Reflecting on my approach to learning languages - learning vs using
I started to fall for the idea of being a polyglot back around the summer break of 2014 - which was when I decided to really go for Arabic. I read the polyglot project about all these awesome people and their experiences with language learning, checked out their Youtube videos etc. I came across Moses aka Laoshu50500, which I consider the greatest polyglot of all time. That guy is an absolute beast when it comes to languages, and his videos are highly inspiring.Â
So soon I went from Arabic to include some Esperanto, then some Chinese, then some Tamil (because I have a bunch of Tamil friends, and BTW their reactions were amazing), then to Bosnian... I think I got around to learning something in at least 10 languages at different levels (nothing impressive for most) within the next couple of summer holidays - just for the love of learning languages. I was also, and still am, very fascinated about languages in general. I couldnât really focus on them during the semester, so I went hard during the summer holidays. The most important language of all these has been Arabic though, since it has been a lifelong ambition to learn it at some point.Â
Now it is 5 summers later, and looking back i definitely did learn A LOT, however Iâm not sure this is where I wanted to be 5 years later. I wanted to be fluent in Arabic by now, and although I can understand most of the basics the fluency lies far ahead. I am still struggling with understanding a lot of the context in children cartoons in Arabic. I am still quite slow when it comes to understanding and especially speaking. Back then, I also wanted to be conversational in most of the other languages by now - most importantly Chinese.Â
I have recently come across articles and quotes such as â Life Doesn't Reward You For What You Know, But For What You Doâ and âTo learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really not to know.ââââDr. Stephen Covey, which led me to reflect on my language skills and why I havenât progressed as much as I would like. It sort of reminds me of many of the questions from my friends had, when I told them about a language that I was learning - usually these were like âbut, what are you going to use it forâ. I honestly just loved the idea of learning them, and thought I might just use them one day. I realized that most people only learn stuff they HAD to learn, and not just because they like learning and knowing about it. Usually when it comes to languages it is for a job, travelling or for relationships. Many of the people speaking different languages have also had some travel experiences.Â
I think that learning all these languages have been fun, but I have also forgot a lot of what I used to know, and now when I think about using some of it... it is unfortunately packed far away in a forgotten corner of my mind. I think it is because I didnât have a practical purpose to use what I learned. What Laoshu50500 does, is to go out and use all the senteses he has learned with a person who speaks that language, comes home and reviews it, and then goes back out again. The point of language learning is communication, and the best way to learn is through practice with others. I had some practical experience during my Chinese course, where there was a teacher and other student, and I can honestly say I improved faster, than I would from studying by myself and not using what I learned. My few encounters with people who are natives to the language I was using, have also been the most challenging yet important to get the phrases to stick in my mind.
Prioritizing apps like HelloTalk more than hours and hours on apps like Memrise, Cram etc. would probably be better in retrospect. I used to think I was not ready enough for interactions, and although it might have been true to some extend, since the studying part is important to have a good conversation, I think I missed out on a lot of learning possibilities. Regardless, nobody says they have now finished learning a language, there is always more to learn, so might as well go and use the little you know in practice anyways while studying.Â
I guess my whole realization lately is that: although obtaining a lot of knowledge is important, using it is much more important. This is probably why I didnât really feel like learning more in the languages I used to study during this summer. Because I had a very limited usage for it. Once I find a more practical purpose for the languages, the experience will be much better. The motivation and focus might also be much better, and thereby I would probably be more efficient as well. Maybe I will just stick to HelloTalk, maybe I will just interact with people more randomly whenever I see them like Laoshu, or maybe something else. Regardless I think I will always learn more, it just needs to be more practical. Â
