Flapping lips and getting tips on foreign tongues
Flapping lips and getting tips on foreign tongues
Maria Kegel, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
I came across my old Thai phrase book on a back shelf last
week, and an old feeling of guilt washed over me. Even though I
lived one year in Bangkok, I gave up learning the language.
It all ended when I made a fatal faux pas on a city bus one
day.
Addressing the female conductor, I thought I said "excuse me",
but in my unrefined intonation it meant something entirely
different: I announced that I had passed wind.
Laughter rippled throughout the bus. Not only did I get off
before my stop, but I quit my Thai classes right after my
neighbor told me what I had said.
Lincoln Taylor, the head teacher at Berlitz Language Center in
Jakarta, said that the experience could have been turned into a
positive one instead of letting it make such a negative impact on
me.
"If you embrace and enjoy the fact that you have made somebody
happy or smile, then you'll get a lot further (in learning the
language), but if you are too self-conscious, basically you will
clam up and that's no good because you need to be speaking to be
practicing and improving."
The best route to go in learning a new language, according to
Lie Hua, a lecturer at the Department of English in the School of
Literature at the National University (UNAS), is to join a
good language school or course, buy books and cassettes on that
language, listen to language learning programs on the radio and
either set up or join a conversation club that meets once a week.
A student's best bet is to look into state universities as
some have noncredit courses for teenagers, and may also offer
courses on regional languages, such as Javanese and Sundanese,
Lie said.
"Some embassies also offer language courses, such as the
Italian, French, Spanish, Japanese and Arabian embassies, and you
can be assured that the quality will be good because they also
want to promote their respective countries," Lie said.
Taylor suggested that it was best to take part in a structured
verbal class with a native speaker, or someone else fluent in the
language and to check out CD ROMS, "because often you can have
live chats and join discussion groups, and it's almost as good as
being in a room with other people".
"Third best, costwise, is radio or one of these nonprofit
governmental organizations which promote culture abroad."
Without a doubt, mistakes are going to be part and parcel of
learning a new language, but the benefits far outweigh what may
seem like a long process of mastering a second language.
Taylor said it broadens people's horizons and gives a balanced
view of the world, as well as preparing young people better for
the new global economy and travel. On a personal level, he said,
it could be fun and give students access to a broader range of
culture, music and literature.
However, it is most important that learners enjoy themselves,
Taylor pointed out.
"The biggest danger is going to the wrong place, laying out a
large sum of money, and basically wasting your time and money
because you are not getting quality education, and you end up
frustrated, out of pocket, and for youths, a bad experience early
on means they will never go back to it again or they will be
reluctant to, much like a mild trauma," Taylor said.
Lie advised students to shop around first for the right course
otherwise there could be disappointment if the lessons are not
well-arranged or the teacher is not qualified.
No one wants to sound like a robot when they try out their
newly learned words, so Lie recommends listening to the spoken
language as often as possible by picking up a language learning
cassette.
"You should try and imitate the words, especially the
intonation, and then practice what you have learned," he said.
Taylor said it was important to spend some time in that
particular country to lose that stiff sound to speech.
But if that is difficult to do because of time or money, he
suggested seeking social interaction with people from that
country or going to a cross-cultural foundation or nonprofit
institution set up by governments to promote their culture
overseas, such as the Goethe Institute and the Japan Foundation.
"Most capital cities will have any number of these," Taylor
said, "and their language is often a big part of it, with highly
trained teachers who are generally nice people and reasonably
priced courses because they are nonprofit.
"Ten minutes with a native speaker will give you a very good
indication of what is normal and what is not, what is funny and
what is not, just based on their reactions."
Here are some other tips Taylor and Lie offered to aspiring
language learners:
* Review your lessons regularly. Five minutes a day is better
than an hour once a week, Lie advised. "Some people get the
wrong idea and set aside three hours a week for study, but I
think it is better if you split it up into 15 minutes every day,"
Lie said.
* Read aloud in front of a mirror. "My junior high teacher
told us to look at ourselves in the mirror, and then read
something so we could hear our own voice." Lie recommended this
method as a good exercise in pronunciation.
* Practice simple words and expressions with friends. Lie said
language knowledge gets activated with use and the more you use
it.
* Overcome shyness by just jumping in and trying. "The
presence of a native speaker in the classroom is important
because when you speak to one, they will always understand you,
even though they might be guessing, and you'll get confident from
that, it's psychological encouragement," Lie said.
* Don't worry about using the wrong grammar when speaking with
a person from that country. "They won't correct you and the most
they will do is ask you to repeat what you said," Lie said.
Shop around for a good language course. "Most schools will
give you a demonstration or trial prior to you handing over any
money," Taylor said.
Ask to sit in on a class to see whether you will like it and
if it looks fun. Ask to meet the teacher, or the core instructor
for the program, Taylor said. "Often it's pretty easy to see if
the instructors know their stuff and whether they are nice people
and they care. The person should be bright, fun and committed."
Don't be afraid to make mistakes. "When you are learning a
language, you will quite often make those mistakes, which will be
funny to the listener, and naturally people will laugh, not so
much at you but at the mistake you've made," Taylor said.
Find a native speaker. "You need lessons or some sort of a
formal structure for learning a new language," Taylor said,
suggesting that students seek a trained native speaker and learn
privately or in a small group.
Learning a language needs a hands-on approach. Taylor said it
was a mechanical skill, not an academic subject, like physics or
biology, so you need to practice this skill and being in a small
group or a private class is essential.
"Most people approach a language academically, which might be
a mistake. It's more like learning to cook, golf or drive," he
said.
Listen to the radio. "Playing talk radio softly in the
background of your learning or work background, or even while you
are sleeping, heightens your ear and awareness and keeps it at
the forefront of your consciousness," Taylor said.
Sing a song. "Music is a good way to learn, as a lot of people
learn in rote fashion, in a way that imitates the singers, like
performing," Taylor said, adding that singing was also a good way
to express yourself, as well as providing a role model of someone
you could be like.
TV can also be useful for learning a new language. "However,
some people cannot pick up what is being said, because it is just
too fast, colloquial and confusing," Taylor said.
Computers offer an excellent advantage in learning new
languages. Taylor said there were a number of good CDROMs
available, such as from Cambridge, Longman or Oxford, with a
really well-designed learning system and digital recordings of
trained native speakers communicating the concepts.
"This is good for listening comprehension, and overall study
of structure, but, they are still passive and you need to be
speaking," Taylor said.