Learning languages – Az idegennyelv tanulásról

Learning foreign languages is an important and we might as well say indispensable part of our life. It’s a compulsory subject in school but quite a lot of kids start it even earlier, in kindergarten or in nursery school. The sooner someone starts learning a foreign language the better it is, but it’s never too late to start, success doesn’t depend on age. Even if you don’t master a language and don’t speak, for example, English fluently, a mere beginner level language knowledge may be a very useful skill in certain circumstances.

The motivationfor learning a language can be different at the different stages of life. Small children don’t even realise that they are learning a language if they start the language learning process early enough. If they are immersed into a language, they find it natural to speak and to understand the words they hear from day to day and they learn, or rather, acquire the language almost without any effort. For elementary school children language learning doesn’t come as natural as that. Often it’s just a school subject among others that they have to learn whether they want to or not. They are usually not old enough to be able to fathom that it’s useful in life to speak foreign languages, and the motivation to learn the language doesn’t always come from within. It’s the teacher’s responsibility to make the teaching process rewarding and interesting so that the students make progress and don’t lose their initial motivation, if they have any, and sparkle the interest of those who otherwise wouldn’t be so keen on learning a language. Motivating children is not always easy. They like to play and sing, so in the beginning, songs can be a great help.

Grown-ups normally start a new language because it is a must for them. They need a language exam for their degree, or for work, or they want to travel to the country where thegivenlanguage is spoken. Though their motivation is definitely stronger with a specific aim in sight than schoolchildren’s, there are quite a few other factors that can hinder the learning process. They don’t have enough time to enrol in a language course, and even if they attend a course they are tired after a long day’s work so their progress is slow. They can’t seem to find the time to learn the words necessary for communication and most of them find the whole process a burden. Even if their motivation comes from within it’s not easy to keep it up in the midst of their every day cares and problems. The key motivating factor is success. If they feel that they make progress they will stick to their aim and won’t give up their language learning goals.

There are various and numerous methods to learn a foreign language. The bookshops are stacked with better and better course books, grammar books and graded readers. On the Internet, you can find language teaching webpages, YouTube videos, films, songs – whatever you are interested in. The wide choice of material is baffling, and usually, it’s quite difficult to decide what to learn from for the best possible results.

Studying on your own isn’t always the most adequate way to learn to speak a language. Lots of people need others’ help to be able to communicate and to see that they’re on the right track. If you attend a language course the other students can motivate you to speak and to learn more than you would on your own so that you can keep up with the others. It’s fun to learn together with mates, you can even make new friends in a language group. If you want to progress fast or you want individual treatment you should find a private teacher. It’s a more expensive way of language learning, but it’s also amore effectiveway.

Wherever you learn a language and whatever methods you use always keep in mind that you have nothing to lose. Even a few foreign words you’ve learnt may prove useful somehow and somewhere, you never know when. And never forget that language learning is fun, so go ahead and never give up!