What I've learned from 4 polyglots - 5 steps to language fluency

From the Author:

Dear All,
The blog has been permanently moved to wordpress. I'm not going to publish anything on the blogspot address any more, and I'll delete the blog within a week or two.
So if you'd still like to follow my posts (I hope you do), please visit the wordpress version and click follow there: teflreflections.wordpress.com You can also find regular updates on the posts on the new blog's FB page by clicking here.
Thanks for reading and commenting on the posts here, and I hope to see you soon on wordpress.
Best,

Marek Kiczkowiak

In my last post I talked about 5 language learning myths which can hamper our efforts, decrease motivation or even make us abandon the hope of learning a language altogether. In this one I'd like to further explore the ideas Chris Lonsdale, Sid Efromovich and Benny Lewis talk about. I've also just come across a really interesting website by another polyglot, Richard Simcott. You can read more about him here.

They have all learned various languages relatively quickly and often on their own, i.e. not in a language school. They also believe that anyone can learn any language, as long as they put their mind to it, regardless of talent or lack thereof; a view I share with them.

Also, many of the tips they talk about are similar, although phrased in a slightly different way. So I thought it'd be a good idea to put all I've learned from them together, adding some of my own language learning experience, into 5 easy to follow steps.

1. Make the language a useful tool.

   Your mindset is the key here. If you're learning the language only because your boss will sack you if you don't, or because your parents will ground you, then you've got off on the wrong foot. Not that you can't make headway from fear of punishment. You can, but you'll hate every moment of it. Instead, find something that you LIKE about English (or your target language). Something that is meaningful and important for YOU, not for your teacher. There must be something about the language you're learning that you're really keen on (e.g. watching football games in English). Something that you can learn and use as a tool in your life (e.g. writing a really informal note for your English speaking flatmate). After all, what's the point of learning how to use a welding torch if you're never going to weld anything?! Make your first steps in the target language in the area that interests you, and which you feel comfortable in. You'll be much more likely to persevere. Your motivation will increase, and so will your progress rate.

2. Make mistakes

   Mistakes are great! Without them, you will stay in your comfort language zone forever. We adults tend to be incredibly worried about being 100% right all the time. Forget about it. Especially at the beginning. Play with the language. Experiment. And slip up. That's fine. Nobody's going to laugh, get annoyed or poke fun at you. Believe me. Native speakers will be delighted that you're trying to learn their language (especially if the language is as obscure as Polish, for instance). Focus on getting the meaning across first. But, get somebody to correct you once you feel comfortable with it. And DO pay attention to the correct version. Otherwise you might be forever repeating the basic mistakes.

3. Exposure is the key.

   Read and listen to the target language as much as you can. Ideally, all the time. Even if you think you're not getting any of it, you are. Bits and pieces will stay in your head, and you will get better very quickly. You will also get familiar with the sound of the language. For example, one of the reasons why the Dutch and the Scandinavians speak such good English, apart from excellent language classes in schools, is that all TV programs and films are shown in their original langauge and are hardly ever dubbed. Go on BBC and read a few news headlines or a short article. Get some graded Penguin readers to give yourself confidence. When watching a film or a video (a lot of youtube and all TED talks have this option) put the subtitles in the target language (NOT in your mother tongue) to make it easier for you. Learn the basic functional language, such as: How do you say _____ in English? Could you repeat that please? Note down the new expressions, check what they mean and...

4. Use it, or lose it

   Sounds so simple, but why don't most students ever follow this rule? Avoiding the new language and staying in the comfort zone is not going to get you anywhere. Listen in to how proficient speakers speakers speak and notice some expressions or phrases. Check or ask about their meaning and then use the new language as soon as you get a chance. You might get it wrong the first time, but you've tried. And nobody has laughed. So give it another go. I am convinced that I've been successful in learning languages partly because I often unconsciously (I'm more aware of it now) copy people's language mannerisms, and as a result, get more and more natural-sounding and proficient. Also, take however little you know in the language (10 adjectives x 10 nouns x 10 verbs gives you a THOUSAND possible combinations!) and use it as soon as you get a chance. Finally, find:

