Language Learning
Language learning for adults today
The following questions should help to answer any queries you may have about learning a language.Why?
Where?
How to start?
Which course and qualification?
What should I expect of lessons?
Will there be homework?
What else will I need in order to learn a language?
Why don't I just teach myself?
What if it doesn't turn out as I expected?
The European Language Portfolio
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you have a specific goal to attain, to be more effective in the workplace, to have a fuller enjoyment of the country where the language is spoken, to gain a formal qualification, and so on;
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you like the idea of being in a group, sharing in the activity of language learning;
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you are interested in learning for its own sake and in language learning in particular.
Most language teaching for adults is best provided by colleges which are geared to adult needs, with trained staff drawing upon a range of equipment and materials selected to meet your needs and interests. If you discuss language training with your employer, who then agrees to arrange a course for you, you may be sent either to a college, to a university language centre or to a private business language trainer.
The last may be more expensive, giving tailor-made language courses for individuals or small groups. But if your employer will pay for you, this type of trainer may meet your learning needs in the workplace more exactly.
Find out more at:
Colleges enrol most students for their courses in September, but both they and private trainers may enrol business trainees at any time during the year. Ring their contact number to get details of enrolment dates and venues and to ask for any pre-prepared course information they supply.
Which course and qualification?
You will have to make a choice at or before the time of enrolment. Talk to a course tutor at the institution to find out which course is for you. A lot depends on your 'prior learning'.
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Have you studied the chosen language before?
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If not, do you have other language learning experience?
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Did this lead to a qualification?
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If not, was it because you failed the test or because you didn't finish the course? (You may want to discuss this with a future tutor.)
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If it did lead to a qualification, do you want to aim higher or simply rebuild confidence at the level once achieved?
What should I expect of lessons?
Depending on how long ago you learnt a language, you may not be used to the approach adopted by the tutor. If you learnt German at school in 1960, you may find that you have quite a good notion of formal grammar but are nervous about spontaneous communication. If you left school five years ago, you may have a memory of being able to cope confidently with e.g. tourist transactions, but have only a sketchy impression of how the language you used is constructed. These are extreme generalisations and your experience may differ considerably, but good adult tutors are very sympathetic to the individual backgrounds of learners.
In general you can expect that while learning rules and words will play an important part in your course, there will also be many opportunities to practice real communication through various forms of simulation. The reading and listening activities you take part in will often be based on authentic material taken from real life sources such as newspapers and the radio and writing tasks will often entail producing everyday documents such as letters, reports, summaries, phone messages, faxes, rather than essays. Translation may play a part in the learning process, but is less likely, even at higher levels, to be an end in itself.
Will there be homework?
Because the actual lesson time cannot possibly simulate the experience of being permanently immersed in the country where the language is spoken, there is a real need for independent study between sessions, at whatever level you are learning. Such study may provide several kinds of opportunities:
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To accelerate your learning of grammar and vocabulary by going beyond what there is time for in the lessons;
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To take what you have learnt and use it independently of the tutor;
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To prepare for a coming lesson so that it is easier to understand and enjoy;
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To develop techniques of independent language learning;
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To learn to use reference materials (e.g. dictionaries) independently.
Notice that the notion of an independent learner is frequently referred to. If you were to learn how to service your car, you would expect in the end to cope by yourself, and it will be your tutor's main aim to equip you to go on learning when (s)he stops teaching.
What else will I need in order to learn a language?
Apart from the tuition fees, language learning need not be as expensive an activity as some of the other courses that colleges offer, like painting or physical fitness. Remembering the importance of developing independent learning skills, you would do well to buy a reputable bilingual dictionary and a reference grammar book so that you can check the words and rules of the language learnt. We can't suggest what is best for you here, but your tutor will certainly advise you on the best editions for your level of learning.
Why don't I just teach myself?
You will often see language courses advertised which promise you that you will 'Speak German / French or Spanish in three months' and other such wildly inaccurate claims. Our experience is that a vast majority of would-be language learners who embark on self-taught courses without a tutor give up very soon, having made little progress. You do need someone to check your progress and offer help and encouragement on a regular basis. Even college courses based on 'self- or open access' are carefully structured and monitored by competent tutors. 'Distance learning' such as that offered by the Open University is likewise tutor-based. Television and radio based language courses, some of which are used by colleges or linked with distance learning programmes are often the best self-tuition courses.
What if it doesn't turn out as expected?
Assuming that you are attending all the lessons and doing the home based assignments, but you still feel unhappy with your progress, there are a number of likely causes:
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You chose the wrong level to start at:
- You weren't yet ready for this level;
- It was too easy and you are frustrated by the lack of progress open to you. -
You are unhappy with the teaching and learning styles used;
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Problems don't seem to be adequately explained;
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You are not yet confident enough to work independently;
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You don't feel you are getting enough individual attention:
- You get left behind;
- You finish activities early and have to wait empty-handed for others to finish...
..and so on.
These are just some of the reasons why learners are tempted to give up. Don't - until you have spoken to the tutor or the head of the department, and perhaps mentioned specifically to them a problem such as those described above. He or she will note your personal difficulty or dissatisfaction and take appropriate action. Try to deal with the problems before missing lessons. Once you start doing this, you will feel less and less like continuing the course as you drop more and more obviously behind others.
Like any skill, language learning becomes more fun, as well as more practically useful, as you develop competence, and with it, confidence.
Further information is available from the following sites:
The European Language Portfolio
The UK adult/vocational European Language Portfolio (ELP) has been developed for use by adults who are learning languages for professional or social purposes. First published in summer 2002, the ELP has been distributed to approximately 13,000 learners in adult, further and higher education, business language learners and students following vocationally-related language courses.
For more information, visit the CILT website.
