Today more than ever in history, learning a language does not have to be a tedious or disconcerting activity. Advances in technology and Linguistics have opened doors that, until twenty years ago, seemed hermetically closed or even non-existent. If we want to take advantage of all currently available resources, it is necessary, then, that we broaden our minds and begin to question traditional methodologies and outdated theories that could turn out to be inconvenient at the time of learning. Below, we share some concepts that could enlighten you when circumstances in your learning path seem daunting:
1- Learning a language does not imply only or necessarily sitting down to study grammar rules and filling in reinforcing exercises: these activities may well be useful and perhaps recommended at some point in the learning process; however, they definitely demotivate students who want, first and foremost, to learn the language to communicate orally.
2- Practicing as much time as possible between classes is just as important as learning in each one of them. How can you practice between classes? For example, you could:
a. Listen to oral texts in Spanish (newscasts, films, songs or any other audiovisual or sound material to which Spanish subtitles can be added, etc.);
b. Read everything that comes into your hands that is originally written in Spanish;
c. Talk (in person or virtually) to someone who speaks the language;
d. Search on the Internet for information that interests you.
3- It is always worth remembering that practicing the language does not mean demanding yourself to understand 100 % of what you hear or read, but mainly exposing yourself to situations that give you the opportunity to actively or passively “absorb” characteristics of the language, such as idioms, rhythm, pronunciation, tonalities, dialects, etc.
4- Keep a “diary” with doubts that may turn up during your day or that may have been sitting with you from previous classes; specific topics or vocabulary that you would be interested in investigating; pronunciations and/or discrepancies between what you have learned in class and what you have found in “real life” or in some linguistic source of authority, etc. (the “diary” does not need to be, literally, a notebook: a simple note on your mobile phone, for example, serves the purpose and will always be within your reach.)
5- Remember that legitimate learning processes don’t have an end point, ever. The interesting, useful, and amusing aspects will always converge at the stage where you find yourself at any given moment, and not in an idealistic, and thus non-existent, “end result.”
6- The more you allow yourself to make mistakes when learning a language, the greater the chances you will have of starting to use it properly (as counterintuitive as that sounds!): the experience of the “error process” is an unavoidable and essential stage because, among other reasons, it implies you have managed to expose yourself to using the language and resort to the linguistic tools that you had at your disposal at a certain time, which is, in and of itself, a great accomplishment. It is essential, then, that you “befriend” mistakes. Also, errors are unequivocal “signposts” that point the tutor on the direction of the best and most adequate “route” to take in terms of teaching techniques and intervention.
7- Communicating effectively in a language is not synonymous with mastering a grammar perfectly, nor with memorizing idiomatic phrases: you can begin to communicate effectively with less than what we are usually taught or required by “traditional” methods. This, of course, does not exclude in any sense the possibility of continuous improvement; however, that progress should be at your own pace, according to your availability of time and your interest. It usually happens that when we least expect it, we realize that we have already acquired new vocabulary, we have memorized useful rules or we have internalized new strategies to pronounce better, etc.
8- In general terms, the important thing is not to overexert yourself due to an ideal or fallacious concept of “mastery” or “correction”, which will usually interfere with your learning process, sometimes very unfavorably and at an unconscious level, discouraging you to the point of wanting to quit the activity.
9- Very rarely will it be possible to use the same teaching methodology for all people, ages, needs, personalities, realities, etc. Even in the case of the same person, it may be necessary to resort to different forms of interaction with the language in different lessons, according to the dominant mood of the day and other subjective factors that impact on the predisposition to acquire new contents or procedures. Not only has it been proposed by various theories of learning, but also, our many years of teaching practice have proved that the emotional and psychological state of the student do have an impact on what, how and how much they learn).
10- Finally, your answer to the following question may provide you with some interesting perspectives to consider: how did we all learn to speak our native language(s) when we were kids?
*Our teaching-learning proposal is not based on a particular linguistic or educational theory, but on an eclectic approach in which different perspectives and methodologies converge, which allows us to customize the lessons according to each student’s specific needs. This broad educational perspective is the result of our 20-year teaching practice and the valuable intercultural exchange we have experienced while travelling in 40 countries. Likewise, having had the opportunity to live temporarily in 4 of those 40 countries (Spain, Portugal, Romania and Argentina) has expanded our network of contacts with speakers of different languages, who use English as a lingua franca, and who are constantly enlightening us about different didactic orientations applied in different corners of the world.
The Ways of Infinity 