Scribd
Upload
40 views

TEXT 3. Learning A Foreign Language - 10 Most Common Mistakes

The document lists 10 common mistakes made by language learners and provides advice to avoid them. These mistakes include treating language learning like homework, getting stuck using only one learning method, starting learning with too much motivation that cannot be sustained, waiting too long to start speaking, not listening to enough natural speech, focusing too much on individual words instead of the overall meaning, learning all grammar rules before using the language, directly translating everything instead of accepting differences between languages, neglecting pronunciation practice, and lacking confidence which can become a self-fulfilling prophecy of not learning the language well.

Uploaded by

Yana
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
40 views

TEXT 3. Learning A Foreign Language - 10 Most Common Mistakes

The document lists 10 common mistakes made by language learners and provides advice to avoid them. These mistakes include treating language learning like homework, getting stuck using only one learning method, starting learning with too much motivation that cannot be sustained, waiting too long to start speaking, not listening to enough natural speech, focusing too much on individual words instead of the overall meaning, learning all grammar rules before using the language, directly translating everything instead of accepting differences between languages, neglecting pronunciation practice, and lacking confidence which can become a self-fulfilling prophecy of not learning the language well.

Uploaded by

Yana
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

TEXT 3.

Learning a Foreign Language – 10 Most Common Mistakes

To become fluent in a language you should learn not only from your own mistakes,
but also from mistakes of other learners.

1. To treat language learning as a homework. We shouldn’t drill our grammar all the
time or do endless exercises. It’s better to treat the process of learning as a
possibility to open a new world, to get acquainted with people who differ from you.
By the way, you can do everything what you like in your target language.

2. Being stuck to one method can lead you to boredom and exhausting from
language. The best way is to verify your process of language learning and look at it
from different angles.

3. To start your learning process can end up with the draining of your battery. At the
beginng we are all very motivated and excited but in 2 or 3 week we get bored.
Advice here is to start slowly growing a habit of learning language every day. Small
steps can lead to big results.

4. The next advice is don’t wait too long until starting speaking. The clue idea here is
that speaking is a skill that can be trained only through practice. There is no need to
spend years cramming textbooks or waiting until there are no mistakes in your
speech. It never happens, if you don’t speak.

5. Listening is very important part of learning. The advice is to listen as much as


possible and if it’s possible not textbooks’ audios but real speech like in movies,
videos, TV-programs etc. Even if you don’t understand everything, you shouldn’t
hesitate and just continue listening. It can help you to improve your pronunciation,
intonation and understanding.

6. Developing of your guessing skills will be very helpful for language learners. There
is no need to translate every single word if it’s not vital for understanding. As
learners, we will come across new words and unknown constructions every day and
we won’t always have the possibility to check the meaning of the word. That is why
we should keep our eyes on a big picture and not get deeply into details.

7. Use the top-down approach. What does it mean? We should get acquainted with
the whole sentences and structures first, but not learning all grammar and
pronunciation rules. It’s better to learn a language as children do with their mother
tongue.

8. The common mistake is to translate everything directly. People forget that


languages differ from each other and a lot of idioms, phraseological units and
grammar constructions don’t correspond in their mother tongue and target
language. That is why we should get rid of our mother tongue when we learn a new
language. (Don’t agree completely).
9. If we want to master our target language, we should also devote some time to
pronunciation and intonation practice. It’s very important, if we want to be
understood by other people.

10. And as a conclusion, the author mention “confidence” as an important part of


language learning. If you think that you can’t learn a language or that you are too
stupid for that, it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. That is why we shouldn’t be
scared of being wrong or making mistakes. It’s a natural process of becoming
master.

You might also like