Of course, language learning success depends mostly on the learner. But what about external factors? What does a keen language learner need most of all?
The answer is interesting language content. What constitutes interesting content will depend on each learner, and even on the changing interests of each learner. But the best way to learn another language is through interesting content, listening, reading and building up vocabulary.
When I wrote my book The Linguist: A Personal Guide to Language Learning, I began with what I called āThe Parable of the Crooked Treeā. The author of the parable was Zhuangzi, an early exponent of Taoism, a school of Chinese philosophy from over 2,000 years ago. I referred to Taoism on a number of occasions in my book. Zhuangziās basic principle in life was to follow what was natural, what was effortless and not try to force things.
People often say to me, āSteve, youāve obviously got a talent for languages, that’s why youāve learned so many. Good for you, but I could never do it.ā
To which I say, to myself at least, why donāt you try doing it the way I do it? Maybe, rather than a question of talent, itās a matter of the method that I use. What is my method? Itās really quite simple. Itās the relentless pursuit of words ā words that I glean through content that is of interest to me. Thatās basically what it boils down to.
In Stephen Coveyās famous book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People he gives advice for people in many aspects of their lives: advice for managers, for business people and for people generally. His advice can also be applied to language learners, and hereās how.
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