Crafting an effective learning plan involves prioritizing enjoyment, a key factor often overlooked in academic curricula that tend to emphasize grammar. In this guide, I delve into the importance of deriving pleasure from your learning journey, as highlighted in my earlier post, “What do we need to learn French?” Enjoyment emerges as a pivotal factor influencing consistency, making it imperative to structure a learning regimen that aligns with your interests.
- Vocabulary building (70%)
- Immersive reading – 30%
- Immersive listening – 30%
- SRS – 10%
- Grammar (5%)
- Cultural knowledge (5%)
- food, music, shows, history, politics
- Production – (10%)
- Speaking
- Writing
Important notes: this is not an exact formula you have to follow to the percentage point! This is more of a guideline to help give an idea of what you should spend your time on. There is room for alterations if you feel you have a greater weakness in a specific category.
The Significance of Cultural Knowledge in Learning
Surprisingly, delving into the rich cultural and historical aspects of a language can significantly enhance your language learning experience. Culture and language are intricately intertwined, and forming opinions on customs and traditions is acceptable, but overlooking their influence on language and society is a missed opportunity. Neglecting this crucial step can hinder your progress. Understanding the profound connection between culture and language not only enables better communication but also provides insights into the unique nuances of the language. For more in-depth information, explore “The Importance of Learning About Culture” to optimize your language learning strategy.
Production: When Is It Ideal To Start Speaking?
There is much debate on the efficacy of language learning through language output versus input. For an in-depth analysis, I recommend exploring my dedicated post, “Does Output Aid Language Learning?” In simpler terms, language production proves beneficial but can be deferred during the initial stages of learning acquisition. However, it is crucial to work on pronunciation from the beginning and gradually strengthen your new vocal muscles. This holds particularly true for languages featuring unfamiliar sounds absent in your native language. Optimize your language learning journey by delving into the nuances of language production and pronunciation early on.
Understanding what resources to use
Selecting what resources you want to use can be an overwhelming process. There is an abundance of information available online making it difficult to find the one that is right for you. Some resources are very effective, but quickly lose your attention. Others will retain your attention, but won’t help you progress in the language. You need to be able to teeter on the edge of what you require and what you find enjoyment in. There is a classic example of this when you mention the app most notable for language learning: Duolingo. There are many who bash Duolingo for being ineffective and instilling false promises of becoming fluent solely from using its application. For some, it is an attractive way to keep their interest in the language. If you are one of those people then by all means, use Duolingo as your primary resource.
Personalizing your learning
The beauty of learning a new language is that there is no universally recognized “best method” that applies to everyone the same way. Learning a language is an introspective process that teaches you how you learn. Here are some tips on how to find a method that works well with you.
- What percentage of the material are you okay with not understanding?
- What are your hobbies and interests?
- Do you function better in a quiet desk space or do you have to learn on-the-go?
- Do you prefer to learn via your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet?
- Do you learn better from reading (i.e subtitles) or prefer audio focus
