5 Problems of Language Learning (Psychology Edition)
Having troubles with learning a foreign language? Read how to overcome your doubts and start speaking fluently!
5 Psychological Problems Of Learning A Foreign Language
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Frequently, students find it a tall task to learn a second language. The majority of them believe that they are the only who have difficulties with foreign language learning, while others are doing much better without struggling. If you often think “I will never polish it up to the proficient level” or “I am not talented enough to learn a second language,” then you are reading the right article.
Today, we will talk about 5 main psychological problems that restrict you from success in English language learning.
Lack of Self-Confidence
“Everybody knows English better than me” — this is one of the most common thoughts each student worries about. There is no doubt that there are some persons who indeed know a foreign language better than you do, but the majority of people just pretend to overstate their knowledge. On the other hand, everybody evaluates their possibilities in their own way.
Actually, the bulk part of people just says everything with strong confidence, usually having their speech quite far from ideal. However, it does not imply that they are indeed speaking a foreign language better than you. The only feature they are really keen on is self-confidence.
Self-confidence is an essential personality trait that can be useful not only in case of language learning but also in a multitude of other applications. If you start developing this trait, you will notice how rapidly your life is getting better. Only you know about your doubts — so why not get into a highly confident native speaker’s shoes?
Fear to Make a Mistake
“If I talk to native speakers, they will laugh at me because of my grammar mistakes” — this is a typical cliché the majority of learners think about.
Remember the foremost goal of any dialogue is just to convey your thought or idea to your interlocutor. This is not an exam where you need to double-check your speech before saying it. Let us have a look at this situation from another perspective. Imagine you are talking to a person who is learning your mother tongue and tries to maintain a dialogue with you. Surely, instead of making fun of them, you will probably try to help them correct the mistakes and encourage developing their language skills.
You should consider that the majority of native speakers make mistakes as well. Some countries (for example, Canada, Belgium, and the United States of America) host a mix of nationalities, so every one of them has a different accent and dialect. So, you are not going to stand out of the crowd — do not be afraid to make mistakes, but be scared of not trying!
Fear of Public Speaking
“I am afraid to speak in front of the class because I feel shy.” You are afraid of public speaking, or, in other words, you have stage fright. The stage fears adversely impact the lives of millions of people worldwide, regardless of what language they speak. Having this problem, you can either fight it or escape from it.
In the first case, you should think about finding an activity where you can polish your public speaking skills. It can be a debating society, actor classes or just storytelling lessons. The more you practice to talk in front of listeners, the more confident you become and, consequently, get rid of stage fright.
Oppositely, you can just avoid public speaking. If you feel really annoyed when speaking to more than one person, you can have face-to-face lessons with your language tutor. Actually, you can have better results with a private teacher, especially if he or she is a native speaker. But at the same time, try to have at least one group lesson per week — therefore, you will develop your communication skills and gain practice of talking to different people in a foreign language.
Setting Overly Ambitious Goals
Remember that nobody can wrestle with a big picture. You should distinctly determine your goals and assess how much time it will take to fulfill them. Always bear in mind the primary purpose of your learning. It can be the ability to maintain live dialogue, ability to read technical texts or just watching films with the original soundtrack.
For example, if you need to learn a foreign language for studying abroad, focus on listening and academic writing skills. In the case of studying, understanding the information plays a pivotal role at any university degree program. Within the first semester, you will automatically learn how to express yourself, so you should not worry about that before the study year begins. On the other hand, even if you doubt your writing skills, you can always ask a specialized paper service agency to proofread your text before submitting it to the professor.
If you waste on various operations at the same time, your success can become much less considerable. Thus, keep your motivation fire burning by setting clear goals and achieving them!
Fear to Appear Ridiculous
This is an indisputable fact that every beginner makes a lot of mistakes. However, if you do not make a mistake, you will never learn how to make it correctly. Instead of worrying about your others’ opinions, try to learn to laugh at yourself.
If you realize that you have just said nonsense, just remember this case and avoid suchlike mistakes in the future. Sometimes, languages have a lot in common, and if you mistakenly mix up your mother tongue with a foreign language, it might be an anecdote for locals. Just try to understand what is funny about that and have fun as well — thus, you will definitely remember what was wrongly said.
April 8, 2019
