What makes a good language learner?

     What makes a good language learner? 

     Sometimes I see the advertisements in the newspapers and on the buses claiming that it is easy to learn English. According to these advertisements, with very little effort on the student’s part, he will be able to speak the language fluently in three months or even ten days. When I see advertisements like this I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. If it were as easy to learn English as they say, I would have to look for another profession, because very few qualified teachers would be needed. But a large number of people must believe these ridiculous claims, or the advertisements would not appear.

     It is natural for students to be attracted to methods that will teach them as quickly and efficiently as possible. But it is difficult for anyone to explain in simple language why one method is better than another. Some experts say that there are as many good methods of teaching a language as there are good teachers, because every teacher is an individual with his own personality. No doubt this is true to a certain extent, but it is not very helpful to students.

     For a long time people believe that the only way to learn a language was to spend a great deal of time in a country where it was spoken. Of course it is clear that students who go to England to learn English have a great advantage over others, but a large number of students go to the opposite extreme and think they can teach themselves at home with dictionaries.

     A great deal of teaching is still based on behaviorist psychology. Behaviorists are fond of making students repeat phrases and making them do exercises where they continually have to change one word in a sentence. If we were parrots or chimpanzees these methods might be successful. A large number of theorists seem to think it is a pity we aren’t because it would make it easier to use their methods.

     In my personal opinion, no one can ever learn to speak English or any other language unless he is interested in it. An important factor in learning a language is motivation. It is worth remembering that language is a means of communication. We need other people to talk to and listen to when we communicate. If what we are learning is strange to us? It will be helpful if there are other students around us who can work with us and practice the unfamiliar forms with us in real situations, talking to each other about real life in real language. Good language learners practice a lot on their own. For example, listening to cassettes while driving, watching foreign language films. There are four main aspects to learn in language. You must improve your writing skills, listening skills, speaking skills and reading skills. And you should practice a lot. Every aspect of the language is based on your vocabulary. You need to keep a record of the words you come across, and review the records regularly. There are many ways of keeping records. For example: You should have a special notebook divided into 3 parts the word, pronunciation and the meaning. What’s more you should have a special notebook where you will write grammar rules with examples. Also you should have reference books and consult them regularly. You should talk to other people listen to audio discs. And you should read a lot of literature written in the original. It is good way of increasing your vocabulary. If you follow these instructions you will be a good language learner. As for me Sometimes when I feel I’m not making progress unfortunately I have a desire to give up learning. But if I add some concentrated practice and a bit more confidence, I’ll be able to cope in most situations.