Think of the most successful language learner you
know. What does/did that person do that
you think made him/her a good language learner?
How can you encourage your own students to try those same strategies?
(Additional comments on this post no longer earn points. Please choose a more recent entry).
Jarrod Duarte
ReplyDeleteThe most successful language learner I know is my cousin Alex from Venezuela. He was a gregarious person so he was constantly around opportunities to use English. In addition, he became a fan of oldies, country music and Seinfeld re-runs which I believe helped him develop a feel or rhythm of the language as well as a relaxed style from which to learn by. I would encourage my students to not be afraid to use the language whenever possible and to immerse themselves in the culture without the fear of losing their own. Also, if a student has an English speaking cousin that they can go have inhibition-lowering-beers with every Friday then that would be helpful too.
Jarrod Duarte
In my third semester Chinese course, there was one student who was so above and beyond the rest of us, he could have been teaching the class. While the rest of us were struggling to put together a basic sentence, he was having fluent conversations with our teacher. And the funny thing was, he had not been studying the language any longer than the rest of us. I got to know him and learned what his trick was. He created his own immersion environment. He surrounded himself with Chinese friends, chatted online for hours with native speakers to improve his reading and writing skills, watched only Chinese entertainment online, and did this daily for a year. He said it was hard at first, but he now uses more Chinese than English in his day-to-day life, even though he's living in the States! When I asked some mutual Chinese friends how good his Chinese was, they told me he was near native. It was remarkable that he was able to achieve that level of proficiency on his own in only 1 year without living abroad! While not everyone is able to transform his or her life that dramatically in order to create an immersion environment, this provides some inspiration about how we can be successful independent learners outside of the classroom.
ReplyDeleteThe most successful language learner I know, my Grandpa, may not be a very good model to give to my students. The factors which I think contribute to his success are an affinity for complex grammar structures, intense linguistic interest, and undying work ethic. Of these, I think only the last would be something I could recommend to students. However, my Grandpa’s success lies mainly in these areas of interest. He can examine a translation in a language he does speak and check for validity, but is unlikely to go out on the street and have a conversation with a vendor or shopkeeper. This reminds me that in order to really acquire a language, you have to have real life practice with it. I would encourage students to use every opportunity to talk with native speakers and practice on their own.
ReplyDeleteI can think of two radically different people and approaches. The first was my sister. Fifty years ago she was the top Spanish student in a very large high school both her junior and senior year. She went on to Stanford where she majored in languages. She was motivated by awards and grades-A's. I remember always doing homework. She created very large piles of 3x5 cards that she would memorize while sitting on her bed, going through them over and over. It worked for her.
ReplyDeleteThe other person lives in a very poor country of SE Asia and has a very limited formal education, not in languages at all. Yet he now knows ten languages rather well. He taught himself. He started learning English because he was asked to do a translation of some literature by a visiting Australian. Learned in two weeks enough English to get the job done. I do not know all his strategies but he clearly engages himself in a very intense way. He took on tasks where he had much to gain and committed himself to success. Now he a great asset for anyone traveling in his area of the world. He can translate on the fly from one language to another with no obvious issues at all. I think the key to both my sister and my friend is motivation. Their view of themselves was very tied to their accomplishments. So, for my students, I will encourage them to see themselves in ways that require them to use English. See themselves participating in society, leading others and/or raising children, becoming financially successful, and becoming a new, bilingual person. This new vision of themselves will be their goal and will be achieved by learning English.
