Imagine the following setting. In a new
German language group, I will have to teach six students, each having a
different goal for learning German.
Robert: wants to become an undercover
agent in the Berlin drug and sex trafficking scene;
Lucy: currently studying opera singing –
wants to be able to sing German operas without an American accent;
Don: plans to emigrate to a small village
in Switzerland and to write poetry in German;
Arabella: is about to go on a hiking trip
through the South of Germany;
Bill: dreams of picking up German girls
during his next Germany trip;
Maria: has just finished her studies as a
medical doctor, wants to pass an official German test for doctors and to work
in a hospital in rural Austria.
In the typical language school situation,
all six would be expected to consider me and the holy textbook as their supreme
authority and follow my every instruction.
From my perspective, knowing my strengths
and weaknesses, I would consider myself a suitable authority in teaching them a
solid grammar, and installing in all students a home routine, as well as a
learning system for continuous improvement. If students encounter obstacles, as
a psychologist, I can offer useful guidance. However, each of those students
should follow also other authorities, suited to their individual goals.
I would not be a good authority for Don,
Maria and Robert when it comes to adopting the right accent so that they can
integrate best in their local community. Although I like both opera music and
classical literature, I am incompetent in giving advice on opera singing and
poetry writing. Picking up girls (or men) also requires special linguistic
skills that one better learns from a proven expert. Arabella would probably
need a phrase book and to learn a certain number of phrases by heart, but not
follow my method of learning complex grammar.
What should you not do?
·
Follow
no authority at all (“I will figure out everything out by myself”, “I don’t
need any guidance”)
·
Follow
your current textbook, teacher or Youtube celebrity instructor in everything
related to that language.
Take the example of Robert. If he learned
“perfect” grammar with me, he would be automatically detected as an outsider in
the Berlin crime scene, because almost no one in it speaks in perfect formal
grammar and with the standard accent you hear on television. Following my
accent and advice could even endanger his life.
What you should do?
·
Become
clear of your personal goals in learning the language;
·
Find
out what micro skills you need to master (e.g. accents, grammar, fluency,
creativity, asking questions, public speaking, official correspondence,
speaking in different emotional states, interacting with specific social
groups, technical language, becoming more disciplined, improving your memory,
reducing mistakes, overcoming learning blocks);
·
Make
a list of those skills, and assign an authority for each one of them;
·
Periodically
update this list, every time you come across a better role model.
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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