Studying a foreign language can be a terrible experience, or it can be a journey that leaves you feeling empowered and motivated. Which way it goes for you depends mostly on how you approach the job. If you dive in without thought or preparation, you are, in all likelihood, going to find yourself feeling discouraged and defeated, as many others have felt. If you plan well, however, you will likely become a happy and accomplished learner of a second tongue. The most crucial part of preparing to master a second language is defining fluency for your own purposes. There are three things you need to do when taking this approach to learning.

Divide and Conquer

Many people believe that becoming fluent in a language means communicating just like a native speaker. This is simply not correct, and, as you know, not even all native speakers of a language speak with the same level of fluency. So, why should you, a non-native speaker, define success in such broad and difficult terms? You shouldn\’t, and if you do you are likely to set yourself up for failure. Instead, you must specify distinct fluency targets.

In the beginning, at the bare minimum, fluency should be defined in terms of daily activities. That is, you should consider yourself to be fluent in your target language once you acquire the ability to carry out daily tasks, such as going out to restaurants, getting directions, arranging travel services, and making general purchases. Breaking down this type of large and hard-to-grasp mission into smaller sections will keep you moving forward, as opposed to becoming bogged down and discouraged.

Defining Achievable Goals

As stated above, a lack of fluency goals causes language students to inadvertently establish unattainable targets, which causes aggravation and, eventually, a lack of dedication. Defining fluency for your own purposes, on the other hand, helps you establish objectives that are both visible and attainable. Developing distinct, achievable goals keeps individuals inspired by providing finishing points throughout their studies; it always feels good to finish something that you have started. And, of course, success breeds success, so as soon as you attain a fluency goal, you will be excited to try yet another. With these achievable goals, expect your learning to become efficient and fulfilling.

Avoid Wasting Time

If you are studying another language because you plan to vacation in a spot where people speak a language other than your own, do you really have to develop the capability to talk about scientific principles in your target language. No, you do not, but I have personally seen scores of general language textbooks that include vocabulary words from the scientific and business disciplines. What\’s the result of this? Wasted time and effort. Define fluency for your own purposes, and you\’ll have laser-targeted goals, and you will become fluent much faster. There is no reason to spend time memorizing vocabulary words and expressions that you are hardly ever going to make use of.

Of course, I am not declaring that it isn\’t useful to understand the language of business or science in a second language, especially if you plan to spend a long time in a place that uses said language. I am declaring, however, that such an undertaking ought to be defined as an additional fluency. Define fluency for your own purposes and you will excel. Undertake your learning experience without focus and you\’ll stroll off into the land of frustration and failure.

Final Thoughts

Mastering a language is a lot of work, and if you never specify straightforward, achievable goals you will become one of the many who become frustrated and give up. If you define fluency for your own purposes, however, you\’ll find inspiration and success. Remember, studying a language is not about becoming fluent or not becoming fluent, but, rather, about attaining different levels of fluency.

Good Luck with this and all of your future learning endeavors.

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Category: Education
Keywords: learn Chinese,study Mandarin,learn language,learn a language