Recently I have taught a lot of new students. The same as I usually do, I talked to them about their study habits. Their reactions have left me a bit confused.
I asked about reading and listening. Some people listen to music. Most people read their textbooks.
“What do you read in Japanese?” I asked.
Some people said novels, a lot said social media sites.
“Have you tried using social media in English?” I asked. Most people looked at me like I had three eyes.
Now, I know that people reading this will be saying “I already read social media.” I know this. What is the thing that you don’t do, that looks fun but is maybe a bit difficult? Try it.
Here in Japan, a lot of students imagine that English will fall into them if they live in a foreign country for a while. However, I have a feeling that the really successful language learners just realise that nobody else cares how you study. Seriously. Only you do. You wonder if other people will think you are crazy. Stop worrying. Read the book. Listen till you don’t want to anymore. Just give yourself permission and do it now.
Tesal K. Sangma
I use twitter and my email site in Spanish. It’s difficult, but there’s this set of vocabulary that enters your brain without your active effort. Next time you see those words again, you immediately know what they mean. It’s also amazing how you recognize them from when you used to use the sites in English. #languagelearning 🙂
Marc
Yes, I do find my reading fluency goes up. I can’t explain the vocabulary or grammar but I can read it and get through it the more I encounter it.
Thanks for the comment, Tesal.