5. A language parent/buddy

   This can be your friend, teacher, lover, or anybody else. The key is that they are supportive and encouraging - creating a safe environment where you feel comfortable to practise, play with the language and make mistakes is the key. A good language parent should also be willing to correct your mistakes. Of course, not every single one of them - this can only be frustrating. You might want to tell your language buddy that you have problems with, for example, 3rd person "s". Or that you have just studied the subjunctive and you'd really like to focus on getting it right. Or perhaps a particular phonetic feature or a lexical set. This will focus the corrections and give you more relevant feedback. And please, DO pay attention to the corrections. One of the very common problems is that for a lot of students the corrections are like water off a duck's back. They simply either ignore them or overlook them, or don't care. Either way, the chances are you'll never progress. So make sure you're getting some decent feedback on the language from your language buddy, and that you pay attention to it. But also make sure that you're getting a chance to talk. After all, language IS communication! There are numerous organisations that facilitate language exchanges. One I've used is Polyglot. Check if there's a meeting in your town. You can also use on-line language learning communities such as Busuu.
   
   
   Now the big question is whether these 5 steps can lead you to language fluency (let's define it as strong B2 or weak C1 level) in 6 months (or shorter) as Benny and Chris claim in their videos. No doubt, following these tips can really boost your learning progress and help you make real headway. But becoming fluent in 6 months?
   
   The honest answer is: I don't know. Everything tells me that you need much longer than that. On the other hand, Chris and Benny are walking examples that it is indeed possible - of course, if we are to believe them, but I can't see why not.
   
   So I guess the only way to find out is to try it all out myself. And this is what I'm going to do. A little pseudo-scientific, language experiment on myself: "Get fluent in Portuguese before this summer." I'm going to define the objectives and roughly outline the procedure of the experiment in the next post. So stay tuned!
   
   And for now, forget about the 5 language myths and substitute them with the 5 steps to fluency.
   
   PS: I've just discovered this language learning forum. I haven't had the time to explore it yet, but it looks fascinating. Check it out and let me know what you think.

What I've learned from 3 polyglots - dispelling 5 language learning myths

From the Author:

Dear All,
The blog has been permanently moved to wordpress. I'm not going to publish anything on the blogspot address any more, and I'll delete the blog within a week or two.
So if you'd still like to follow my posts (I hope you do), please visit the wordpress version and click follow there: teflreflections.wordpress.com You can also find regular updates on the posts on the new blog's FB page by clicking here.
Thanks for reading and commenting on the posts here, and I hope to see you soon on wordpress.
Best,

Marek Kiczkowiak

I've gone quiet since my last post, but I haven't been completely idle. To the contrary.

I've become fascinated with polyglots and I've watched a couple of videos of different people who have learned a number of different languages, and have done so very quickly. By learning, I mean at least a strong B2 or weak C1 level, if we have to put a label on it. The three videos that have had the greatest impact on me are by Chris Lonsdale, Sid Efromovich and Benny Lewis.

All 3 of them come from different backgrounds, but they share one common thing: they've managed to learn various languages in a relatively quick time. For example, Chris became fluent in Chinese in 6 months and reached a native speaker level in 1 year. Sid got to a very advanced level in 3 languages in 3 years, whereas Benny is an absolute learning machine, and has learned a score of completely different languages, each in around 3 months.

I should make it clear right at the start, though, that I'm a sceptic - or perhaps a realist - and that all those fancy new-age, pseudo-scientific, pseudo-teaching miracle methods (e.g. hypnopaedia) have never really managed to convince me. So taking it all with a pinch of salt at the beginning, I started listening, and became completely hooked. If their stories are true - and I just can't see somebody lying so openly on a TED conference - then there's a lot we language learners and teachers could learn from them.

Common knowledge, backed by most teachers, language school owners, friends, parents and our own experience of having abysmally failed to learn a language at school tells us that you need many years of diligent (classroom) work to become fluent in a language, if you're ever going to get there. Or that the best way is through immersion in the country were the language is spoken. We are also told that the older you get, the more difficult learning a language becomes. And that you can't get to a native speaker level after a certain age (forget what the age was). A lot of us also like to think that they don't have the talent, or that their memory is bad - probably deadens the disappointment of not speaking the language.

But what about people, such as Chris, Sid and Benny (and many others), who have indeed learned a language (to varying degrees of fluency) in a remarkably short time. To make it even more interesting, Chris and Benny were over twenty when they set off to finally learn a foreign language, and especially the latter must be a walking embodiment of "I don't have a flare for languages", as he puts it himself.

So I became really curious: Is it really possible for the average, talent-lacking Joe? Can I do it too? Can anyone do it?

I'm convinced that the answer is a resounding, triple: YES, YES, YES!

