1216. Keys to succeed in learning a language




Teacher B told teacher A about the most important keys to learn and acquire a language, in a sorted order:
1.   One’s attitude about learning a language
2.   A real Wish to do it.
3.   Use the means, like a good methodology. By the way, in order to learn and acquire a foreign language you need a person: language is something between two people, at least.
4.   Study with learning strategies (see Rebecca Oxford’s quotations by me, and H. D. Brown’s too)
5.   Plunge into the swimming pool, that is, to want to speak with someone else in the target language.
6.   Communication: this is the main goal or ought to be the one of the school subject of English.
7.   Effort
8.   Motivation
9.   Reflexive learning. Be creative. A diary?
10.          Massive input
11.          Massive output
12.          Rapport. Personalisation in a class.
13.          Have fun
14.          Meet with the Club of speakers of the target language.
15.          Repetition and revision
16.          Firming up, settling on something specific, materialising like a friend of mine who used to take all the choices he encountered to speak in English.
17.          Cultivate the four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing – in that order of importance but it is not necessarily something scheduled – it’s a combination of them
18.          Imitate native-speakers
19.          Many people come to Spain to earn their life, so in that case necessity is the protagonist. / Photo from: framingthestreet com street musician on the streets of Rome.  

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