Hit the ground running




    One  of  the  biggest  mistakes  that  people  make  when  studying  a  second/foreign  language  is  to  wait  until  they  develop  some  semblance  of  fluency  before  they  start  attempting  to  speak  the  language. This  is  one  big  mistake  that  has  the  potential  to  adversely  affect  your  long  term  development. I  have  learnt  from   my  experience  that  once  you  start  studying  a  language, whether   it's  Spanish, or  French, it’s  never  too  early  to  start  practicing  to  speak  it. In  fact, I’d  urge  someone  to  start  attempting  to  use  whatever  they  learn  from  day  one. What  determines  one’s  ability  to  speak  is  the  accumulation  of  knowledge  that  they  have  gained  over  the  course  of  their  language  studies. I  liken  the  studying  of  a  language  to  the  building  of  a  pyramid. Pyramids  are  set  upon  layers, the  stability  of  the  next  layer  depends  on  the  solidity  of  the  previous  one. The  overall  solidity  of  each  layer  has  a  direct  impact  on  the  durability/solidity (and even attractiveness) of  the  whole  pyramid. It  is  the  same  thing  with  a  language. The next  step/level  is  built  upon  the  previous  one. That  is  why  it  is  very  important  to  ensure  continuity. At  the  end  of  the  day, the  biggest  indicator  of  whether  someone  has  grasped  a  language  will  be  their  ability  to  speak. And, a lot  of  confidence  goes  into  speaking  a  language. The  best  way  to  develop  this  confidence  is  to  start  attempting  to  speak  everything  you  learn  from  day  one. As  you  work  through  some  mistakes/challenges (believe me, you’re going to encounter them), your  confidence  starts  to  grow  and  increase. You’ll  move  from  being  able  to  pronounce  some  words  to  being  able  to  put  together  a  two  phrase  word, and  progress  like  that.

    On  the  other  hand, what  happens  when  you  postpone  any  attempts  to  speak  the  words  you  already  know  is  that  you  become  overly  conscious  of  every  misstep  you  make. In  the  long  run, you  find  yourself  unable  to  muster  the  courage  to  start  a  conversation, no  matter  how  deep  you’ve  gone  in  the  course. This  is  the  major  reason  why  you  are  going  to  find  individuals  who  have  a  certificate/diploma/degree  in  a  language  and  yet  they’re  unable  to/afraid  to  express  themselves, or  communicate  in  that  language. That  is  why  it  is  highly  advisable, and  I  place  an  emphasis  on  it, that  it  is  very  important  to  start  practicing  whatever  you  have  learnt  from  day/lesson  one. Do  not  wait, hit  the  ground  running.


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