What do language abilities consist of and how to develop them? Language abilities and how to develop them

Mikhail teaches English at a Moscow university, he wrote a letter criticizing our course. We decided to take into account his wishes and are already finalizing the materials. In the meantime, on occasion, we asked him about the development of language abilities.

What, in your opinion, is necessary first of all to master a language?

We know our native language not so much because we learn it from childhood, but due to the fact that every day we scroll through words and sentences in our heads a thousand times, that is, we think. This daily practice is the cornerstone of learning any language.

Previously, English was taught in schools and higher education institutions, but there was no real need to study it, since trade and economic ties did not develop. Fortunately, today the situation is different. Globalization is doing its job, and English is relevant for all segments of the population. The development of the World Wide Web and the ability to immerse oneself in the language environment creates excellent conditions for daily practice.

What is the fundamental difference between adults and children who learn a language?

A child perceives everything more easily than an adult. He quickly immerses himself in the language environment and immediately tries to repeat, without burdening himself with an intellectual understanding of grammar. Children build rules from the knowledge they already have.

Adults act according to a clear algorithm, which often leaves no room for improvisation. In principle, the capabilities of each person are individual, but adults certainly have a lot to learn from children.

What difficulties might a neophyte encounter when learning English?

Any European language begins with understanding the basics of grammar, which is essentially a linguistic skeleton on which vocabulary is built up, like muscles. From this point of view, English is quite simple.

English is an analytical language; it lacks personal endings, but has a very developed system of tenses.

For many, it is difficult to learn prepositions, which are presented in great abundance and have meaning-forming functions.

Many students give up the language because of the supposedly complex tense system. But this is the alphabet of the language, which is worth focusing on; in the future, learning will be easy.

This is more of an “excuse” than the real state of affairs. It doesn't matter how developed your working memory or imagination is. If a person does not suffer from brain injuries or is not sick, then he can learn a language using the right methodology in about a year. You need to change your psychological attitude and things will improve.

Give advice to those who are studying English on their own

Try to spend at least 30 minutes a day studying! Practice total immersion in learning the language, divide words into topics - cutlery, items of clothing, interior design, stick stickers with foreign words around the house. Constantly talk through everything you see around you. Get to know. Dare, discover new facets of your intellect, expand the boundaries of consciousness and you will succeed!

