Why Language Classes Don’t Work

I stumbled upon Tim Ferriss’s blog today and came across one of his language learning articles, Why Language Classes Don’t Work : How to Cut Classes and Double Your Learning Rate. Tim makes some very good points about why language learners are unable to learn a language by attending formal classes. According to his article, he has tried learning more than 20 languages, and is conversationally fluent in 6, so he’s been able to determine what works and doesn’t work when it comes to learning a new language.

One of the reasons he gives for why language classes don’t work is that teachers are often seen as being more important than the material and textbooks being used. I agree with this view, to some extent. If you have quality language learning material at your disposal, it’s entirely possible to learn a language without a teacher to guide you. A lot of people have had success learning a language outside of a classroom setting and some find self-study to be a lot more productive than attending classes. Having said that, I think the success of a language class depends on the teacher and the attitude the teacher has towards language learning. Some teachers are able to inspire their students and while they may not necessarily teach them everything there is to know about the language, they can motivate their students to go out and learn for themselves. Sometimes it helps to have someone to guide you along the path to fluency, though a supportive language partner can also fit this role.

Judge materials before you judge teachers, and no matter what, do not begin with classes or texts that solely use the target language (e.g., Spanish textbooks in Spanish). This approach reflects a school’s laziness and willingness to hire monolingual teachers, not the result of their search for the ideal method.

Tim’s opinion on monolingual classes and/or textbooks is something that seems at odds with the idea that immersion is one of the best ways to learn a language. A lot of the Dutch classes aimed at foreigners living in the Netherlands are taught in Dutch and there are plenty of language schools which subscribe to the idea that the best way to learn a language is by making it the language of instruction. There are some downsides to this, such as whether the teacher will be able to explain a grammar point or expression in your own language. Some people find it hard to learn a language without translations so bilingual course materials can have their benefits.

I personally find monolingual materials to be best suited to intermediate and advanced learners. Once you have a foundation in the language, you should move on to materials written exclusively in the language you’re learning. I find monolingual dictionaries quite useful once you’ve reached the intermediate stage and reading newspapers or books in your foreign language is a good way to boost your vocabulary and reading skills. Nevertheless, these are all materials you can use on your own so my thoughts on monolingual material are not really applicable to the discussion at hand..

Another good point Tim raises is that classes after move as slowly as the slowest student. I think this is true of classroom teaching in general, not just language classes. Teachers want to be able to help all of their students and thus they will do their best to make sure the less gifted language learner is able to keep up with the rest of the class. Constant reviewing of the material already covered is one of the best motivation killers for language learners as they end up feeling that they have progressed at a much slower rate than they had anticipated and may lose interest in the language altogether. The more determined students will find their own way to improve their language skills, often through self-study or finding a language exchange partner, but many students will just resign themselves to their fate or just give up and pursue another hobby.

Tim also mentions the difficulty in establishing a course system based on proficiency levels and points out  that a system based on  ‘beginner’, ‘intermediate’ and ‘advanced’ is ‘woefully inadequate’.  This is certainly true as it is hard to establish what can be classified as beginner, intermediate and advanced language skills. It also doesn’t allow for people to be strong at, say, reading and listening but poor at speaking and writing. I think each skill should have its own separate class and the system should allow for a lot more flexibility, perhaps one that will help students improve on those skills they feel they are lacking. Language classes are too general in their scope and try to cater to too many different needs and abilities. One size does not fit all when it comes to learning and language classes should be tailored to the individual needs of the students. Unfortunately, a personalised learning plan is often expensive or impractical so this is where self-study succeeds where classroom-based learning fails. A person choosing to learn through self-study and/or with the help of a language partner is in a better position to focus on his or her weak points and learn what he or she feels is most important. This is something that classroom-based learning cannot really accommodate.

Somewhat like riding a bike, though unfortunately not as permanent, language fluency is more dependent on practicing the right things than learning the right things. The rules (grammar) can be learned through materials and classes, but the necessary tools (vocabulary and idiomatic usage) will come from independent study and practice in a native environment.

This is perhaps the most important point Tim makes in his article. Learning by doing is the key to learning and mastering a foreign language. Teachers can teach you grammar or teach you basic conversational skills but you will learn a lot more by simply going out there and putting your language skills into practice. I discovered this hard truth during my year abroad in China as I soon found out I didn’t know Mandarin at all. I had had one year of intensive language study before going to China but you realise how much you don’t know once you’re thrown in at the proverbial deep end. Suddenly you’re expected to know how to negotiate rents with landlords, make arrangements for an internet connection in your room and explain how your purse was stolen to the local police (the last one happened to me during my third or fourth week in China). You will never be taught these things in the classroom.

Living in a country where the language you’re learning is spoken is by far the best way to learn the language. New words will assault you from every angle and you’ll often find yourself in a scenario that was never covered in any of your textbooks. This can be rewarding for some and extremely stressful for others. Some people cannot cope with full-time immersion in their foreign language and their progress will be affected by this. Others see immersion as the perfect opportunity to learn the language in its natural environment and make excellent progress. Success is entirely dependent on the learner and his or her attitude towards living and breathing the language. Self-confidence is vital for rapid progress as those who are reluctant to make mistakes are less likely to learn from their mistakes or improve their conversational skills (I admit that I’m guilty of this and thus my speaking skills are nowhere near as good as I would like them to be).

I like Tim’s suggestion of asking for examples of a word’s or expression’s usage rather than asking them to explain grammar rules. Learning new words in context is a good way of internalising the new vocabulary. After all, what good would it be to know a word and not be able to use it in a conversation? Memorising grammar points can be mind-numbingly dull so learning through examples and figuring out the rules for yourself is a good alternative.

And what are my own thoughts on classroom-based learning? Well, apart from the points I’ve already raised above, I would like to state that I’m not a fan of classroom-based language learning. While classes provided a structured ‘plan of attack’, I prefer to learn at my own pace and learn exactly what I feel will be important to me. For example, I don’t learn business or economic terminology because these subjects don’t interest me but I will make use of texts and AV resources which are of personal interest to me. As such, I end up reading a lot of Wikipedia articles and blog posts on subjects I’m interested in, such as food, travel, archaeology and current affairs. I think it’s very important to use material which interests and inspires you. This cannot be said of many of the course textbooks which are used in the classroom…

This is all I have to say about classroom-based language learning. I’d be interested to see what others think of language classes so feel free to leave a comment if you have an opinion you’d like to share with fellow readers.