Most language students complain about not
knowing enough words. This, however, is not the main problem in speaking
foreign languages. To get clues about what we should focus on, we need to pay
attention to what we do in our native language, first.
If you did an inventory in your own
kitchen, you would be at a loss trying to name each and every item by its
official name. There are so many words we do not know, even those pertaining to
our everyday lives, and we feel no stress in learning them.
The typical foreigner, while attempting to
speak, makes frequent and long pauses in which he tries to remember the correct
words for what he wants to express.
What do native speakers differently?
Let us take professions or job titles. The
typical foreigner will pause until he found the correct noun in the following
sentences. “Do you know a …
watchmaker/plumber/carpenter?” A native speaker may say: “Do you know someone
who can repair my watch/toilet/couch?”
Or imagining buying different home repair
items. Many would just point their fingers at the desired objects, saying: “A
pair of these, please”, instead of “a pair of hinges (or drywall anchors/emery
paper/screw compressor clamps).
Native speaker will use other, more
accessible words, for describing the missing word. To be able to do that they operate
flexibly with a small number of well-rehearsed words, and put them into a
correct sentence structure.
Consequently, as a non-native speaker, you
should identify that group of everyday words, and train yourself in building improvised
sentences at high speed.
Where to find those words?
There are word lists with the most common
100, 1000, 2000 etc. words in the most popular languages. Many of those lists
are derived by a computer program counting words in written texts. I have tried
to learn according to such lists, but I have stopped early on. On the one hand,
it may be boring, as many words do not necessarily coincide with your interests.
On the other hand, spoken words may differ from texts. Typically, those lists
do overestimate words used in newspaper articles and official documents.
An alternative would be to observe what
words you use in your daily life in your native language, and to make a list of
all words you cannot translate into the foreign one. Or, you regularly record
conversations in your native language and try to translate them. If you hunt
every day after 5-10 “untranslatable” words, you will soon arrive at those 1000
or so words you really need to know.
Another practical exercise is playing with
sentences. Here are some ideas what to do:
·
Generate
x number of spontaneous sentences with each new word you learn.
·
Take
an existing (and correct) sentence and try to replace a certain word with as
many words make possibly sense.
If you like the attitude of these
articles, please check out my
online courses : at the moment, German for Russian- and
Romanian-speakers, as well as on goal-setting.
If you are interested in improving your
English in the area of business presentations, I know of no better address than
Tom Antion. Please check him out following this link.
Stay tuned!
Gerhard
The GO Method
The GO Method
applies quality management and psychological science to the study of foreign
languages. It helps students establish individual and clear goals, build
learning routines, overcome psychological obstacles, monitor progress and
systematize the learning process.
It is the
perfect approach for high performer students that need to speak as closely as
possible to a native speaker. From lesson one, it focuses on building your own
sentences bottom-up, and not memorizing phrases like a parrot.
Gerhard J.
Ohrband
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.
Contact
If you want to save time in learning a foreign language
without a teacher, please check out my book “The GO Method” on Amazon.
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