ماجراجویی در زبان: من مسئول یادگیری ام شدم

I Take Charge of My Learning

I took charge of my learning, and stopped relying on my teachers. The teacher was only one of many resources available to me in a city like Montreal.

All of a sudden, with no tests, no questions from teachers, and no grammar drills, my French skills took a great leap forward! I had achieved my first language breakthrough.

I could feel the improvements in fluency, comprehension and pronunciation. This made language learning exciting. I was speaking and listening to French in situations that interested me.

I spoke to myself in French, imitating proper pronunciation as much as I could. Even when I did not understand what was said or had trouble expressing myself, it did not frustrate me.

I was committed and I was enjoying the experience of communicating. There was no turning back. By taking my language learning out of the classroom, I had made it real.

I have held onto this central principle: learning done in real situations is always far superior to artificial contexts such as exercises, drills, or material specially designed for learners.

Time spent in genuine and interesting conversation is a better learning environment than the formal classroom.

I also discovered another important principle of language learning: the learner has to be in charge, seeking out the language, the people, the content.

As the learner, I have to discover the words and the phrases that I am going to need. All too often it is the teacher or text books who decide which words you should learn.

These words have no importance, and as a consequence are quickly forgotten.