The Top Mistakes To Avoid When Learning A New Language

Learning a foreign language can be one of the most difficult and stressful things anyone can go through. You will have to acquire new means of pronouncing letters and making the right sounds made by the words. Also, you also have to remember the meaning of each new word that you will learn.

Certain mistakes will also make the whole learning process go harder. What are the top mistakes that can cause you to have a harder time learning a new language? Read them below:

Trying To Memorize All The Grammar Rules

Grammar is important in any language. However, grammar will always be tricky for new learners. Using the right tenses, gerunds, infinitives, etc. are useful if you will be writing academic essays or professional emails. But if your primary objective is to communicate in anticipation for trip overseas or just to master the basics, don’t worry about it too much. You’ll always just feel anxious every time you buckle down to study.

Being Afraid Of Committing Mistakes

There’s no way anyone who is learning a new language will be able to avoid making mistakes. Errors are simply part of language study. However,one of the major mistakes any student can make is not trying out of fear of failure. Don’t be afraid to speak the new language, even in public: any error you make only go to show what you could work more on. Consider any mistake as a positive move toward your learning goals.

Over-thinking The Rules

Native language speakers don’t have to think much while they are speaking since the language becomes nearly an instinctual response and also a feeling. Rules are primary for speaking correctly, but you shouldn’t take the language experience as a mathematical formula that you need to memorize so that you give the right answers. You should ever speak using your gut whenever possible and retain grammatical rules in mind but don’t rely on sorting through them each time you use the language.

Losing The Drive To Learn

Lastly, a lot of students become excited about learning a different language and have their greatest discharge of momentum at the very beginning. This sense of excitement, which usually accompanies the start of the language learning process, should certainly be embraced. However, students may have a hard time sustaining this momentum, especially after the initial months of classes. Linguists say a useful tip would be to focus on what you like: study subjects that apply to more to your interests. If you like food, try to learn more vocabulary related to gastronomy. Watch a film or go to a cultural fair now and then to remind yourself why you started learning the language in the first place as well.