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.