Be Careful What You Choose

Consequences of choosing the wrong comprehensible input

Welcome, aspiring polyglot! Using the same resources is one of the biggest problems that many language learners end up facing. Unfortunately, by the time many of them realize it, the problems are already beginning to appear. Whether it is being limited to a set of vocabulary words, an inability to work with a diverse group of verb tenses, or only being able to understand one person when listening, these problems are pervasive. There are, however, many ways to avoid falling into these traps and it is worth your time to learn and use them.

Determine your vocabulary pool

At the end of the day you will learn the things you focus on and the language you use will correlate with the content you consume. Eventually you will be able to break out of this, but it will be far more difficult if you have already become set in your ways. Choosing your resources is one of the most important things you will do when you begin your language acquisition and it would behoove you to select them carefully.

Having a diverse set of resources is crucial. You need to be reading different authors, listening to different orators, and learning to use your voice. In much the same way as people adopt the idiosyncrasies and slang of their significant other, so too do language learners adopt those of their instructors. Fighting this natural tendency will be difficult, but if you approach your study sessions right it should be simple.

As a general rule, you should have at least 3 different orators (think podcasts, shows, movies, YouTube channels) that you listen to on a daily basis. You should have at least 3 different authors you read (think newspapers, online articles/forums, books) that you work with 4 times per week. You should have at least 2 things you are continuously working on between writing and translating. Whether you journal daily or want to try writing a short story or book, diversifying your writing will teach you to think in your new language.

Learning to think in your target language is central to developing your own voice. Your goal is, or should be, speaking and the last thing you want to be stuck with is someone else’s words. If you don’t take the time to sit and think and translate you will struggle to find your voice. This is by far the most difficult aspect of language acquisition. Many people never find their own voice even in their native language, so be patient with yourself, but do not give up.

Avoid boxing yourself in

The biggest problem with failing to approach your resource development intentionally is that you will box yourself in and make expressing yourself more difficult than it already is. I am a huge proponent of studying materials that reflect your interests. However, if that is all you ever do it is all you will ever be able to discuss. That is not a position you want to put yourself in when you are learning a new language.

Working with materials you enjoy is important, but only in so much as it makes it enjoyable to study. At the end of the day, though, studying is not always fun. Sometimes you actually have to sit down and grind out things you don’t enjoy because they are integral components of your target language. You need to learn to speak about a myriad of topics and the easiest way to do that is through the diversification of content.

When you are getting started focusing entirely on things you enjoy is acceptable. Use this time to teach yourself how to search for different types of content in your target language. The development of your research skills in conjunction with your language skills will ensure an enhanced and accelerated language acquisition experience. Once you realize that anything you can search for in your native language is something you can search for in your target language, everything changes.

The dangers of over confidence

The reason I say everything changes is because everything will change. However, some change is not the best. If you do fall into the trap of consuming only one type of content or only content from one source then you will face some demoralization. This is one of the reasons that having an educator is so important. You need someone who can pull you through the demoralization period and show you what awaits you on the other side. If you’re having trouble finding someone to work with, check this out:

Another danger of over confidence is that it can cause you to set improper expectations. If you are aiming at the wrong target you might as well not be aiming at any target. Trying and failing is to be expected, but when you anticipated success that failure can hit much harder. Goal setting is crucial to successful language acquisition, but if done incorrectly it can drive you away indefinitely. For some guidance on setting your language learning goals check out this article:

When your confidence does get shaken, and it will, there are a few things you can do to get it back quickly. The first is revisiting things you have done in the past. Looking at the Duolingo lessons you used to do, reading old writings you have, listening to videos or watching a show again, all of these things will demonstrate in real time how much progress you have made. Just because there is more to be done does not mean you should overlook how far you have come.

Having someone to work with, whether it is a friend, family, or a tutor will be beneficial in these times. You need to know that you know things when it feels like you know nothing. If you haven’t seen a visual representation of it, this is what it looks like:

Learning a language is always fun, at first. Yes, it can and should be fun throughout, but at the beginning you are learning new things and you can recognize objects and actions in your target language. That is exciting and can often be enough of a motivation to continue for a few months. After a while you’re going to uncover a trove of things you didn’t even know you didn’t know. That is when you are most vulnerable to burn out and giving up.

At a time like that, having someone who has seen you progress or helped you throughout your language acquisition will make things much easier. You are not the first person to experience this overwhelming feeling and you won’t be the last. Sometimes misery does love company, but only is so far as someone who understands your misery can make the experience bearable. Once you make it through to the other side you will realize all of the work and heartache was worth it.

Conclusion

There are hundreds if not thousands of ways to approach language acquisition, but of all the things you can do there are only a few you should not do. The most obvious is being complacent with your study materials. When you find something you really enjoy it can be tempting to stick with that material alone and avoid branching out, but this will ultimately work against you. It is crucial that you learn to speak about multiple topics, understand a myriad of voices, tempos, and pronunciation, and read anything.

In order for that to happen you need to constantly be rotating your comprehensible input. It is easier said than done, but once you get used to searching for things in your target language rather than your native language it will all get easier. Take time to build up this skill as it will serve you more than just about anything else you could possibly be doing, especially early on in your language acquisition.

Second language acquisition is no easy feat, it will be difficult irrespective of how you approach it. Using the strategies listed here can and will enhance and accelerate your language learning experience, it will not be easy. But you can do difficult things and be great, so continue to do difficult things and be great. I will be here by your side endeavoring to do the same.

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