Sunday, May 27, 2012
Learning a foreign language

Question: I hope to study abroad someday. However, I’m not that good in languages, how can I improve?

Answer:

Having an aim set at the early ages of your life has already granted you half a victory. Actually, whether or not your linguistic skill is poor or bad, it all depends on your heart. Try to think back when you were a baby and was just beginning to learn to talk. You’d fear nothing as you keep trying and trying. You needed not to worry that others would laugh at you. Hence, through all these years, you’re very fond of your own mother tongue (be it Mandarin, Cantonese or English). Therefore, to excel in other languages, all you need is a spirit you once owned. Mr. Ikeda once said that “we must learn throughout our lifetime”. The recipe to victory is right here.

There was once a funny case when a teacher commented “outstanding” towards a foreign student’s report. Unfortunately, the student thought that he was actually asked to stand outside the class as a punishment. And so, he did it! At times, we may come across to funny challenges like this as we learn. But remember to never give up.

Never stop yourself from learning in all kinds of aspects. You may learn a language through magazines, songs, tuition classes or even dramas. Search for the way that best suit your way of learning so that you can improve gradually. In addition, a strong will is another key of excelling in linguistic skills.

To learn a foreign language, we must begin with vocabulary. If we could not breakthrough this, we may find it hard to progress. Building up our own vocabulary isn’t just about memorizing words from the dictionary, but the practice of it is essential as well. For example, we could put this to practice as we watch movies or drama series. This could be done by listening to the language and paying attention to its subtitles at the same time. Reading books and websites of that language could help either. We must, every now and then, be active in constructing our vocabulary.

To train your listening part, other than movies and dramas, you may want to try listening to the radio or the songs. Whenever you come across to a word you don’t understand, make an effort to look up the dictionary for it.

To bring the language we learned to speaking, we must first train our courage. The more we listen, the more we may adapt to the way of speaking, so be brave and voice out. The more you speak, the more you’re used to doing so. Soon, you’ll excel in it.

When you fulfilled the above three basic requirement, there is no way you could fail in the writing part. However, it would be great if you could write down your personal experiences everyday in that language.

Actually, learning a foreign language isn’t that hard. But first, you must have a strong will that never give up and a courage of a lion to continue learning. Sooner or later, you will be able to speak that language just like you do with your mother tongue. Keep up the good work!


Shared by,
Rainbow.

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Written at 10:42 PM by Paper Pilot.