Learning Slovak: Help!
I have swallowed my pride and finally bitten they bullet. Yep, that's right, I'm now taking official Slovak lessons. It goes against my belief that language schools are not as effective as they should be, but there are a few reasons why I have made this decision. So, I'll try and list them and in doing so explain my ideas behind how I think languages should be learnt.
There is a lot of research that shows that instruction increases language learning success in adults. However, it should be pointed out that it is not just instruction in and of itself that means you learn another language better. In fact, it is thought that instruction allows the learner to notice patterns and information about the language that they otherwise wouldn't have. Think about a teacher explaining something really complicated in a simple way and that amazing revelation. That's the benefit of instruction.
I'm the only student. This is not just about the time the teacher has for me, but more about tailoring the content to what I want. I need someone who can answer my questions about Slovak, not someone else's. I can focus on topics that interest me. It all helps.
There's nothing like shame to motivate me. Today was my second lesson and I did my homework this morning just before class. It really highlighted how much I don't know and it did so in front of another person. I hated it. So I already came home and started revising things.
I'm an analytical learner and I need questions answered. I drive my wife nuts with my questions. She can't handle it at all, 'cause she is not even slightly analytical when it comes to language. My mother-in-law was top of the class in grammar at school, but her answers are far too complex for me, coming at the topic from a native-speaker perspective. So a trained language teacher can give me the information that I need and/or want quickly and in a way that I can understand it. Loved it today.
Immersion is best, but I'm not really immersed. Strange as it is, although I am living in Slovakia, I'm mainly at home looking after my kids with my wife, and we speak in English (ironically, because I can't speak Slovak!). So, hanging out for an hour a week with a Slovak teacher is actually as close to immersion as I'm getting at the moment.
I'm not confident to make mistakes in public. Affective factors have wreaked havoc on my language learning in the past. I'm highly anxious about making mistakes, so the nice and controlled environment of a language classroom helps me get over these kind of irrational fears and stupidities!
There are other reasons as well, but those above cover the main ideas. It's also re-engaged me into this whole process and made me want to conquer this beast. Slovak is a pretty difficult language and there's a lot of memorising groundwork to be done before speaking correctly can be done. Taking formal lessons has given me a bit of hope that this can be done, but I recognise that I need to be focussed. I don't believe in marking my achievement through formal pencil and paper tests - that tests your academic ability more, not your language skills. So, I am in the process of writing a list of small achievements of real life tasks that I'd like to be able to get through in the next few months. They're ranked roughly in order of difficulty and therefore also the order I'm going to try them.
Going through the checkout in the supermarket: being able to deal with asking for plastic bags, responding to questions about how I'm paying or club cards etc., and also being polite and behaving appropriately.
Ordering in a pub. Successfully getting a beer for me and some mates in a pub would be the best, and it's a reward in itself!
Ordering food in a restaurant. Getting the attention of the wait staff, not freaking them out, getting the right drinks and food, and paying without any problems. If I could do it in front of my wife, that would be even better!
Meeting people and being able to exchange polite formalities as well as trading basic information. This is gonna be quite hard, but hugely important. I won't take points off if this occurs directly after enjoying the fruits of 2.!
This is enough for me at the moment. Thanks for putting up with my lists and I'll report back on my success. If anyone has any experience with these kind of experiences in learning another language, write in the comments. I'd love to hear some classic stories!!!