foreign language aptitude) One gets the impression that some people master and with enviable ease. I., while for others, even with a high level of motivation, it is given with great difficulty. This suggests that people differ in S. to i. I. Throughout the 20th century. Tests and techniques were being developed that would make it possible to predict the success of a particular person in mastering and. I. It is necessary to distinguish S. to and. I. from the ability to master their native language. The ability to acquire a first language—the “mother tongue”—appears to be a universal characteristic of humans as a species, even though individuals may differ in the rate and quality of their first language acquisition. The ability to acquire a first language probably also extends to the simultaneous acquisition of two or more languages, e.g. in a bilingual and multilingual environment. Strictly speaking, S. to i. I. refers to the ability to acquire a second language after a person has already mastered the first language and has passed the age (approximately 5 to 7 years) beyond which the ability to acquire a first language is no longer involved in the acquisition of a second language. In support of the idea that people differ in S. to i. I., one can apparently refer to the results of the study, according to the Crimea, exact measurements taken before the start of the study and. i., significantly - and sometimes quite highly - correlate with the success achieved at the end of its study. This is because people differ in their max. or the optimal rate of assimilation for them and. I. (i.e., high-ability individuals can achieve a satisfactory level of knowledge in a relatively shorter time than low-ability individuals, and training can be tailored to their higher potential). This explanation does not imply that people with low abilities are unable to master i. I., which only means that they need much more time to achieve a certain level of knowledge than people with high abilities. As with any attempt to construct an ability test, the researchers began their work by analyzing the mastery task itself. I. in a typical textbook. situations, trying to determine which individual characteristics may interact with this task. The language consists of several. interconnected systems that must be learned when studying it: phonetics (systems of sound units and their combinations from which words and expressions are made), grammar (system of rules for generating meaningful oral statements and written sentences) and vocabulary (an extensive stock of words and idiomatic expressions , which are used in the generation of oral statements and written speech). In addition to this, and. I. usually has a specific writing and spelling system that a person must master if he is going to read and write in that language. It can be assumed that cognitive abilities interact differently with these aspects of the system and. I., and this is true. S. k i. I. are not an indivisible whole, it is rather a set of abilities, having which, a person can cope with various aspects of the task of mastering and. I. To date, several have been created. effective test batteries S. to i. I. These tests measure approximately the same set of cognitive abilities that predict success in learning and. I. Cognitive abilities underlying S. to i. I. Researchers have concluded that there are at least four specific cognitive abilities that underlie successful learning. I. in traditional studies. programs, especially those aimed at teaching spoken language. The ability to phonetic coding (phonetic coding ability) is a type of mnemonic ability, thanks to which a person perceives sounds and. I. and sound forms of words and expressions, “encodes” them in long-term memory and subsequently finds them and reproduces them. Apparently, it does not include the ability to distinguish foreign sounds; The vast majority of students are able to learn to distinguish phonemes with the appropriate learning conditions. Rather, it involves increased attention to the exact phonetic forms of foreign sounds and words and their retention in active memory, especially if they contain phonetic features that are absent in the learner’s native language. This ability can be tested in various ways: loosely, by presenting the examinee with foreign sounds or words and trying to reproduce them after several times. seconds of distracting activity, and more strictly, for example, requiring the examinee to memorize the connections between sounds and phonetic signs. Grammatical sensitivity, or the ability to perceive grammatical relations in and. I. and understand the role of grammar in the production and translation of utterances and sentences. In one form of the test, the examinee is required to perceive cognate grammatical relations in his native language. Mechanical associative memory (rote associational memory) has long been identified in factor-analytic studies. cognitive abilities; its necessity has been proven for the assimilation of a large number of arbitrary connections between words and their meanings, which must be mastered. The presence of this ability can be tested using the method of selective analysis of activity samples, requiring the examinee to memorize a certain number of such arbitrary associations. and then selectively demonstrate their knowledge (for example, using artificial language material). Inductive ability is a general cognitive ability measured in multiples. batteries of tests of cognitive abilities, - the ability to see and derive rules that govern the formation of stimulus patterns. In tests S. to i. I. tests how well the examinee can infer and apply relevant rules and relationships by working with selected material from real or fictitious contexts. I. Indicators of tests S. to i. I. significantly correlate with scores on tests of general intelligence, but this correlation is most likely due to the fact that some of the special abilities necessary for successful mastery of i. i., are also factors measured in intelligence tests. This fully applies to inductive ability, but to a lesser extent to the other above-mentioned abilities. Tests S. to i. I. usually yield higher correlations with measures of achieved success in mastering and. i. than tests of general intelligence, due to the fact that they include the necessary measurements of special abilities. Predictive validity of tests of abilities in foreign languages. Average coefficients of validity of tests S. to i. I. turn out to be one of the highest in the applied area. psychology. Over the course of a number of years, the test scores of S. to i. I. were an important criterion in the selection of volunteers for the US Peace Corps, since most of them required knowledge and. I. to work in host countries. At the same time, validity coefficients on average from 0.5 to 0.6 were regularly recorded. Peace Corps candidates were highly motivated both in passing tests and in the process of studying in intensive courses, etc. I. The degree of predictive validity demonstrated by an aptitude test can be influenced by many variables. Motivation in passing a test and in mastering a language is only one of them. The other is the type of training - intensive, systematic and intense as opposed to lengthy, relatively unsystematic and tolerant of student errors and failures. Most successfully and... i. will probably be mastered by those who have an above average or higher level of development of all or almost all special abilities necessary for success. See also Ability Testing, Cognitive Abilities, Psycholinguistics J.B. Carroll

My mother loves to remember how, at the age of 4-5, I would sit down with a book and “learn English” myself. The teacher of the intensive French course “from scratch” refused to believe that before that I had never studied French a day in my life. I learned to understand Portuguese without even opening a single textbook. In general, I am one of those who are considered “with abilities”, and today I want to debunk the myth of abilities.

1. Listen a lot

Listening is generally the simplest thing you can do with language. Headphones in your ears, and go about your business. Simply listening does not require any special willpower or extra time to study. Everything happens in parallel with our daily activities.

