How do you communicate when you are learning a new language? Speaking and writing, as well as listening and reading, are all forms of communication in the new language. The key is to communicate in a way that suits your interests and skill level. When speaking, stay within your limits. Do not use slang, idioms or complicated words. Try to limit the conversation to subjects you can handle. Every time you communicate in a new language, even a little, pat yourself on the back and enjoy it. This will build up your confidence.
Even at the earliest stages of learning a language your objective has to be to communicate, not to learn the language as an academic subject. It does not matter how much you struggle nor how many mistakes you make, you will progress faster by communicating than trying to master theory.
My wife Carmen is a good example of this principle. When we lived in Tokyo she had little time to study Japanese but she communicated very comfortably with all the shopkeepers in our neighbourhood by learning the names of the vegetables and fish that she wanted to buy.
Years later, we entertained our friends and customers from France, the Guillemettes, by spending a week driving them around British Columbia. Bernard Guillemette and I sat in the front and Carmen and Bernard's wife, Monique who spoke only French, sat in the back. Carmen's grammar was atrocious but for one week she and Monique had a lively and enjoyable conversation in French in the back seat. I am sure that Carmen would be put in a beginner's class for grammar but she communicates better in French than most English-Canadians who have studied French at school for years. If she needs to improve her grammar she can do so, but at least she now has a sense for the language and some degree of confidence in communicating.
Carmen does not need to achieve fluency in French since she has only the occasional need to speak it. To use a language effectively in working situations requires real fluency, but for social purposes the ability to communicate is sufficient. Carmen has enough experience and confidence in casual communication that she could certainly achieve greater accuracy if she chose to pursue that as a goal.
It is the same when you listen and read: focus on subjects that are of interest or relevant to you. Your studies will be much more enjoyable and effective if you read or listen to aspects of the new culture that attract you or subjects that you need to learn about. Seeking out meaningful content is your first step to becoming a linguist. This can be on daily life, business, an academic subject that you know already, a hobby or common interest with a new friend, food, music, or whatever. You must articulate your reason for communicating. If you are only motivated by a sense of obligation to learn the language, you will just see a bunch of rules and words and language learning will be a difficult struggle.
The term "meaningful content" appears often in this book. It refers to real language situations, such as a conversation for a genuine purpose, rather than a dialogue in class or a drill or test question. It refers to reading and listening to content that is of interest and comprehensible to you. The more the context of your learning is realistic, the better you will learn. You will get beyond the details of the language you are learning and absorb the language naturally, because you are interested in the content. That is real communication. You will find what you are learning to be useful and therefore it will be easier to remember and retain.
The classroom is not real life. To learn, you must expose yourself to situations where you need the language, because you want to communicate or learn something other than the language itself. I attended the 2001 Christmas Party of the Tsinghua University Alumnus Association of Vancouver. Tsinghua is the MIT of China, a world-class institute of engineering and technology. Graduates of Tsinghua who have immigrated to Canada have had varying degrees of success integrating into Canadian society. Often, graduates have difficulty finding work when they first arrive.
Two of the alumni I met at the party who were the most fluent in English had taken unusual approaches to plunging into Canadian society. One spent the first four months selling door to door in Surrey and Delta, communities where there are very few Chinese people. He had since moved on to a better job- but his English, after only four years in Canada, was outstanding! Another alumnus had only been in Canada one year but had opened a winemaking shop, which brought him into contact with the neighborhood. Rather than worry about their limited English or their status as highly educated professionals, these two people just plunged into a real context and as a result learned the language quickly.
Learning a new language can be intimidating, especially for the first foreign language. However, by proceeding gradually and gaining small victories, your confidence will grow. It is important to remember that in learning a language you are not learning knowledge so much as acquiring a skill that takes time to develop. You have to get used to it. You are learning by becoming, not from theory.
You will not always perform equally well. When you play sports you are better on some occasions than on others, regardless of how much you practice. Language learning is the same way. Enjoy the moments when you are doing well and learn to forget the occasions when it seems that you are losing ground.
Once you have learned a second language, you will have the confidence to learn another one. In fact, the more languages you know the better you will speak them all. You will even speak your native language better, because your ability to speak and to understand the nuances of meaning is enhanced when you learn new languages. You will be on your way to becoming a linguist.
