The Internet Can’t Stop Laughing At These 40 Language Oopsies Made By Immigrants And Travelers

For a better understanding of the language-learning process, Bored Panda reached out to Swedish linguist Fredrik Arhusiander. He agreed to share his insights about the topic. 

He said that the biggest mistake you can make when learning a new language is to focus on your mistakes! “When we learn our native language as children, we don't think about mistakes. We just use whatever we know to play and communicate. We only start worrying about mistakes when we start school and have tests.”

If you think you’re bad at learning languages, Fredrik has a different opinion. In such cases, the reality is usually that the methods for learning languages are bad. For example, learning only by reading textbooks and studying grammar is not a natural way to learn a language. “I personally had really bad grades in Spanish, but later, when I learned the language using much more natural methods, I [became] fluent.” 

Talking about the steps of learning languages, Fredrik says that when we’re kids, we learn languages by listening and communicating, becoming fluent before we even start to write or read. In the adult world, the studying of grammar is needed. Still, the importance of the natural learning approach should not be underestimated: “Focus on how you can spend more time with the language, what you enjoy about it, [and] how you can make sure it's going to be an integrated part of your life. Anyone who [has] actually learned a language will realize that this is how they learned.” 

The linguist says that focusing and listening to informal dialogue is very important. “Only after you've learned the sounds, you should start to read. You don't have to talk in the beginning. It's much easier to learn to talk after you already understand a bit.” 

You don’t have to tackle the grammar heavily in the beginning, as well. It’s better to first focus on the words and try to notice grammatical patterns. According to Fredrik: “As soon as you get a decent grasp of the language, make most of your studies about getting lots of input at your level. Find material you enjoy. People think you have to take courses and do exercises, but simply spending lots of time with the language, finding things you enjoy, and getting lots and lots of exposure and input, that's what's going to give you most of your understanding.” 

Lastly, if you want to reach a high level of the studied language, you have to be brave enough to speak to people in it. Build relationships in that language.

Also, connecting with the culture of the language can be very beneficial, as well. Disconnecting from it can make the journey of learning way harder than it should be. So, in some cases, it might require you to put more effort into connecting with that culture if you want to learn the language. But learning a language doesn't require much effort, right? 

At some point during the language-learning process, it’s natural to start questioning if it is worth doing that at all. After all, it requires so much effort, and sometimes, it might feel like you’re not moving ahead fast enough. Well, in such cases, you can remember several ways in which the learned language might benefit your life:

• Career prospects; 
• Getting to know other cultures; 
• Stretching the brain; 
• More opportunities around the globe; 
• Meeting people. 

Maybe at least one of these benefits might seem worth the effort? Or maybe you can come up with some other ways that languages are beneficial? Share that with us in the comments!