Experts advise listening to foreign speech for at least three hours a day. At first glance, this figure seems monstrous, but I can confirm from my own experience that it is quite realistic. For example, I listened to Spanish audio courses on the way to university and back. In total, I spent three (and when there was an “unexpected” snowfall for Siberia, then all four) hours a day in transport.

How much time do you spend on the road? For example, in 2016 we are promised 247 working days. If you get to your place of work or school for at least an hour one way, then on weekdays alone you can listen to almost 500 hours of audio recordings. But on weekends, we also usually go somewhere.

If you work close to home, or right from home, or don’t work at all, it doesn’t matter. Physical exercise, house cleaning, and even blissful idleness on the couch can be perfectly combined with listening.

It is worth discussing separately what exactly to listen to. It is best to listen to live everyday speech, or training courses that are as close to it as possible. Audio lessons in which the speakers speak slowly and mournfully usually only make you feel sad and sleepy.

I also advise avoiding courses based on the Russian language. When our native language is interspersed with a foreign language, it does not allow our brain to tune in to the right wavelength. But learning one foreign language with the help of another one you already know is a great idea. For example, I found a wonderful audio course in Portuguese for Spanish speakers. Understanding Portuguese, starting from Spanish, turned out to be much easier than starting everything from scratch based on Russian.

2. Watch videos

Watching is like listening, only better!

Firstly, by watching native speakers from video materials, we not only learn words and phrases, we also absorb their facial expressions, gestures, and emotional states. These components are often overlooked, although in fact they play a huge role in language acquisition. To speak Spanish, you need to become a little Spanish yourself.

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Secondly, when watching videos, we have more opportunities to learn new words from context. If when listening we rely only on hearing, then when working with video the whole picture helps you expand your vocabulary. It was in this way that in deep childhood we memorized the words of our native language.

I also want to talk separately about subtitles. Many “experts” have a negative attitude towards the practice of watching films with Russian subtitles, but I categorically disagree with them. Of course, in this case, our brain tries to follow the path of least resistance, that is, first of all, we read the text in our native language, and only on a residual basis we try to understand something by ear (but we are trying!).

I insist that watching films with Russian subtitles is a very important and necessary step for people with a low language level.

When we try to watch a film without subtitles, in which almost nothing is clear, it tires us very quickly, and we immediately want to quit “this is a disastrous business.” The same thing happens with foreign subtitles - we simply don’t have time to read them, constantly stumbling over unfamiliar words.

On the contrary, you can watch films with Russian subtitles from the very first day of learning the language. Then, as your language level improves, you can move on to watching films with foreign subtitles, and then “without crutches.” For example, I started watching Portuguese videos with Russian subtitles, not understanding a single word by ear. However, when the subtitles for these videos ended, it turned out that I could easily continue watching without them.

Finding time for watching a video is a little more difficult than for listening, because driving a car and watching a movie at the same time is unlikely to be possible. However, most of us, one way or another, watch something every day. You just need to take the same content and watch it in the language you're learning. Turn on foreign news (at the same time it will be interesting to know how they look at us “from there”), watch your favorite films and TV series in the original, subscribe to foreign language YouTube bloggers, etc.

3. Read everything you can read

To be honest, I started reading in foreign languages ​​not at all for the development of languages, but simply because, firstly, I love reading, and, secondly, I really like books themselves. Nikolai Zamyatkin in his treatise “It is impossible to teach you a foreign language” very accurately described the phenomenon associated with fiction: usually authors (most likely unconsciously) try to “stuff” the first chapters of their book with the most complex literary expressions, the smartest words and florid thoughts. If you have the patience to wade through these jungles, then you will find a completely normal “edible” text.

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So, at the “wild” stage, paper books really help me out: beautiful covers, the smell of paper, the rustling of pages - all this pleases and distracts me from complex grammatical structures. Before you know it, you find yourself in the center of a very exciting novel. In general, this is my little life hack - I read works of fiction in foreign languages ​​only in paper form. Electronically, I read mostly non-fiction in English. Such works are usually written in simple language and filled with useful practical information, so you can do without “entertainment”.

