![]() ![]() ![]() I mean, who knows one million words? And more importantly, who needs to know one million words?!įocus on the vocabulary that you need, and make sure that it’s universally useful. English, for example, has reached one million words. Even then, native speakers still only know a fraction of all the vocabulary in their mother tongue. Other words come later as one’s interests become more nuanced and specialized. As kids, native speakers only concern themselves with the words that are either interesting or necessary to daily communication. Sure, native speakers know thousands of words across a remarkably wide range of topics, but the majority of these words were learned through exposure. “Typically, the most frequent 3000 words make up 90% of the language that a native speaker uses on any given day.” ![]() Typically, the most frequent 3000 words make up 90% of the language that a native speaker uses on any given day. Opt instead for the most useful words in a language, and then expand outwards from there according to your needs and interests. Many people follow these courses and learn these words begrudgingly, accepting it as “part of the process.” This is tantamount to reading an entire newspaper just to get to the sports section.ĭon’t make this mistake. Most language textbooks contain pages on topics ranging from shopping to air travel and even zoo animals. ![]() The ability to filter out a language’s background noise is one of the most underestimated skills that seasoned language learners possess. There are hundred of thousands of words in every language, and the large majority of them won’t be immediately relevant to you when you’re starting out. When faced with new words, it’s important to learn how to select the vocabulary that is most interesting and applicable to you. “The five key principles to learn new vocabulary quickly and effectively are: Selection, Association, Revision, Storage and Use.” 1. I stick to these principles religiously when studying a new language and have expounded them in greater detail below. We can achieve the best of both learning styles by adhering to the following 5 key principles to learning vocabulary in any foreign language. Perhaps that sounds bold, but I’m living proof of this I currently speak 11 languages at an intermediate to advanced level - and I learned the majority of these languages in adulthood.įor me, the key to learning so many languages has been knowing how to combine the implicit skill development favored in childhood with the explicit acquisition of knowledge favored by adults. While it may take around six years for a child to be linguistically fully-functional (albeit without specialized vocabulary), an adult - with the potential to use both explicit (conscious) and implicit (subconscious) knowledge to his advantage - can reach an advanced communicative capacity in as little as one year. This is an enticing prospect for budding language learners, but is learning like a child really desirable?Īdult learners should not be underestimated. Implicit within this assertion is that children learn organically and with minimal conscious effort. Hundreds of language learning products purport to facilitate learning like a child. Kids are often touted as better language learners than adults are. ![]()
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