I’ve been fascinated by other languages since I was extremely young and learned that not everyone spoke English. I felt like I was missing an entire chunk of the world and missing out on so many experiences because I didn’t understand what the people around me were saying. Once I learned there were literally thousands of languages, I wanted to learn as many as I could. My dad tried to help me learn German and Spanish with clearance cassette tape courses we got from used book stores, and eventually I stumbled on the one book which really marked the start of my goal to learn at least one more language other than English. The book was a little Thai conversation book which is perhaps one of my most treasured possessions, because even though it is almost literally useless as a language learning book, it served as the catalyst which pushed me to learn Mandarin fluently enough to go to college in China, and to learn (and unfortunately forget) other languages over the years.
When I first started out, I used whatever was cheapest and whatever I could get my hands on, but I never really held onto learning a single language for too long because the courses either got too hard or too boring to continue. I eventually majored in Chinese linguistics and was in many classes covering language acquisition and other related linguistic pieces. The biggest thing which really cemented these concepts was having to learn the language while learning about teaching other people to learn the language immersed in a language that wasn’t my first.
Language Materials
Not all language materials are born equal. Most courses and similar, unless very meticulously put together, will rarely be a “one size fits all” approach to learning, let alone a single gateway to proficiency. Pretty much any language can be divided into pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary, and most materials will also break down into listening and speaking, as well as reading and writing. Most courses try to combine all of these elements in various proportions while keeping somewhat of a balance between formal, written language and the everyday, spoken language. There is obviously far, far more to it than this, but this is a quick and dirty introduction to language learning materials.
Most anyone who starts learning a language will start with a course book of some sorts. Different courses have different focuses. For more serious learners (that is, people not just looking to learn for a holiday), the course book will typically be something which covers pronunciation, then has lessons composed of a dialogue or two, a mix of vocabulary and basic grammar points, maybe with some kind of reading exercise or exercises peppered in, then some drills and exercises at the end. This type of book is a great start, but the lessons tend to be formulaic and almost always have roughly the same consistency, so if you struggle with something like grammar, you might feel like like you’re falling behind as the course progresses.
When I first started learning, an all-in-one course method focusing on just progressing through a set of books was typically what my teachers and classes all pushed, but I found this a bit lacking. A few classes had professors who would try and supplement these materials, but the way they supplemented materials usually focused on the entire class rather than individual students, so it suffered from a similar issue as the courses, that is, it did a lot of things okay, but nothing really well. The first thing to really learn when learning a language is what you struggle with and what you excel at. I tend to be great at listening and speaking, okay at vocabulary, good at grammar, and decent at reading and writing.
Moving Past Beginner’s Materials
Once you identify your strengths and weaknesses, as well as getting far enough in learning the language to be able to better identify the quality of resources and your goals, you can begin to supplement your course with extra resources. Having short term and long term goals definitely helps when learning a language because it can provide a purpose to reaching the next plateau as well as a road map to what you are planning to do with the language. In my example, I would not really add a lot of listening and speaking materials at the beginning unless my goal was to travel, I would add vocabulary in with an auxiliary resource, probably add in a more serious grammar resource as I tend to like grammar, and I’d add in some reading and writing materials early on to make up for any shortcomings.
For something like vocabulary, I would probably build a flashcard deck with Anki and invest in a book or something which focuses on vocabulary. Since this is a bit of a weakness for me in some ways, I would want to start working through this sooner rather than later. Literary language is also a weakness in certain ways for me so I could augment the vocabulary with more formal language for literacy, as well as with a reading or writing type course early on, or actual reading exercises from newspapers or similar later on.
I tend to really like grammar and tend to focus on really understanding it, so I like to add in an additional grammar book sooner rather than later. Course books tend to have a focus on grammar, but I feel they rarely focus on it the same way a grammar book does. Most grammar books use simpler vocabulary and concepts and focus on the rules in a way which doesn’t require the same context like a course. In my experience, a lot of grammar explanations and exercises in standard courses focus on pushing as much vocabulary and as many key points from the lesson in each statement which make them a little harder to dig through later. There is also the issue of courses putting grammar in order of introduction, rather than conceptually like an actual grammar book.
For listening and speaking, a separate oral course or conversational course help in the beginning, but can be augmented by language learning podcasts, Youtube or streaming site of choice, or actual media from the country of choice later on. Drills can be made or used with grammar books, dialogues, etc. or otherwise found in certain books. Movies and other media can be good too for listening practice, but don’t expect much more than passive exposure in the beginning without a lot of work. Drills making use of scaffolding theory are great, but usually take a more advanced resource or someone putting together something. Obviously, the best practice is actually speaking and listening in real life, but this is not always possible in all places without something like Skype or similar.
Phasing Out Coursebooks
As you begin adding in these resources, you may feel that the course becomes too simplistic feeling or boring. I tend to move away from courses long term unless it’s for school, but if that’s the case, you usually can get extra resources or at least input on what is good or bad about your extra materials from most professors. When I learn a language, I tend to end up transitioning from a beginner’s coursebook to a mix of something like a phrase book for vocabulary combined with flashcards, maybe a vocabulary book as well, a grammar book or two with exercises, some children’s books for reading, a podcast or similar for listening practice, and then I try to mix in some actual real life practice. If pronunciation is an issue, there are usually dedicated resources for most languages to help, though a lot of times, a good coursebook and a good class will have a good introduction to pronunciation if nothing else.
By taking a basic course, figuring out your short term and long term goals, adding in supplementary resources, then replacing the course with these resources as you advance, you can get to where a language is much easier to learn. Many courses will be better than what you may be able to put together, but ultimately, the course tends to have a purpose and a use case for why it was written, and a target audience. A good course which suits you is probably going to be better than stitching together resources, but most courses won’t be tailored to you except by chance. Even then, having extra resources can help you with focusing your efforts better since you can supplement weaknesses, and augment strengths to match your goals.