Why studying will never help you
speak a language
| 12 1 COMME NT S | CATEGORY: LEARNING LANGUAGES
This post has been a long time coming.
Teachers and linguists are going to hate me for this, but it has
to be said:
You can never speak a language by just studying it,
no matter how much you study
Yes, you read that right. Studying is the wrong thing to do if
you want to speak a language. I’m totally serious.
Last night I ran into some English speakers and heard the
same thing I’ve heard thousands of times about other
languages: they have been studying German for years and
don’t speak it yet, even though they now live in Berlin.
Every day, I get dozens of e-mails from aspiring language
hackers sharing their tales of woe with me; they’ve spent a
small fortune on workbooks, CD audio courses etc. and have
spent probably thousands of hours locked up in their rooms
studying tables of rules and vocabulary lists. And they still
can’t say anything.
Most people think the reason that this happens is because the
material/teacher isn’t good enough. Or perhaps the language
really is impossible and it’s the “hardest one in the world”.
I get asked all the time what my study method is, and
precisely what books I buy. If our study materials were better
then surely we’d finally speak!?
No.
There is only one thing study is good for
The purpose of this post isn’t to tell the world to stop
studying. However, you have to realise that studying a
language has a very specific purpose and if you are not aware
of this then you may end up stuck in the vicious circle
of never speaking: Studying will never help you speak a
language, but (as long as you do it right) studying will help
you speak a language better.
Most people don’t see the difference here. That one crucial
word changes absolutely everythingyou need to take into
consideration.
If you already speak but your conjugations aren’t great or you
need to quickly increase your store of vocabulary about a
specific topic, then by all means study. Need to pass a test in
school? Sure, study for it. When the goal is to pass a test or
improve your grasp on something specific, then study is the
way to go.
But if you don’t speak the language confidently right now,
then it’s time someone broke this news to you: studying is not
the way to get this confidence!
But I’m almost ready!
When you study, you acquire vocabulary, you improve your
grammar and you do exercises. Logically enough, your level
improves. With time, your potential increases and you can
understand more and you can theoretically join in on a wider
scope of conversations. “One day”, when you’re ready, you can
finally start speaking confidently. Not today though – maybe
you just need to study a little bit more.
Theoretically & Maybe.
Based on my experience and accounts from thousands of
learners I’ve met who need their language in the real
world (not tests), “theoretically and maybe” translate
to never. The academic system seems to have drilled into us
that studying is the way to speak a language. Studying helps
you improve (and to pass a test you do indeed need to know
your grammar/vocab better… because that’s what the test is
usually about) but it is an artificial means of acquiring or
improving the language. Some artificial ways are quite useful,
but they are still artificial.
When you look at a language the same way you look at
geography or history or other subjects in school that can
be tested, then you simply don’t know what a language
actually is.
Stop looking at conversations with human beings as a test
that you have to pass (so, every time you make a mistake you
get a big red X and if you make a certain amount of them, then
you fail). It doesn’t work like that!!
A language is a means of communication. It’s not a table of
grammar rules in some dusty old book, or a piece of paper