If you don’t like reading books in principle, then I don’t recommend tormenting yourself with it. Switch the language on your phone, tablet and laptop to the one you are studying (translate Facebook, VKontakte and all other sites where possible to it), subscribe to the profile of your favorite rock band on Twitter, read sports news and film reviews of the latest blockbusters in a foreign language , find a carrot cake recipe and bake it. In general, the principle remains the same everywhere - do what you love!

4. Communicate with native speakers

When I first started communicating with native Spanish speakers, my vocabulary allowed me to answer three questions: what is my name, how old am I, and what country am I from? It is clear that with such baggage one cannot count on even the slightest meaningful conversation. However, the Spanish language brought me such sincere childish delight that I wanted to start using it right here and now.

Now there are many sites that allow you to meet foreigners for language exchange: italki.com, interpals.net and others. But “in those distant times” I only had access to the Internet through a telephone line (which is not much different from its complete absence) and icq on my mobile. So ICQ helped me out. With her help, my first penfriends appeared from Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Spain...

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At first, each phrase was difficult. I had to painfully remember the necessary forms of verbs, select prepositions, look up nouns in the dictionary... But word by word, phrase by phrase - and now I could calmly discuss matters at school and at work, the vicissitudes of my personal life and, of course, eternal questions about frailty of life. It was in these simple correspondences that my active use of the Spanish language began.

However, writing is much easier than speaking. Firstly, we simply have time to think, better formulate a thought, look up the right word in the dictionary or remember how a verb is conjugated. In spoken language there is no such luxury. Secondly, unlike writing, speech is a physiological process. From birth we hear the sounds of our native language and a little later we learn to reproduce them. We train our articulatory apparatus every day, without holidays or weekends.

But when it comes to a foreign language, for some reason we forget about it. No matter how well we know grammar, no matter how rich our vocabulary, when we first open our mouths and try to speak a foreign language, what we get is not at all what we wanted to say. After all, our vocal cords are not trained at all, they are not accustomed to reproducing the sounds of a foreign language. This is why it is very important to find someone to talk to. For example, at first I communicated with Spanish-speaking friends on Skype, then I met with volunteers who had been brought to our Siberian hinterland from Latin America, and went on trips around Spain.

By the way, communicating with native speakers is much more pleasant than communicating with a strict teacher in the fifth grade. If a teacher scolds you for mistakes and gives you bad grades, then foreigners are usually very flattered that a person from another country is trying to speak their language.

As Nelson Mandela said: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.” If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” (“If you speak to a person in a language he understands, you speak to his mind. If you speak to him in his native language, you speak to his heart.”)

5. Finally, grammar!

And only now, when we complete all (or at least several) of the points listed above, will the grammar reference book turn from a terrifying enemy into our friend. I firmly believe that it is impossible to learn a language from textbooks. Language is a living system that has developed over many centuries, under the influence of territorial, socio-economic and other factors. Language can be compared to a river, which makes its way where it is natural and convenient.

All grammatical rules are formulated after the fact. Rules are not the basis of the language, but just an attempt to explain it and find some patterns. That is why for every rule there are a bunch of exceptions, and the rules themselves often look very vague and far-fetched.

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How to defeat the villainous grammarian? Practice, practice and only practice. When you intuitively know how to say it correctly, because you have memorized it after processing a huge amount of authentic material (listening, reading, speaking), it will not be difficult to look at a sentence in a textbook and say: “Well, yes, of course, here is the present perfect, after all, the action is over, but the period of time is not yet.”

I will not argue that we should learn a foreign language like little children - this is not true. In adults, the brain works completely differently. But what about adults - according to research by neurolinguists, the opportunity to master a foreign language at the native level (which implies not only a masterly command of grammatical structures and vocabulary, but also a complete lack of accent) is slammed in front of our noses already at the age of two or three years.

But I know for sure that language is a practical skill and it does not develop in any other way other than practice. Learning a language “in theory” is the same as learning to swim in theory. So go ahead, close your textbooks and go use the language for its intended purpose - as a means of exchanging information. To begin with, use at least one of the above methods.

