THE WRONG APPROACH

Did you know that the teaching methodology explains more than 90% of the success or failure of students in the effective learning of a second language?

In other words, it’s not your fault if you haven’t been able to reach your goals so far. Most likely, the type of work you have been doing is to blame.

Most language courses revolve around grammar and vocabulary exercises that only lead to frustration and the feeling that “you’re not cut out to learn Spanish”.

Those courses focus so much on student mistakes that they make you lose confidence and drastically reduce your oral fluency in the language by “punishing” you every time you use the language.

It is common in these settings to find students mentally wrestling with patterns and structures before making a single statement, for fear of being corrected, told they are wrong, or even ridiculed.

This sad but nevertheless real situation produces two main results:

a) many students cannot bear the mental stress and frustration and leave their Spanish courses feeling that they are not up to the challenge of learning Spanish because “this is a very difficult language to learn”.

b) Other students continue to work hard even for years, but still cannot progress beyond a certain level and start to feel stuck. Many begin to wonder if they are to blame for their lack of improvement.

Have you ever found yourself in one of the two situations described above? If so, the good news is:

It’s not your fault! And… you are far from alone!

More than 90% of second language students, not only Spanish, think exactly the same.

Why is this so?

Simply because the MAIN teaching methodologies currently used around the world, including on the Internet, are VERY OUT OF DATE!

They simply reproduce teaching models that were in vogue more than 100 years ago but in digital format.

Does this sound hard to believe? keep reading

Almost ALL courses available on the market today are based on the GRAMMAR TRANSLATION METHOD of second language acquisition.

This method came into use in the 1890s and consisted mainly of explanations of grammar rules, some sample sentences, and many exercises to practice the new structures. Does this sound familiar to you?

This system was primarily used to learn how to translate classical Greek or Latin into other languages ​​and offered little opportunity for actual second language acquisition or should we say “offers”?

It may be acceptable to learn dead languages, but it won’t do you any good if you want to learn to communicate effectively in Spanish.

This clearly shows you why no matter how hard you have tried, you have not been able to learn Spanish. It’s not your fault. It is the methodology used; It’s the fault of the course providers! It is not yours!

Who can blame you if until now you have been prepared for a reality that does not exist outside the classroom?

After all, as we have seen in our previous mini-articles, children acquire their native language easily and effectively, without boring and repetitive grammar and vocabulary exercises, without isolated sentences or structures, so why should you do that to learn? a second language? ? However, language courses force you to do that over and over again.

Worst of all, the language shown to you has been simplified to such an extent that if you show the study materials to a native speaker, they won’t be able to help but chuckle.

Students are presented with unrealistic and artificially simplified examples of Spanish that no one ever uses. In real life, this is NOT how language acquisition happens!!!

It’s not your fault!!! How are you expected to communicate effectively if you have never had the opportunity to communicate or be exposed to the REAL language as it is spoken around the world?

Imagine a future pilot whose only flying experience has been in flight simulators. Would you be nominated for flying the best commercial airliner? Would you like to be on that flight? Would you like your family and loved ones to be there with you? I definitely wouldn’t.

The fact that a person practices and practices and practices in an unreal or controlled situation does not mean that he can be successful in a real life situation. Now see this analogy in language courses.

Language learners are forced to repeat words, phrases and sentences like parrots, they are forced to do grammar exercises, repetition exercises just to “hammer the structures in their heads” and are never given a real opportunity to interact, even with another person in a real setting. Would you expect them to use language effectively if real communication needs arise? Of course not! They will most likely dry up and not be able to say a word! But it is NOT your fault! They are just the expected result of a bad product.

Having identified the problem, the solution is only one step ahead. But that will be the main topic of our new article on learning a second language.