Anyone who already speaks a language can also learn a foreign language.
There can be several reasons why one person picks up a language more easily than another. For example:
- Someone is not afraid to make mistakes and initiates conversations with anyone and everyone soon speaks a foreign language much more easily than someone who listens in and counts how many mistakes he hears.
- Someone who has often been exposed to a language has more of a feel for it and, therefore, picks it up faster. Even in your mother tongue, you’re not usually aware of why you put words in a particular order—you just know it’s right. It works the same way when you listen to and read a lot in another language.
- If you already speak French, you’ll pick up Spanish more easily. That’s because many words and much of the grammar are similar. If you only speak your mother tongue, you’ll have to learn how to learn a language in addition to learning the new language, and you’ll have to get used to the fact that other languages are structured differently.
- Not every method for learning foreign languages works equally well. For example, you can spend years mastering grammar, yet still struggle to have a conversation.
How do you ensure that you learn a language?
It’s important to seek help when learning a foreign language. A good trainer will teach you how to speak and write and also responds to your learning style. In this way, you not only learn the language but also learn how to continue discovering the language yourself. Just as importantly, that trainer will motivate you to keep going because you, too, can learn a language!
If you're determined to learn a language, please contact us for an intake appointment with one of our language trainers. In it, you'll discuss what you want to learn, what you find difficult, what gives you energy, and how you usually learn best and most easily. Then, the trainer will put together a training course that's uniquely yours.
Speaking of a head for languages…
Some people may have more of an ear or eye for languages, but there’s no particular part of the brain involved in that. The knowledge and skills related to language are spread across several regions of the brain, and these all work in unison. The important thing is that you activate all those parts of your brain.