In this post, I'd like to first debunk some common misconceptions about language learning, which stop us from being effective learners. The most common excuses people make (based on Chris Lonsdale, Benny Lewis and my own teaching experience) for not being able to learn a language are:

1. You need talent and I haven't got it.

   You don't. I believe that anyone can learn practically anything as long as they put their minds to it. You might just need to try a bit harder than the others, but it doesn't mean you can't. Just look at Benny Lewis - at 21 he miserably failed at learning Spanish while living in Spain, and couldn't speak a word of Irish Gaelic although he'd studied it for 10 years at school! He'd actually had problems learning English... Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Yet, he's now proficient in Spanish, German, French and communicative in a score of different languages, such as Czech, Gaelic and Arabic. If he could become fluent in a language, anyone can (no offence, Benny). Of course, talent might give you a slight advantage over the rest. A head start. But without hard work, talent will not get you far. And often it can just get in a way as a lame excuse for not trying harder.

2. You've got to start young, and I'm too old now.

   Again, not entirely true. It's a common myth that children have this incredible flair for picking up languages, whereas adults struggle and fail. While it's true that a child raised in a multilingual environment will be probably proficient in all the languages it is exposed to, it's going to take the child at least 4 or 5 years before they achieve it. And when it comes to sending kids to language schools, well, I just don't think it changes anything. It took me exactly 10 years to reach C2 level in English, starting at the age of 7 (with classes both in a language and in a public school). But as an adult it took me less than 2 years to reach the same level in Spanish (and a lot of it on my own). Why? Because I studied hard. I was motivated. I used the language almost every day. It is also commonly believed that after a certain age you won't acquire native pronunciation. There are countless examples (myself included) that prove the contrary. Finally, an interesting study done at Haifa University suggests that adults can learn much faster than children if put under the right conditions. So no, you're never too old. So, no, you're never to old to give a new language a try.

3. I've got a bad memory.

   Me too. Like a sieve. I never know where my keys are in the morning. I'm also really bad at remembering names of people and places. Does this mean I can't learn new words? Of course not. Yet, for a long time I was horrible at it. I hated memorising new vocabulary (might sound strange from somebody who speaks 5 languages), until I discovered that I was going about it in a wrong way, trying to cram endless, boring, black-and-white lists of words and their definitions or translations. Fortunately, there are better and more fun ways of doing it. For example, psychologists specialising in memory suggest we link the new word to an image or sound - the more bizarre the better. For example:
   
   

 Another crucial thing for retention is revision. If you want to keep the new word in your long term memory, you should revise the word at regular intervals, like in the example below:

       It's not rocket science, is it? But believe me, it really does work. You not only memorise and retain the new words much faster, but you also have fun in the process.
For more tips, check out my post on Memrise and this article.

     4. Language immersion is the key, but I can't travel at the moment.

Of course, ideally, you'd want to go to Brazil to learn Brazilian Portugese (and in the meantime get a tan and have plenty of fun and cachaça). An ideal unattainable for most. However, the technology and interconnectedness of our world allows you to completely soak up the language and the culture you're trying to learn from the comfort of your house. What's more, most big cities are much more multicultural than you'd think, and you can easily meet people who will be willing to chat with you in their native language, which can be much more fun and interesting than a language course. And a complete immersion mightn't necessarily be such a great idea, especially for complete beginners. Chris compares it to throwing somebody who can't swim at all into the deep end and waiting whether they're going to stay afloat. At best, it will scare you off trying to learn how to swim for a while.

    5. I need to devote a lot of time, which I haven't got.

Neither do I. I run my own business, write weekly blog posts, go to the gym, brush up on my German, read books and have a busy social life at the same time. My own experience tells me that if you really want to achieve something, you'll find the time to do it. More often than not, the language homework isn't done not for lack of time, but for lack of motivation. Or laziness. Or boredom. Or both. A good start, then, is to ditch right away whatever annoys you about the language you're trying to learn, and instead go for something that you're keen on (e.g. football in my case). Studying can, and must be fun. And remember, it doesn't take as much time as you might think. Start with 5 mins a day, slowly increasing it to 10, 15, and so on. When I was learning French on my own, I'd typically spend maybe 20 mins a day studying (usually revising new words or watching a video, or reading the news, which is not what most of us would consider really studying, i.e. doing grammar exercises; I was simply soaking up the language). Is this a lot? How much time do you spend on FB?

I've just realised that this post has become really long. so before I lose you, I'll end it here. Next time, I'm going to talk about 5 easy steps to become fluent in any language in 6 months. Afterwards, I'm going to outline how I'm planning to put these steps into practice myself and try to learn a new language before June. So stay tuned.