Post Scriptum

Surely there will be those who disagree. Surely, someone will say: “I watched the film in English and didn’t understand anything.” I constantly hear excuses like: “It’s no use anyway.” In response, I usually want to ask: “Tell me, how many languages ​​have you already mastered?”, but, as a rule, I restrain myself out of politeness. I would never believe that someone does all of the above and does not make progress in learning a language. You're either doing too little or you're just cheating yourself.

As an example, I can give you my story with the French language (the very language for which the teacher suspected I had hidden knowledge). I listened to a couple of dozen audio lessons, watched several films and educational videos, took intensive courses for beginners for 1.5 months, started reading The Little Prince and went to France.

By the way, in France I spoke mostly English and for some reason also Spanish. In French, I only beautifully answered the people who addressed me: “Je ne parle pas français” (“I don’t speak French”), which puzzled the French a little. Oh, yes - I once again told the maid at the hotel that I was afraid to ride their prehistoric elevator! Upon returning home, I decided that neither the French language nor the French themselves inspired me, and I didn’t study the language anymore.

Formally, of course, I can tick all the boxes - I listened, and watched, and read, and took grammar courses, and even, in some way, communicated with the French. But in fact, I believe that I did nothing at all to learn the language. Instead of diving headlong into the tongue, I only touched the water with the toes of one foot. The results are appropriate: now I can understand fragments of French songs and part of the French lines from War and Peace. However, considering that I spent almost no effort, this is a good result. So be honest with yourself and learn languages!

The fact is that not every teacher, let alone students, knows a clear answer to the question about language abilities. The content side of learning, and as a consequence, its result, suffers from this ignorance.

Therefore, both the teacher and the person who is going to learn a foreign language should be aware of what qualities should be developed and what to rely on. An objective picture reflecting the strengths and weaknesses of a particular student can significantly increase the effectiveness of learning.

All human abilities are conventionally divided into general and special. General ones include universal, wide-spectrum actions associated with memory and intelligence. Special ones, as the name suggests, include more narrowly focused qualities, such as, for example, the ability to play music or draw.

In practice, general and special abilities are often inextricably linked. For example, in order to paint a picture, one must have not only the ability to draw and a sense of color, but also developed logic, spatial and figurative thinking, that is, certain general abilities.

Language abilities also consist of general and special ones. Among the common ones, it is worth highlighting memory, as well as analytical and synthetic functions of intelligence. Special ones include primarily phonemic hearing and imitation abilities.

Phonemic hearing is the ability to hear and sensitively distinguish phonemes (sounds) of a language. Phonemic hearing is not identical to musical hearing and is even located in the other hemisphere of the brain. Therefore, the fact that people with musical abilities often master foreign languages ​​better is not at all associated with an ear for music. This is influenced by the general intelligence abilities developed by musical education. In addition, an ear for music can influence the ability to hear and correctly reproduce speech intonation.

The same person can have both types of hearing well developed. But remember: the development of musical hearing in itself does not in any way affect phonemic hearing. There are many more people who hear music well and perceive foreign speech very poorly by ear than those who are equally gifted phonetically and musically.

Phonemic hearing is sharply enhanced in infancy. It is the basis on which the perception of the native language is built. Therefore, without a solid foundation in the form of developed phonemic awareness in relation to a foreign language, there can be no talk of any quality teaching.

Imitation ability is what determines your ability to imitate another person. The imitation mechanism is activated in us from the first months of life and underlies the development of most life skills. By learning our native speech in this way, we imitate the speaker’s facial expressions, intonation, rhythm, and pronunciation. If, when learning a foreign language, you do not similarly learn to imitate the speech of a native speaker, then your learning is like swimming in a pool with no water in it!

Phonemic hearing and imitation abilities are inherent in any person from birth. To a greater or lesser extent, they persist throughout life, sometimes remaining dormant.

The importance of general ability in the context of language ability is quite obvious. Memory allows us to remember new information in the form of words and grammatical rules. Analytical abilities provide an understanding of the structure of language, synthetic abilities provide the ability to creatively operate with this structure and formulate one’s thoughts using language. These abilities are therefore usually called “verbal”.

It turns out that phonemic hearing and imitation abilities are primarily associated with basic mechanisms, with oral speech, which is the first to develop in our natural environment. Verbal abilities are included at the next stage. They are already associated with written speech (reading and writing) and language itself. You can read about the fundamental difference between language and speech.

