To become a better language learner, we must overcome the different forms of resistance to language learning. It may take a personal relationship or sudden positive experience to break down this mental block to learning a new culture.
You need to start seeing the point of view of the people that speak your target language, and that should happen to every learner in order to soften resistance and increase interest in a language.
The best opportunity to break down resistance to a new language is to make a friend in that language.
There are others who want to learn a new language and don’t resist learning it. Yet they don’t become better language learners. They have another problem.
They are afraid to make mistakes. These people put pressure on themselves to achieve accuracy or perfection at a stage when they have no feel for the language, and cannot visualize themselves comfortably using it.
This is counterproductive and inhibits their ability to communicate by making them self-conscious.
If you are willing to communicate at your level, even imperfectly, you will start to gain the confidence and the motivation to improve. Pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary can then be learned naturally, when the time is right.
By communicating and making mistakes we are able to learn and improve. For example, imagine making an oral presentation in front of a class in French.
And when you want to say the word “responsible”, for instance, you say it with an “i” as in English, instead of “responsable” with an “a” as in French. Every time you pronounce it wrong there is laughter in the room. Later you realize that people were laughing at your mispronunciation.
But if it doesn’t bother you that people are laughing at you speaking your target language and you feel totally involved in giving your presentation and in getting your meaning across, in the end, their laughter will only help you. After such an incident, you’ll stop making that mistake.
Try to free yourself from the desire to achieve perfection, which is vanity and will hinder your progress. Instead, seek to communicate naturally and enjoy yourself.
Your improvement will be constant although uneven. You must believe that you have the ability to communicate in the new language and that by following the correct method you will achieve your goals.
Just as in sports, confidence is an important ingredient for success.
In a good language learning book or course, the author should deal not only with the techniques of grammar or vocabulary, but also with developing the necessary attitude.
Trying to be perfect undermines your enjoyment and your confidence, and therefore leads to poor performance. To improve in language learning it is important to practice, but it is critical to enjoy the process regardless of your progress. It’s pointless to spend the whole time memorizing grammar rules or new words.
To be a better language learner you have to enjoy communicating in a new language for its own sake, regardless of your level. Don’t spend your time in a vain attempt to master the language from grammar rules and word lists. You will not enjoy this tedious form of study, and it will not work.
