yes, this is a short description of a normal, "classical" way I know. I went through this process too. But I think that it does not have to be that way. I agree with you that there are no shortcuts for learning language. I think that learning language is life-long process and it is the case even with our mother tongue.

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