Recycling: the best habit on Earth

From the Author:

Dear All,
The blog has been permanently moved to teflreflections.wordpress.com This particular post can be found here: http://teflreflections.wordpress.com/2014/01/10/recycling-the-best-habit-on-earth/ I'm not going to publish anything on the blogspot address any more, and I'll delete the blog within a week or two.
So if you'd still like to follow my posts (I hope you do), please visit the wordpress version and click follow there: teflreflections.wordpress.com You can also find regular updates on the posts on the new blog's FB page by clicking here.
Thanks for reading and commenting on the posts here, and I hope to see you soon on wordpress.
Best,

Marek Kiczkowiak

Grit - motivating students

A couple of weeks ago I posted on "grit" as the key element to being successful not only in learning languages, but also in life in general. The basic idea was that there is no proven correlation between success and IQ or innate talent. The one thing that became clear from research was that the key to success was grit - "passion and perseverance for your long term goals" (Angela Lee Duckworth).

Since publishing the original post, I've been meaning to put the theory into practice. I finally managed to do so two days ago, and I wanted to share with you below the lesson procedure I used. I deliberately chose this 1-1 student as the first guinea pig, because she's repeatedly expressed her concern about her supposed lack of flare for languages. She's also started to doubt whether she can improve.

Overall, the student responded very positively, and was really keen to learn more about the subject. So, I'm planning to weave in some more on motivation and good learner traits (see my post on MORE learners) in the future classes. Of course, only time will show whether my student's newly-sparked "grit" will persevere.

If you end up using the lesson plan or something similar with your students, please do let me know about the reaction, feedback and effects. I'd be very curious to know whether we can actually teach our students to be grittier and more determined, and whether this in turn can improve their progress.

Lesson aims:

• learn how to listen better to TED talks through predicting the content and reading the speaker's bio note
• discuss the concept of grit and motivate the student to learn

Lesson procedure:

1.    Speaker Orientation: (NOTE: Set a strict time limit and if highlight the students should note down whole chunks of language rather than single words) You are going to listen to Angela Lee Duckworth’s TED talk. Before you do so, prepare for the listening by reading her short bio. Read the text quickly and write down 5 expressions (2 - 4 words) that will help you remember it. Retell the text to your partner/teacher.

“In her late 20s, Angela Lee Duckworth left a demanding job as a management consultant at

McKinsey to teach math in public schools in San Francisco, Philadelphia and New York.

After five years of teaching seventh graders, she went back to grad school to complete her Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is now an assistant professor in the psychology department. Her research subjects include students, West Point cadets, and corporate salespeople, all of whom she studies to determine how "grit" is a better indicator of success than factors such as IQ or family income”. (http://www.ted.com/speakers/angela_lee_duckworth.html)

2.    Listening for details 0 – 3mins: Listen to the first part of the video and tick the information from the bio you hear. Write down any additional information about Angela.

3.    Relistening: Which part of the video was particularly difficult/interesting? Choose min 1 you would like to listen again to?

4.    Reflection: (NOTE: If you have a large group, either get the students to use smartphones in pairs so that each pair chooses their own part of the video, or decide on 1 or 2 as a whole class) What did we do before we listened for the first time? Did reading the biography make it easier for you to understand the video? Why?

5.    Topic schema activation: What key concept(s) is Angela going to talk about? What do you think “grit” means? What makes people successful in your opinion? What is more important: talent or hard-work?

6.    Listening Gist 3:00 – 3.28: (NOTE: Don't let the students take any notes at this point) Listen to Angela. What is “grit”? Don’t worry about understanding every word. Focus on the general meaning.

7.    Listening for Detail and Lexis: Listen again and write down some key words that Angela uses to describe what “grit” is. Don’t worry about the correct spelling. Check any new words with your teacher. Discuss again what you think “grit” means. If possible use the words you noted down.

8.    Reflection:

·       What is the purpose of exercise 5? How does it help you understand the video?

·       How is task 6 different from task 7? Which is more difficult?

·       What tips for better listening have you learned today? How can you apply them at home?

9.    Listening for Detail and Lexis 2: Listen again and complete the quotations with appropriate words. Use one word per gap.

a)   “Grit is passion and _______________ for very long-term ________.”

b)   “Grit is having ___________. Grit is sticking with your future — day in, day ______, not just for the week, not just for the __________, but for years — and working really hard to make that future a __________.”

c)    “Grit is living life like it's a ___________, not a sprint.”