The most successful language learner I know would be one of my close friends Jay. I think there are several factors that made her successful. First was that she really wanted to learn the language (Korean), and I think just having that mentality and drive can be very helpful (she had the motivation to learn, it wasn’t like she was trying to learn for a grade or credit, etc.). Second, she incorporated the language into pretty much every aspect of her daily routine. For example, on her calendar, (she has one of the big board ones), she would have a word written there every day as new vocabulary. On her phone, she changed the language settings, she downloaded some apps, and she a lot of music that she listened to always in Korean. She even bought books, joined some online sites, and went to restaurants to find people to talk to (and there was also a group that met in Dallas every week I think to just talk). She even watched movies, dramas, shows, etc. in the target language (usually with subtitles), and she learnt a lot of phrases from that. Third is that she practiced every day to try to get her pronunciation right (she would record herself and compare-there’s an application that does this I think). I think a lot of these strategies are useful. For example : watching movies and shows with subtitles, that way you can at least hear a lot of the target language and probably capture the “jist of it,” and if possible, I would encourage the students to try to use English in everything they do, and talk with people (my friend had to go a Korean restaurant just hoping to find someone, so I understand this might be hard in an EFL environment, but if they are in the States, there are plenty of English speakers). Motivation I think is quite important here too, so if the students can find a way to relate their interests to the target language, and have that motivation, then the rest should follow as well.
ReplyDeleteA student in one of my classes, Gilberto, is one of the most successful language learners that I know. He started off in Level 1A and is still progressing after two years but is up to Level 4. There are several things that have contributed to his success. First, he is incredibly motivated. He works as an auto mechanic and after he fixes the cars he has to write up the reports in English so his employment is tied somewhat to his being able to express himself in English. Second, he puts in a LOT of time doing this. He was always asking me for extra work, and watched the evening news in English religiously. His family was back in Mexico and he lived alone so the remote was his to watch what he wanted to and he chose English speaking programs. He tried to speak English only at VMLC (most students speak their native language on break) and signed up for every extracurricular event that he could. Also, he wanted to say and write everything 'correctly' so I think he was probably a perfectionist as well. I wish all my students were as motivated as he was, and again, I think that motivation is a key component of second language success. That being said, there is an articly in the NY Times today about polyglots, people who pick up dozens of languages for fun, and scientists think that they have special circuitry in their brains that enable them to do this so I would imagine that some innate language processing capability may also help.
ReplyDeleteThe most successful language learner I know uses a lot of the techniques on p. 259 and 268. She watches movies and listens to music. She uses her English every chance she gets. She is not afraid to make mistakes. She asks lots of questions in class. She has a notebook with lists of words she has learned. She keeps notes about idioms or things she hears and doesn’t understand. She definitely takes charge of her own learning. In my ESL class, I ask students what they do to learn English outside of class. I make a list of the ideas that students give so they can share their strategies. We talk about local (free) events that students can attend that will give them more exposure to English.
ReplyDeleteSince my Bachelor degree is English translation, I got a chance to meet many students with different learning techniques. Apart from students who spent their childhood in an English speaking country, I saw excellent students who had never been out of Saudi Arabia still their language was stunning. Surprisingly, they were not aware how good they were because they really could not careless about scores and academic achievements. They learned English without the help of schooling. They did it themselves because they loved the culture, literature, art and essence of English language. They were reading writing listening and watching English stuff because they loved it. They kept English diaries and sent English emails. They were reading English newspaper and magazines. They were watching Opera and friends. They listened to the Beatles and Frank Sinatra. It was not text books or flash card, but there attitude toward the whole English culture. They started doing these things in early age, and without knowing English became a part of their lives. I was so impressed when meeting those people, but I figured that the downside for having an English soul in a non-English community is the feeling of isolation. They were more comfortable in their own English world than around their own people.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most successful language learners I know was an American I met in Cambodia. He spoke so fluently that Cambodians would say that if they spoke to him on the phone or closed their eyes and listened to him, they thought they were speaking to a native speaker. He was of course very motivated, but he also put himself into situations where he was forced to speak the language. On top of studying the language academically, he chose to live with a Khmer family (who spoke very minimal English) for his first three years there. Although it may not be a possibility for many of our students to move in with an American family, they can make intentional decisions to put themselves into situations that FORCE them to use their language. For example, I encourage my Hispanic students here to do the same thing, to make small decisions that give them opportunities to use their language. For them, that might be using the checkout lane at the grocery store that has a non-Hispanic cashier, watching TV in English, or trying to communicate with their own English instead of using their kids as translators.