Speaking about language abilities, it is necessary to mention another common, but difficult to formulate concept: “sense of language.”

It can be defined as the ability to sense the inner harmony inherent in any language, and at the same time distinguish between falsehood and artificiality. This is linguistic intuition, internal ideas about language.

There is also a scientific definition for the sense of language - innate linguistic competence (this definition was given by the famous psycholinguist N. Chomsky). Pay attention to the word “congenital”. This means that it is also given to man by nature. Therefore, the inclusion of other natural mechanisms of speech development - phonemic hearing and imitation abilities - also triggers the sense of language. At the same time, learning a foreign language solely based on verbal abilities and logic most likely kills this feeling.

Unlike the special abilities discussed above, the development of verbal ones is actively involved in all traditional forms of teaching foreign languages. But not all methods pay due attention to phonemic hearing, imitation abilities and a sense of language. The CLP method purposefully develops them as the foundation for all further training.

We will tell you in the next article how to develop language abilities and to what extent they are capable of development in an adult.

Very often, when learning a foreign language, we are faced with one very banal problem. We want to learn a language, we understand that it is necessary in modern society, but then we ask ourselves a simple question: can I learn a language? We remember that at school we studied the language for almost ten years and never learned to speak it. So is it worth spending money and so precious time for us if the result will still be zero?

“I have no ability for language.” Those who are sure of this should ask themselves: “Do I speak my native language fluently and understand it fluently?”, “I read and write in my native language, maybe I’m not Pushkin in writing, but I put letters into words quite freely? ”, “Am I deaf and dumb or do I speak like Ellochka from “The Twelve Chairs”?” If the answer is yes-yes-no, then congratulations. You have language abilities, unclouded by any obstacles.

The ability to speak is the main human ability; man is a chattering monkey. A person loves language like a mother. And another language is just a synonym for the native one. They may reasonably object: “But what about all these polyglots, or just one of my acquaintances came to America, knowing only Hi and Good-bye, and two weeks later he spoke like an American, and another acquaintance taught him and went to courses, but he is suffering in this America because of language problems?” The answer is as simple as a rake. The first instinctively used the right strategies, but the other did not have such intuition, and the person who would suggest and select the right strategies was also not nearby.

The once widespread hypothesis that there are “non-linguistic” people who are unable to learn a foreign language in any way is not confirmed today by any specialist. Any person can be taught to speak a foreign language; it is only important to choose the right individual teaching method.

Why do we know our native language?

We know our native language not even because we learned it from childhood, because we speak it constantly and not only speak, but also think, because we think in language and, thinking, we seem to be talking to ourselves. We pronounce the same word, for example, “she”, “mine” a thousand times a day. And here, like it or not, you won’t forget.

Thus, mastery of a language requires practice.

In the recent past, real language practice was almost inaccessible for most Russians. Languages ​​were studied in schools and universities and were included in curricula, but in society there was no real need for practical knowledge of a foreign language and the opportunity to practice. Lack of practice led to the fact that the acquired knowledge and skills were quickly lost.

Today the situation has changed dramatically. Expanding international cooperation of Russia, its integration into the world community, the inclusion of Russian Higher Education in the Pan-European system, the development of Internet technologies. All this provides excellent opportunities for learning and using language in real communication situations, i.e. in the language environment.

Language environment

On the other hand, the concept of language environment is quite misleading. Oh, this vaunted language environment! The myth of immersion in a language environment as if in a magical cauldron from which the old and ugly will emerge young, beautiful and fluent... is beautiful. But, like any myth, it is not specific, and if mishandled, it is harmful and dangerous. The so-called “ossification of language” is often observed among immigrants. That is, having quickly mastered the “minimum for survival” due to environmental coercion, a person stops improving his linguistic competence, forgetting along the way and not maintaining his native language. As a result, we get a kind of “under-speaking” creature with a “tunnel” language.

Conclusion: the language environment is deceptive. Simple words carry many idiomatic meanings that can only be understood through deep understanding. It’s great if you have the opportunity to travel to a country and learn the language there. But they need to study formally and thoughtfully. Then the language environment will sparkle with such colors and meanings and bring as much joy as it gave you in your homeland. If you can’t go abroad, but you know the language and want to, create it at home. Knowledge of a language is directly proportional to the number of texts that you have passed through your body (texts in the broad sense of books, films, radio, music, conversations, etc.)

