THE Language Learning Strategy You Are Missing

Playing linguistic chess to master conversations

Welcome, aspiring polyglot! Most people who are learning or have learned a language know that asking and answering questions. Even though it is a common issue, there are few second language strategies that address it. Many teachers never address it and it can leave people struggling when they are actually using their target language in their every day life. The primary issue is that most people will translate their question, they will ask a question perfectly, but then freeze when the question is answered. This happens because most of the time anticipating a response is considered rude.

If you are learning a new language, however, people will be more understanding and you will likely have to truly think about the response. Even if you are trying to predict what they are going to say, you are not trying to craft a response to their response. In short, playing linguistic chess is all but necessary when you begin working on your target language. That said, for many this will be a new idea and understanding it will help in mastering it.

What is linguistic chess?