Comments on: Studying vs Learning a Language http://l2mastery.com/blog/linguistics-and-education/methods/studying-versus-learning-a-language/ How to Learn Languages the Fun Way with John Fotheringham Mon, 08 Jun 2015 22:54:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.2 By: John Fotheringham http://l2mastery.com/blog/linguistics-and-education/methods/studying-versus-learning-a-language/#comment-1793 Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:38:00 +0000 http://l2mastery.com/?p=181#comment-1793 I hadn’t heard “habitudes” before; what a great portmanteau!

You are quite right that attitudinal challenges far outweigh their linguistic and methodological counterparts. In my experience, if someone doesn’t want to learn, it matters little how many effective methods or materials you throw their way. Therefore, I would focus more on getting the learners interested in the target culture through movies, music, food, sports, etc.

But ultimately, you have to accept that learning only happens in the learner’s mind. If they are resistant to (or uninterested in) the culture or language, no amount of exposure will lead to fluency.

]]> By: Vitaly Dibrova http://l2mastery.com/blog/linguistics-and-education/methods/studying-versus-learning-a-language/#comment-1792 Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:16:00 +0000 http://l2mastery.com/?p=181#comment-1792 I have been trying to help my Russians readers on site “Filolingvia” to understand this simple truth for years. But their old habitudes, wrong  attitudes and patterns, laziness, purposelessness, disbelief, apathy, illusions, delusions, psychological complexes, fear, fright and horror, phobias, bad ideas and ideology makes it impossible. People can’t abandon their prejudices and delusions.

Learning languages don’t have any linguistic problem and very little methodological problems. All problems that they have is psychological, motivation one. What can I do to really help them? And what do you do with all this? Please, give me an advise.

]]> By: Anonymous http://l2mastery.com/blog/linguistics-and-education/methods/studying-versus-learning-a-language/#comment-1783 Sun, 16 Oct 2011 17:58:00 +0000 http://l2mastery.com/?p=181#comment-1783 Martial arts is a better analogy, since it takes years to master and involves interaction with another person.

]]> By: John Fotheringham http://l2mastery.com/blog/linguistics-and-education/methods/studying-versus-learning-a-language/#comment-1781 Sun, 16 Oct 2011 04:59:00 +0000 http://l2mastery.com/?p=181#comment-1781 I love the windsurfing analogy. As a martial artist, I often equate language acquisition to kung fu; you can only learn by doing, and even that procedural memory matters little until it is applied in “sparring” (i.e. communicating with native speakers).

]]> By: Anonymous http://l2mastery.com/blog/linguistics-and-education/methods/studying-versus-learning-a-language/#comment-1777 Sat, 15 Oct 2011 21:34:00 +0000 http://l2mastery.com/?p=181#comment-1777 Another great post. I tell our students “learning languages is like learning a sport like windsurfing. You can sit on the shore all you want and explain how it works, but ultimately you have to get on the board and do it”. I guess that would be “procedural memory”.

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