Memory, thinking, perception, imagination

Complexity of abilities

What abilities does a person use in the process of learning a foreign language?

There are several common misconceptions about this. Very often, these misconceptions are supported by foreign language teachers themselves. From school, many of us remember that there were several students in the class who simply memorized new words or entire phrases on the fly and naturally received encouragement from teachers. Everyone else had to cram hateful words and texts for hours in order to somehow reach these “stars.” Thus, the impression was that if your memory is poor, then you need to say goodbye to the idea of ​​​​learning a foreign language.

So, let's start in order. First of all, let's say that a person is not just a memory machine. Each of his abilities taken individually may not seem all that impressive. In addition, different people have different abilities. Some people analyze well, some have a rich imagination, some have a phenomenal memory. It is very rare to find either people completely devoid of any abilities, or geniuses whose abilities are all very high. The most important thing is to understand that a person is a synthesis of these abilities, and when solving any problem, he uses all his abilities at once. And then we see the crown of creation - man, each of his abilities supports and develops the other.

Memory

How much do we remember
So, memory. Is it as bad as we think?

If we ask ourselves how much we know, we will be surprised at how much knowledge we have. Our surprise will become even greater when we realize that most of this information we never specifically remembered. We remember a bunch of jokes, songs, melodies, we remember what happened in the last episode of our favorite TV series, and what we talked about with a friend yesterday on the phone: So our memory is not so bad, it’s just great. But for some reason it remembers well what we don’t need, and doesn’t work when we actually need it.

And here the most important thing is to understand how this gift works and how to use it rationally.

Human memory and computer memory
Human memory is both weaker and smarter than computer memory. Why are we comparing them? Because most of us think they are similar. Computer memory is like a board on which information is written: all the information is on the surface and it is not worth any effort to take any part of this information and use it. That's a plus. But on the other hand, we can take a rag and erase all the information, and then it is lost forever.

Human memory is like a glass. We fill this glass with some materials, just like our memory with information. In the end, some end up on the bottom and some on the surface. Naturally, it is more difficult for us to take advantage and get to what lies deeper. This is a minus. But unlike computer memory, human memory cannot be erased. Everything you have ever seen, heard or learned is in this glass and the only problem is learning how to use it.

Types of memory and memory structure
Very often we say that someone has a good memory, and someone has a bad memory. God gave some the ability to easily and naturally remember everything, but He deprived others of this ability. After such thoughts, few people have the desire to study anything, especially a foreign one. But the whole point is that what we call good memory is just one type of memory, the so-called automatic memory.

Of course, if you have such a memory, then you remember the material faster. But this memory has its drawbacks. Firstly, this is not long-term memory: for some reason, what you remember today is forgotten very quickly. Secondly, this memory does not use your other abilities, since it seems to be able to do everything anyway. This means that it neither develops itself nor contributes to the development of your other abilities.

Very often, children with phenomenal memory, by high school or at the University, lag behind those who spent a lot of time memorizing in childhood. And the most interesting thing is that in the latter grades, the memory becomes, although not as phenomenal as that of the former, very effective and long-lasting. Why? Because, compensating for the lack of memory, they attract other abilities: thinking, perception, imagination and, thus, develop other more effective types of memory.

Perception

A conversation is always an action between someone and someone. Even when we use language to think, in fact we are, as it were, talking to our second self. Any statement we make is dead until it reaches the interlocutor. And it comes to life when the interlocutor perceives it.

But perception is the same complex process as memory, thinking, and imagination. And the most important thing is that when we perceive, we again use all our abilities: both thinking and imagination. It is not our ears that hear and it is not our eyes that see, but the whole person as a whole. Eyes and ears only enable our thinking and imagination to understand what we actually see and hear. You say this is nonsense? Not at all! If you are asked what color is the sky or clouds? You look at them and say: “The clouds are white and the sky is blue, everyone knows that.”

