Things I Learnt Regarding Learning Languages

things i learnt regarding learning languages

recently i finished second stage of linguistic olympiad, which focuses on translating rare languages based on logical analysis, basically you don’t know the language but there is a logic rule you have to guess to translate things, yeah, its fun, now im waiting for the results of the second stage.

the thing is, after practicing, doing many problems from previous years, i found myself understanding languages’ rules easier. i’ve always been convinced that to learn language is not to learn the rules by heart, but to understand them, so here are my tips based on that:

1. native speakers are your best resource. some may disagree due to them often not being aware of certain grammar rules, but thats the point. learn the usage, not the rules. rules will come naturally to you when you analyse them for yourself based on using the language. 

2. ive been learning russian for almost 2 years now and my teacher has been focusing on remembering the rules, as if thats the best way to learn the language. so we didnt have much access to any context, not to mention poorly made textbooks. but now that ive become familiar with lots of usage, i dont need to stress about the rules, but base the grammar on previous, similiar contexts.

3. you dont need the rules unless youre majoring philology. for real, i understand that its not your native language, but whats so bad about treating it as one? learn it just like kids would. use it.

4. about using it, put yourself in native speaker’s position, change the language of your fav sites, talk to people even if you dont know much yet, stop stressing about grammar. imagine people talking to you without using cases, conjugations - youre still gonna understand them, so why not start with that yourself?

summary:

- analyse the grammar yourself instead of learning written rules (thats also gonna make you remember it better)

- vocabulary > grammar

- make friends with native speakers

- embarass yourself, make mistakes, talk bullshit - its all a way to success