What are language skills?
Speaking
Listening
Reading
Writing
Whatever language you are learning these skills are key to fully mastering it. Some are easier than others and this blog post aims to provide you with hints and tips for you to improve in each one.
I am no stranger to learning a new language. When I moved to the Netherlands aged 28 I was thrown into the deep end of living in another language. Where I live there are no restaurant menus in English so the first things I had to learn were the words for food, especially as a vegetarian! We then embarked on an even bigger adventure, having a child, which came with a new set of vocabulary we hadn't learnt in Dutch classes!
When I am teaching I fully understand the difficulties my students of all ages face, but especially adults, aiming to make a good impression in their non-native language. I've been there and am still there every day.
The skills
A great way to learn a language is to focus on the skills. Other aspects such as grammar and vocabulary can, and will, be learnt alongside this. In my lessons I try to incorporate as many of these as possible, not only for practice but also so that my lessons are interesting and engaging.
Speaking
Let's start with the most difficult one first, in my opinion at least. When you speak you have little time to prepare and have to react in the moment. There is no time to reach for Google translate to check the meaning of a word, you either know it or you don't.
The best way to help improve your speaking is to find someone to practice with. The more you speak the more confident you will become and the quicker you will be able to find the word you are looking for. Try to speak slowly to give yourself time to find the words, because if you're anything like me your brain is trying to move faster than the words are coming out of your mouth.
Don't worry about making a mistake. We all do it. If we waited until we thought we were not going to make a mistake we would never speak and never improve. We learn by making mistakes and yes, sometimes people might laugh, but be proud of yourself for trying. If you don't try you will never improve.
Listening
This one is a little less scary, but don't sit back too soon. You can learn a lot from listening to someone speaking in the language you want to learn. It's a great way to pick up new vocabulary, especially if you don't like reading, and also a good way to practice listening to different accents. Whatever language you are learning native speakers will always have different accents, some easier to understand than others. Try listening to a podcast or watching television. Watch a movie that you know well and don't put the subtitles on. How much of what the actors are saying can you pick up?
All of this listening practice will help you the next time you have a conversation. You may now be more familiar with different accents or you can catch more words when someone is talking quickly. Having a conversation is as much about listening as it is about speaking so listen actively and make the most of practicing this skill.
Reading
In my opinion this is the easiest skill to master and the main gateway to learning a language. Reading will help you feel the flow of a language and reinforce the structure. In my personal experience the more that I read the better my writing and speaking becomes. I am able to place the verb in the correct part of the sentence when I am writing and find the words I am looking for more quickly when I speak.
Start off with reading texts for your level. For English, the British Council offers great resources for all ages and a quick internet search will find more. Don't start with something too difficult as this will demotivate you. I started with children's books and quickly worked my way up. This gave me confidence and made practicing this skill less intimidating.
I know reading is not for everyone but I urge you to give it a try. Even something short, like one of my blog posts once a week, is a great start.
Writing
This is the skill that you can take the most time over. You can think about what you are going to say and the order that the words need to be in. A translation tool can help you to find the right word, but don't take shortcuts. Try and write the sentence out for yourself to test your own knowledge and help yourself to improve. This will pay you back when it comes to speaking as you will use the sentence structure you learnt to write when speaking words out loud. If you don't put effort into writing and simply use the internet to translate it won't help you in the long run. Invest time in your own learning.
When we're at school we learn to write letters to pen-pals, but when we're at work we're writing emails to customers, suppliers, colleagues, bosses and all this requires different forms of language. Check out some of my blog posts on formal writing to remind yourself of the difference in each style.
Writing can be practiced every day just using WhatsApp messages or writing your shopping list in the language you are learning. This is especially helpful if you are living in a country that speaks that language as it makes shopping so much easier! Find a native speaker and exchange WhatsApp messages. You can practice reading and writing at the same time!
Try it for yourself
There are many ways to practice language skills either on your own or with a native speaker. We all have one we are better at and one we struggle with more. Don't hide from what's difficult because with the struggle comes the biggest learning. Take it from me, I have cried and I have laughed over the mistakes I've made learning Dutch, but just keep giving it a try.
Looking for someone to practice one or all of these skills with?
Click here to talk to me about skills coaching.
Comments