I just need the perfect app (Self-limiting belief #1)

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"I just need the perfect app" is a very common self-limiting belief about language learning. Yes, there are countless of useful apps for all kinds of situations: meditation, errands, fitness, etc. Even for language learning, apps may be quite useful to learn and test vocabulary.

The illusion, however, is that one app will do all the job in making you a prolific speaker. There is a lot of marketing spam going on from very successful companies, promising fluency in just a few weeks/months.

The crucial question is: how do you define your language goals? What does fluency mean to you?

If you just have moderate ambitions with that foreign language, if you just want to be able to say Hello and Goodbye, plus learn some phrases here and there, a language app may indeed be the perfect solution for you. It certainly may be a better investment than going to a local language school.

But what if your personal and professional goals depend upon mastering a new language? In this case, your objective is to be able to speak almost like a native speaker. But, what does characterize a "native speaker"? Most people would envy him or her for 

- having the "right" passport,

- possessing the "right" accent, and 

- knowing lots of words.

Most probably, you would also say that he or she would make no mistakes.

Well, as journalists, school teachers, university professors and the like will attest, native speakers commit quite a lot of mistakes. However, they are most often more efficient speakers.

What does that mean? They can express themselves more quickly and flexibly, in a wider range of situations than the non-native speaker. If we boil this further down, it means that they are better in producing their own sentences.

Now, what are problems with most apps then?

1. Most apps are geared towards the vast majority of consumers in the language market (aka beginners). They focus only on quick results based on repetition, rote-learning and "gamification".

The problem in learning a foreign language lies not in learning your first 1000 words or memorizing 50 everyday phrases, as well as reproducing them with perfect intonation.

The real challenge is, what and how to train after beginner and intermediate levels. What if you already know your first 5 000 words and can sustain a small talk?

2. Apps may make you dependent on instant gratification. Everyone using social media can confirm about countless hours in front of Facebook or page XYZ, that disappeared down the memory hole without a trace. Apps stimulate certain brain areas providing us pleasure. We lose valuable time we could use for more efficient activities.

3. Apps may make you forget your own agenda. Everyone learns a language with a concrete purpose in mind. And, everyone is an individual with his or her very own interests, ambitions, personality traits and preferences. Ideally, your language learning should match your personality and goals as closely as possible, so that you get the optimal preparation. Setting up your own specific language goals is a crucial first step. With most apps, however, you will implicitly adopt a general agenda crafted for millions of co-users.

(to be continued)

Please check out my online courses : at the moment, German for Russian- and Romanian-speakers, as well as on goal-setting.

Stay tuned!

Gerhard

About the GO Method

The GO Method applies research in psychology as well as principles of quality management to the language teaching process. It conforms to key elements of the ISO 9001 standard, while being more specific on teaching-related issues. Customers get access to easily adaptable document templates.

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About me

Psychologist and polyglot from Hamburg /Germany (*1979). Married with children. MA in psychology from the University of Hamburg. More than 15 years of experience as a university lecturer in psychology as well as a consultant for UNICEF, Terre des Hommes, IOM, the EU and private companies. Coordinator of the GO Method network, with representatives in more than 90 countries worldwide.

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