ReplyDeleteSome of the best language learners I know are my former conversation partners Bibiana and Fernando. I am not just saying that because they are my friends, but because they are amazing. They immersed themselves with every opportunity offered, and if they ever did skip an event, it was because they were studying. They had an intense commitment to learning about English and American culture. But, to be honest, their work ethic was established well before learning English. They transferred the same energy they used to study law into studying English. So, I encourage my new conversation partners to do the same.
ReplyDeleteAs I think of the most successful language learners I've known, all of them had dedication enough to learning the language that they committed a lot of time to it outside of class. Whether it was doing extra exercises or jut practicing their vocabulary, they spent a lot of time outside of class trying to learn their language.
ReplyDeleteI think the best way to encourage students to employ these same strategies is to build their motivation, and encourage them to work outside of class to achieve their goals. With my class, that isn't too difficult because they are all highly motivated already, so motivating them to work outside of class is not hard.
I know a classmate of me friend in my undergrad studies in China. She has great talent in mastering accents in different languages or dialects. She comes from south China and speaks Mandarin Chinese and Hakka Chinese. Since she has a roommate from north China and has northern accent, one year later, she can speak with so strong northern dialect accent that many people are confused because southern accent and northern accent are greatly different. She also majors in English language and has high level of listening and speaking skills. After three months in America, she brings a very native like American accent, which is amazing. We all think that she’s good at pronunciation acquisition. So I think except her talent, the interest and confidence are also important. If we want to acquire native accent, the best way is to immersion into the target language environment.
ReplyDeleteWorking at a community college I have come in contact with several foreign students, several I have hired to work in my department which provides technical support to faculty. The job requires a great deal on conversation and I have in the past hired students that English was still a relatively new language.
ReplyDeleteTwo people struck me as particularly successful in improving their conversation skills, Tila and Isaac. These two immersed themselves in English conversation. Tila's first language was Spanish and when I first met her she seemed kind of lost in conversation so I decided to do her a solid and speak Spanish to her. I hadn't said but a few sentences when she stopped me and told me to speak English to her, "because it's better for me so I can learn," she said.
Over the next few months her vocabulary increased and now after two years she is quite fluent.
Both Isaac and Tila were very successful because they made it a point to take what they learned and implement that in every day situations. If there was something they didn't understand they didn't hesitate to ask.
I think it's important to build confidence and encourage English skills outside of the classroom. I took several Japanese language classes and none of it stuck because Japanese was limited to class time and nothing outside of that. I can see a similar situation happening to an English learner if they don't make time or effort implementing what they learn in class and using it outside the classroom.
My friend Bea is a gifted language learner. First of all she finds languages fascinating and uses different bits and pieces of languages spontaneously depending on who she’s around that speaks that language. She is a very open and friendly person who’s not afraid to make friends with people of different cultures and inquire about their language and culture. From there, she has a good memory and picks up bits and pieces and is not afraid to use them so that her friends are then motivated to teach her more. Part of this openness is probably due to her background which has exposed her to a variety of cultures and languages. She is Philippino but grew up in Australia, went to college in the US, attends a 90% Chinese church, and recently spent a few weeks in Africa. Before going to Africa, she asked her French speaking friend to teach her a few phrases. One other thing Bea uses that’s interesting is technology such as IPhone apps. While there are different mp3 langauge lessons one can listen to, Bea will play different language games that teach vocabulary. This is one more interesting and fun way to learn language.
ReplyDeleteThe most successful language learner I know is good friend of mine who within only a year of private Spanish lessons was able to earn a position as a bilingual case worker. The fact that she received private lessons is of course a plus, but a way to incorporate this into a classroom would be by knowing your students on a personal basis and making time in class for students to work one on one with you for a short time so you can assess their needs and offer a little custom teaching. I would also encourage students to use tutoring services if they are available, or provide them if possible. She also was very dedicated to using the language whenever possible and without fear, even in the earliest stages of her learning experience. She went to Spanish conversation meet-up groups and always spoke even with more advanced speakers. I feel this "linguistic bravery" is necessary for learners to truly get the most out of their language learning being that if you don't produce language and try out your hypotheses about a language then you are not moving closer to fluency. You can foster this in your classroom by focusing on making it a comfortable atmosphere for all to participate freely in. I recall going to a restaurant with my friend and she spoke Spanish with the waiter, even though he knew English better than she knew Spanish. I felt at the time that he might become frustrated with her but he didn't, he seemed to appreciate that she was learning and she thanked him for letting her practice with him, which I thought was a good approach. Encouraging students to try little things like that outside the classroom can help them build confidence and gain experience with real-world L2 usage.