But the clouds are not white. They are yellowish, bluish, reddish. And the sky is not always blue. It can be pink, red, yellow and even green. It is our thinking that conveniently tells us that the clouds are white and the sky is blue. The same thing happens with language. You've probably encountered this fact sometimes. You read a word and at first confuse it with another that is similar to it. Why? Because a person reads (perceives) only the first few letters. Everything else restores thinking for him.

Well, how does imagination participate in perception? This really seems strange. Now imagine what happens when you hear a word or sentence, for example, “I’m going to the South.” You instantly imagine, that is, you see this South. And not only the South, but also the sea, sun, hot sand, palm trees, etc. So much for imagination. We do not see the real South, but we imagine it, i.e. imagine.

Imagination

Imagination also plays an important role in language learning. Let's try to answer the question: What do we do when we study and speak a foreign language? We try to express our thoughts in a foreign language. But we cannot think without language, which means that when we think something, we already pronounce our thoughts in some language. In what language do we pronounce them? Of course, in your native language. It turns out that a conversation in a foreign language is a constant translation from one language to another. As we know, all languages ​​are different. They differ in vocabulary and grammar. But any language reflects the same reality, which is why we can understand each other. How does a person perceive reality?

We imagine it, that is, we see images of this reality. And this is the opportunity that imagination gives us.

But if we think in images, then we remember in images. This means that the more effectively we use our imagination in the process of memorization, the better our memory works.

Thinking

But memory alone is not enough. Firstly, language is directly related to thinking. It's like the chicken and the egg, language and thinking cannot be separated. It is impossible to think without language, and it is also difficult to speak without thinking.

Secondly, language is not only words, because words only name things, and only sentences express thoughts. And in order to compose a sentence, you need to know grammar, and most words have more than one meaning, and in order to understand them, remember them and use them correctly, you again cannot do without thinking.

Age

The idea that learning ability declines with age is also wrong. Learning abilities may persist into old age.

Of course, in childhood the ability to absorb information is higher than in old age, but for successful and effective learning, the most important factor is the motivation that a person has. With strong motivation, you can learn a foreign language at the age of 80, and vice versa, in the absence of it, even the most gifted children will expect zero results. In addition, quite often middle-aged people easily manage to learn a foreign language, which they struggled with in childhood, because due to education and life experience, they perceive a foreign language not at a figurative level (as children do), but comprehensively, using logic, both outlook and intuition.

Why do we think we are incapable of languages?

Where does a person get the confidence that he is not capable of languages? Is this a convenient excuse for your own laziness? Or complexes acquired at school?

It's a mixture of both. But laziness is also a defensive reaction of the psyche to boring and monotonous activities, such as foreign language lessons at school often are. Or - the inability to express oneself. This is very important for a person. What if he was simply given the wrong task, intimidated from the first minutes with complex rules? That’s when excuses appear: “I have urgent matters, I have a headache...” Agree, if something really “turns you on”, you will find both time and energy for it!

How to overcome the language barrier?

The psychological barrier to learning languages ​​is, first of all, the fear of speaking a foreign language. What are its reasons?

Uncertainty in knowledge. This is even useful: it is uncertainty that pushes us to improve our knowledge.

We think more about HOW we speak than about WHAT to say. In Russian everything is automatic: tenses, cases... But in foreign language you have to control yourself all the time.

When learning a foreign language, we emotionally return to early childhood. Then we also learned the first words, made mistakes and could not find the right word. The feeling we experienced was far from the most pleasant: I am a stupid, helpless child, surrounded by adults and smart uncles and aunts.

We have grown up and have long forgotten these childhood impressions. But when, in front of other people, we painfully flounder in the intricacies of a foreign language, the psyche quickly finds childish emotions. An adult and seemingly confident person suddenly feels like an unreasonable child. And he doesn't like it.

THE MAIN reason for the fear of speaking a foreign language is deeply personal. Each of us wants to look like a strong, confident person in the eyes of other people. And if we do something not very well, with mistakes, this is perceived as a sign of weakness.

How to overcome these fears? Stop for a while being adults who must always be first, strong, correct and serious. Imagine yourself as children, remember the joy of discovering something new, become a little less serious and start playing, throw the concept of strength and weakness out of your head for a while, and enjoy learning, including making mistakes.