10.                      Discussion:

·       How do you understand the concept of “grit”?

·       How is it related to/different from motivation and determination?

·       Do you have “grit”? Do you know anybody who does?

11.                      Discussion 2: (NOTE: I used pictures of Bill Gates, Albert Einstein, Oprah Winfrey and Walt Disney, but you can use any others, as long as they show people who became successful despite having been turned down or failed miserably at the start) Your teacher will give you pictures of some famous people. Who are they? What is the connection between them?

12.                      Discussion 3:

·       What makes people successful?

·       Which is more important: talent or grit?

·       How can you cultivate grit?

·       What can you do personally to become more gritty?

NOTE: One possible follow up is to do 'going to' and write down a list of things students can do to be more gritty.

Another logical follow up would be to ask the students to watch a TED talk and use the listening techniques practised in class to help them understand it better. Next class they report both on the content of the video and on their experience using the techniques.

My 2014 EFL resolutions

It's been a while since my last post, but Christmas holidays don't really give you too much time for things other than eating and lounging around on the sofa, with your brain half switched off. So, in a way I'm glad the festive slumber's all over (and I think both my liver and my stomach are too).

I was thinking about the best way to restart the blog in the new year, and I've decided that the most appropriate, if not the most imaginative, would be with some New Year EFL resolutions.This blog has given me a great chance to express myself and to reflect on my teaching practice, and I think I've benefited a lot from posting regularly.

However, there's still a lot of room for improvement. And writing down the resolutions might force me to actually follow them, as I can always go back and re-read this post. So off we go then.

This year I'm going to:

1. do a bit more of what I preach.

   This is not to say I haven't, but I think my eyes have been bigger than my stomach. Now that I look back at the posts, there are many activities and ideas I was meaning to introduce to my classes, but never did. Lack of time. Laziness. Conformity. The usual excuses. But I'm going to be better. Perhaps I'll write less. Or write more about things that I can immediately put into practice. Or that are more relevant to my day-to-day teaching practice.

2. plan my classes more thoroughly.

   Ok, don't get me wrong. I do plan my classes, as I imagine any English teacher does. However, I've become rather slack. Probably the last really through lesson plan I wrote was for DELTA LSA 4. Of course, you can't write a 10 page lesson plan for every class. But more than a running order on a loose piece of paper is needed. One of the things I need to focus on more is anticipating students' problems better. I should also be more thorough when planning how to clarify meaning. A good starting point are the tips given by Adam Simpson here.

3. read at least one EFL blog post a week and reflect on them by either implementing the ideas in my classes or/and blogging about them.

   Since I became a freelancer and set up the blog, I've been slowly discovering what a treasure trove of EFL ideas blogs and the Internet in general can be. But I can be a bit slack and there are so many great blogs I would like to read (apart from the regular non-EFL reading that I'd also like to do), that it can be a bit overwhelming at the beginning. So that's why I've set a low target to start off with. If I read too much, it might just go over my head. Or be forgotten too quickly. And just reading is not enough, I think. Unless I put the ideas I read about into practice, I won't know if they work. Or even worse - I will just forget about them. So I'm going to try to reflect on every post I read either through blogging about it, or through putting it into practice.

4. teach my students HOW to study.

   To somebody who's a teacher and a language learner, all the good learner practices might seem so obvious that we fail to notice that to some of our students they sound Greek. I've got students who clearly have no clue how to study a language effectively. So they struggle. But not because of the language content. The basic mechanics of studying and learning go beyond their heads. I need to build some basic learner training into my teaching routine. At times, something as simple as asking the student: WHAT did we do and WHY did we do it? might just do the trick and make them more aware of the learning process. The first thing I'm planning to do is to teach some of them how to be more gritty.

5. learn from my mistakes.

   Do you find yourself falling into the same trap over and over again? If your answer is now, then you're lucky. And I envy you. I've noticed that more often than not I am able to notice my mistakes, but I don't pay enough attention to them and the next time round I'm likely to fall into the same pitfall. It's quite irritating. Especially the second or third time round. So, I'm going to write down the mistake(s) I've made in my lesson planning/procedure/clarification/instructions/etc. and make a conscious effort to avoid them/it next time. I might use a post-it note and place them somewhere visible for me during the lesson, e.g. the lesson plan/running order.

Ideally, I would like to find time to comment and self-reflect on theses resolutions at least twice during the year by writing a post. And I'd love to hear from you about any teaching resolutions you've made and how you're planning to put them into practice.

Happy New Year!