Learning a New Language
“To learn to speak no matter what language is a thing as natural and easy to a child as learning to fly is to a bird” (F. Gouin, The Art of Teaching and Studying Language, p. 128). Acquiring a language begins unconsciously. The ear needs to become accustomed to new sounds, native cadences and patterns. Hearing the language matters. The learner perceives sounds that don’t exist in his first language. Listening shapes the learner’s accent, and draws it closer to the native’s accent which is subtly different from what textbooks teach. It lays the foundation in the student’s brain for grammatical structures, vocabulary, idioms, which words are or are not used together, how to add emphasis, and a host of other things learned subconsciously. Hearing the correct pronunciation is essential. Much listening is critical in the early stages for these reasons. It is a process of acclimation. The necessary time to build careful and attentive listening skills is often swept aside in the rush to speak the language. Hearing new sounds in a variety of ways through songs, stories, poems, and active play, creates the unconscious “sponging” atmosphere that stimulates children and produces an emotional and positive connection to the new language.
When the ear has been sufficiently trained to hear words, phrases, and sentences within the context of daily life, there is a natural flow of speech that erupts. The learner begins to respond when they are ready to engage. A phrase happens to hit their fancy and they practice it over and over again even if it is sometimes quite difficult. Singing songs, reciting poetry, taking on delightful characters in short plays (which counteracts excessive shyness), etc. reinforces and affixes language more firmly in the child’s mind as they are learning to speak. Vocabulary in phrases and sentences take a real hold and are easily mastered with a variety of activities. Listening attentively and hearing correct pronunciation and accents continues to strengthen proper speaking.
After the initial years spent hearing and speaking a new language, children are ready to begin writing. They commence with simple sentences that match the oral work they have done in previous years. They then read the same sentences they have just written. As children move from sentences to paragraphs, they begin to have questions, for instance, about plural endings and agreement of adjectives (not, of course, in a grammatical way, but by noticing differences in spelling). With assistance from their language coach, learners find out reasons and rules bit by bit - a gentle precursor to formal grammar. They will remember them because the joy of discovery will be theirs. Though not to be considered foremost in conversational language assimilation, grammar and translation work is necessary. There is no doubt that extra work is required to consolidate and master the chosen foreign tongue.
Reading is begun with the greatest care. The child does not attempt to pronounce the words until he has heard them from the coach. First impressions are wonderfully strong, and prevention is better than curing a bad habit once begun. Even after a couple of years’ practice it is better for the coach to read first. Books with plenty of pictures and short tales are chosen initially; then a continuous story of simple words. Eventually, at about junior high, reading chapter books and novels will become the norm with illustrated history books following shortly thereafter. The beginning of a much wider understanding of the language and its heritage has now taken a foothold. Students are on the threshold of being immersed in the very sources of a nation’s identity and culture by reading and studying its literature, history, science, technology, art, entertainment - not through translation (which often loses its subtle meanings in the process) - but by direct access to the language itself. To have entered the final frontier is the triumph of learning a language! Now an accumulated understanding, real conversations, and discussions illuminate and reveal a more profound richness and diversity of a nation beyond its stereotypical fixtures. The joy of this enrichment has now enveloped the student’s mind, soul, and spirit and he is well-equipped to embrace the wider opportunities available to him.
Though not to be considered foremost in conversational language assimilation, formal grammar and translation work is necessary. Grammar fortifies writing skills essential to most future endeavours providing precise meanings and clear communication. Eliminating errors rewards readers with comprehension of the subject at hand. There is no doubt that extra work in this area is required to consolidate and master the chosen foreign tongue.
Remember that natural language learning does not employ “the gulping down of irregular verbs or indigestible quantities of nouns; against examinations in which quaint plurals and defective verbs are of more account than the understanding of the gist of a story” (C. Daniell, When and How to Begin Modern Languages, p. 808). We cannot dispense with either the unconscious imitation of the early years or the conscious effort of the later years to meet the goals of language acquisition.