In today's article we’ll talk about things you shouldn’t do when learning a language. If you are studying whether English, Japanese, Spanish, French, Chinese or other, following these tips will help you in your learning.
Do not study Grammar
It seems controversial, but you shouldn't study grammar. It is very important in any language, but it is something you should learn naturally, just as you learned it in your mother tongue.
If you focus on learning a new grammar, as if it were a puzzle, you will only complicate your learning, it will take longer to learn, and you will end up speaking the language in a robotic way.
Grammar is a description of the language, so it must be learned after you know at least the basics of the language. Yes you will learn a lot of grammar during the journey of learning a language, but don't focus on that, let things go naturally.
Don't study isolated words
Do not study individual or isolated words. Don't go looking for word lists in categories and try to memorize. You will only delay your learning and will not be able to decorate almost anything.
The best thing to do to learn vocabulary is to study phrases and texts. When you take a text in another language, naturally you will learn the words, it will be easier to memorize them and it will speed up the process a lot. By studying phrases you will also automatically learn the grammar of the language.
Don't isolate yourself
Many prefer to study alone, and it really doesn't matter. Although if you study in a group or with a mentor, it is easier and more fun to study. In addition, people should help you on the long journey with tips and strategies that help in learning.
But that is not the only point. You must not isolate yourself in any way. You must get along with people who speak or learn the language, either through social networks, visiting the country, accompanying people on the internet. You just can't try to follow that journey without exposing yourself to the language.
Don't try to translate and understand
But how come I can't understand or translate words and phrases from another language? Because the other languages are different, they have different rules and words with different meanings.
Of course you will learn the meaning of the words, how to use them and so on. But stop trying to translate phrases literally, you should think about the language not trying to translate it into Portuguese.
There are many things that you will not understand, that there is no explanation, so don't question that. In Portuguese, have you ever wondered why it is “The computer” and not “A computer”? In the same way, other languages have rules and things that have no explanation, you just need to learn without questioning or trying to translate.
For example, in Japanese there is no plural in words, the verb is at the end of the sentence, there is no male and female gender. Why? There is no answer to that, their language is like that. They who must be wondering why there is gender in the words of Portuguese.
These tips I took from my friends and mentors Mairo Vergara and Luiz Rafael. I hope these tips will help you language students.