ReplyDeleteSome of the most successful language learners are those who have either gone to a country where that language is spoken, or otherwise immersed themselves in a place where that language is spoken. Being around native speakers twenty-four hours a day makes people proficient in the language quickly, at least in speaking and hearing or signing and perceiving the language. If my students are in an ESL setting then I could simply encourage them to interact with native speakers in daily life or to get involved at a local club, group, or church that would allow them to have regular interaction with native speakers. However if my students are in an EFL setting, I could perhaps encourage them to go to places where foreigners tend to gather. Or perhaps I could encourage them to use various social or language-exchange focused websites that would allow them to at least practice communicating with native speakers. This would mainly improve their reading and writing skills though, so perhaps I could encourage them to watch or listen to English language media, and to meet with their classmates outside of class and use only English while hanging out. By this I am thinking of what ASL learners call a “silent dinner” or other event where they go to dinner or otherwise hang out, but only use ASL or other non-vocal means to communicate.
ReplyDeleteThe most successful language learner I've ever encountered is a girl who lives in Indonesia. We met online through a chat room situation, and her English was basically flawless. I was already really impressed, and then later as we became closer I found out that she actually had never spoken English to an English-speaker and had never had formal exposure to it, either. Everything she learned she taught herself by watching English movies and TV, listening to English music, and by looking up lessons online. We did eventually begin to have conversation on the phone, and although she occasionally ran into difficulties communicating, her pronunciation was impressive. I have never met a more self-motivated person, and it really revolutionized my perspective on the best way to learn a language. Prior to meeting her, I had thought that formal scenarios would be the best way to learn, but after interacting with her I began to wonder whether the factor that makes the difference wasn't more about internal motivation rather than the quality of education. For that reason, I am really encouraging my students to expose themselves to as much English outside the classroom as possible and to find aspects of American culture that they can really love or become enthusiastic about. I think that when students are able to find those internal motivators, they are well on their way to success.
ReplyDeleteThe person that comes to my mind is my friend Forest. His command of Japanese and German are truly amazing. When I asked how he learned these language he said he had some formal training in school which taught him to read and write but the actual conversing came from being immersed in the countries and cultures. He inspires me to keep learning languages and if and when the opportunity presents itself I would love nothing more than to be immersed in other countries and cultures. I still chat in German with Forest and am blown away that his German is better than mine! I need more practice!
ReplyDeleteWhat I do tell my students is that if they are serious about learning English that they should spend time surrounded by the language. When they have time they should watch TV in English, listen to music in English, and try to use English whenever they can. I tell them that these are the things I do when I want to learn another language. I tell them that practice makes perfect but most of my students are adults and they are afraid of making mistakes so they are apprehensive about using the language outside the classroom.
Stefani Goode
The most successful language learner I know is a friend of mine named Kyle. He speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, and is a native speaker of English. He learned most of these languages at DLI FLC, but what makes him more successful than his counterparts in school is that Kyle creates ways to use the language he is learning no matter where he is. Even if he has to speak to me using a language I don't know, he'll speak and then translate. He asks for correction from his instructors and absorbs it almost instantly, and finds ways to use the parts of language he has trouble with until it isn't a problem. And most importantly he immerses himself in the culture. He finds native speakers to talk to, he watches their television shows and listens to their music.
ReplyDeleteI plan on using Kyle as an example of a successful language learner and show to my students that to be successful you can't be afraid to make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and immerse yourself as much as possible in your target language.