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Language-Learning Strategies

Please browse this page and its links, and pick out the ideas that you think you could use.

Remember that not every method works for every student. According to your personality, you should choose strategies that work for you. You may also notice some strategies that feel uncomfortable to you, but you recognize that these are areas you would like to work on eventually.

For example, a laid-back and extroverted student may be happy to dive right into talking with native speakers without worrying about grammar, while a more introverted and studious person might prefer to study the mechanics of a language for quite a while before venturing into conversation. The first student will learn a lot of conversational phrases, but would have to work on grammar and spelling to get a more perfect grasp of the language. The second student might approach grammatical perfection, but would have to work harder at the social aspects of language. If these students decide to concentrate on their areas of weakness, they could find that their language learning has "stretched" them, both intellectually and psychologically.

Websites with good tips:

http://www.sarc.sdes.ucf.edu/learningskills.html & http://www.studygs.net/ - strategies for learning anything, not just languages.
http://spanish.about.com/cs/forbeginners/a/learning_styles.htm - find your learning style, to help you learn Spanish better.
Ideas from the Peace Corps about ongoing language learning (requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/better/ - Take a quick interactive quiz that will help you identify your language-learning fears and difficulties, and suggest some solutions.
http://www.vistawide.com/languages/languagetips.htm
http://www.omniglot.com/language/general.htm
http://www.smithworks.org/chinese/articles/strategies1.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/yoursay/speaking_and_listening.shtml
http://www.carla.umn.edu/strategies/index.html
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/SLA/L2_learning_strategies.htm
are you trying to re-learn the language that you grew up hearing at home?
These are some issues you may face: http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/0206hancock.html
(know others? tell me!)

A useful list:

Good language learners...

find their own way, taking charge of their learning.
organize information about language.
are creative, developing a "feel" for the language by experimenting with its grammar and words.
make their own opportunities for practice in using the language inside and outside the classroom.
learn to live with uncertainty by not getting flustered and by continuing to talk or listen without understanding every word.
use mnemonics and other memory strategies to recall what has been learned.
make errors work for them and not against them.
use linguistic knowledge, including knowledge of their first language, in learning a second language.
use contextual cues to help them in comprehension.
learn to make intelligent guesses.
learn chunks of language as wholes and formalized routines to help them perform "beyond their competence."
learn certain tricks that help to keep conversations going.
learn certain production strategies to fill in gaps in their own competence.
learn different styles of speech and writing and learn to vary their language according to the formality of the situation.

This list uses the ideas of researchers Rubin and Stern (1975) and was summarized by Rubin and Thompson (1982). I have quoted it here from Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (H. Douglas Brown, 1994). Emphasis mine - LSS.

Go back to: LAC Department | Spanish help | ESL help | International Friends Group