Introduction
When learning a new language, it’s easy to obsess over every little detail. You might want to crack down the mysteries of languages and understand the reason for everything. This is a huge mistake. Trying to understand the why of everything can really slow down your learning process or make you feel like giving up. It’s often better not to force yourself to understand why things are the way they are and leave the mysteries behind. In this post, we’ll go over 4 reasons why you need to stop trying so hard and just let language exposure work its magic.
#1: Languages Evolve in the Most Unexpected Ways.
It’s important to remember that languages evolve over multiple generations in lots of different ways. There isn’t always an explanation for everything. As you are probably aware, many languages have genders, meaning that some words are masculine and others are feminine. Now you might say: “Yeah, I’ve noticed that in Spanish a chair is feminine, but a stool is masculine, why is that?”. And I would just love to give you a precise and clear explanation. Unfortunately, the best answer I have to this question is quite disappointing: “Because that’s the way it is”. Argh! Don’t you hate that? There must be a reason! Right!? Well, there might be some kind of reason hidden in the deep roots of etymology, but trying to understand the precise reason for everything you learn will drive you insane before you ever get to speak the language.
#2: Many Expressions DO NOT Make Any Sense.
People often make the mistake of trying to translate everything. They try to relate the language they are learning to their mother tongue way too much. Sure, many expressions do not make any sense at all! But that’s okay! That’s the beauty of languages! Remember, there are tons of things we say in English that are just plain weird if you think about it:
The man went cold turkey.
Does that ring a bell?
That puzzle is a piece of cake!
Now, all these English expressions may seem completely normal to you, but very strange to someone trying to learn English. You are familiar with hundreds of crazy expressions simply because you’ve heard them so much. If you stop trying to understand everything you hear, it will eventually sort itself out.
#3: Native Speakers Will DESTROY Their Own Language.
When learning a new language, we are often exposed to a lot of exceptionally well-pronounced recordings. This can make it difficult to understand native speakers. Slow and precise pronunciation is obviously essential for learning, but it’s not always the way native speakers speak on the street. For example, someone learning English may have learned the following phrase: “Do you want to go to Toronto?”. Then, someone comes up to them and says “Jawanna go ta Trono?”. They might have a blank stare on their face and wonder: “Wait… What? Where did all these words go!?”. Now, for English speakers, it is completely natural to say “jawanna” instead of pronouncing every syllable in “do you want to”. But it’s something that only becomes natural by repeatedly hearing those words together. Don’t worry about it. You’ll get the hang of it quicker than you think.
#4: Grammar Is Necessary, but Often WAY Overdone.
Grammar can be amazing if you use it as a language-learning shortcut instead of an obstacle. It’s important to realize that grammar is simply a way to explain the structure of the language. That’s all it is really! Many apps out there do not teach any grammar or conjugation and expect you to learn absolutely everything from context. We believe that’s a mistake. If you learn the grammar rules before all that language exposure, you will reinforce the rules, rather than trying to figure them out.
Grammar can be amazing if you use it as a language-learning shortcut instead of an obstacle.
The problem with grammar is that it’s often way overdone. With almost any grammar rule, there is a quick explanation and then there’s the extremely long one. The basic rule can be learned in a few minutes. Just don’t try too hard to understand all the subtleties for now. Learn the grammar rules really quickly, look at a few examples, and move on. Let your natural ability to learn languages take over. In most cases, everything will sort itself out naturally with language exposure.
Conclusion
It’s quite easy to give yourself a headache when learning a new language. If you ever find yourself stuck on something, let it go for a while and come back to it later. It will all come together with time. It’s all about making the language part of your life in many ways. Watch movies, listen to music, read books, speak as much as you can, and most importantly: relax and enjoy the ride. This will prove highly effective in your language-learning journey. If you are looking for an amazing language-learning method that teaches actual grammar and conjugation in a way that can be understood by mere mortals. You will love our language-learning program. You can find us at OUINO.com. Thanks a lot! 🙂
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