Statesman and Nelson Mandela once claimed that if you talk to a man in a language he understands, it goes to his head, but “if you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart."
Human connections are made through communication, so it stands to reason that if you want to understand and improve relationships with others, language is key. So, how can you improve your language skills?
The foundational language skills - listening, reading (consumption) and speaking, and writing (production of language) – are the four areas that combine to form part of the integrated whole. These skills reinforce one another, and though we may be proficient or even excel in one or two of these, we usually have to work harder on others.
The speech-language pathologists at Linguabilities are equipped to address a variety of speech disorders. We're a telepractice company providing top-notch, affordable virtual speech therapy sessions for children and adults.
In this article, you'll learn the benefits of improving your language abilities, maximizing your strengths, and improving your weaknesses.
What Are the Benefits of Improving Language Skills?
Challenges Our Brain and Improves Cognition
Improving language skills, particularly in a language different from our own, challenges and improves the capacity of our brains to negotiate new language structures and vocabulary. This improves our cognitive thinking and memory and also aids in problem-solving.
Helps Us Understand People Better
The global village grows smaller daily as we find new ways of reaching out via technology. People of different cultures and nationalities interact more, so good language skills improve our overall understanding and knowledge of one another.
Can Offer a Competitive Edge in the Workplace
Prospective employers are impressed by one whose command of a language is superior to other candidates, as this creates an excellent first impression.
It Can Help Boost Self-confidence
Being able to express oneself well generally implies improved confidence and an ability to interact with and influence people, which adds to our overall emotional well-being.
How to Improve Your Language Skills 101
The top tip any expert will give you to improve your language abilities is to practice, practice, practice. There are no shortcuts. Start by giving equal weight to reading, writing, speaking, and listening. If you focus on all these, practicing them as often as possible, you will soon be able to assess the areas that need more work.
1. Prioritize Goals and Plan Ahead
Once you know which areas require improvement, you can set goals and plan a learning program around your proficiencies and weaknesses. Ask yourself why you want to improve your language skills.
Write down your ultimate goal and the steps that will help you achieve this. If you want to improve your work prospects, you may need to improve your work- or industry-specific vocabulary, learn how to speak confidently, and interact with colleagues.
Once you have prioritized your goals, you can identify specific themes to focus on or lists of things you aim to learn within a realistic timeline. To learn ten new phrases a day may take only five minutes, or it may take 20. You determine the pace of your learning, so in setting a deadline, it is prudent to give yourself enough time. Set daily tasks for yourself rather than time spans in which they have to be accomplished.
Frame your goals optimistically. For instance: "In (time period), I will have mastered (the ultimate goal you are aiming to achieve). I must learn key phrases and job-related jargon, so I will learn at least 20 pertinent phrases each week.” Display your goals prominently so that you will see them regularly and can revise and update them.
2. Learn by Listening
Listening is more difficult than most people might imagine. The vocabulary, inflections, and intonations of speech can complicate processing what you hear. People often speak quite fast, so we might miss the nuances of what is being said, particularly if we are passive listeners.
Listening aims to process and understand what we hear, so watching a film or TV show with subtitles will not help you learn a new language since we tend to switch off to the spoken word while reading. Rather turn off the subtitles and focus on what you hear.
Another surefire way of picking up a language is by spending time with groups of people and listening to them as they speak it. Ask if you don't fully understand, or check a translation app for clarification.
What is the Best Way to Benefit from Listening?
Listen for Short Periods: Listening to a podcast, song, or film for just 10-15 minutes at a time is preferable to trying to focus for an hour or two. Change the listening content regularly so you don't get bored.
Be Attentive: It takes concentration to absorb what you are listening to. Cleaning the house while listening to the audio resource won't help you focus, so put down that broom.
Pay Attention to Unfamiliar Words: Write down the words you don't recognize. When the listening session is over, look them up and make a note of their meaning.
Use Visual Cues: Because our memory of what we see is stronger than what we hear, it may be helpful to post the new words you learn and their meanings in places where you will see them often helps to ensure you retain them. Post-it notes are handy for this.
Repetition Reinforces: Listen to the same audio again to help the words sink in.
Take Note of Body Language and Tone: A speaker's body language conveys clues to what is being said through the words. Tone also makes a difference to the message being given.
3. Reading for Meaning
Comprehensible input refers to the idea that you should read or listen to information that is within your grasp or just slightly beyond your current understanding so that you can understand and expand your knowledge.
Reading material can be in the form of newspapers, magazines, and books, but also online articles, websites, and downloadable e-books. You must find reading matter you can relate to so that you can read between the lines if there is vocabulary you aren't accustomed to.
Otherwise, try reading the translation of a book you already know well. This can help fill in the gaps if you don't understand all the words. Start by reading from the beginning to the end of a chapter, and see how much you can understand, then reread the chapter.
Having a dictionary or dictionary app on hand helps to decipher words if you can't understand them from the context of what you are reading. A notebook is also helpful for jotting down the words whose meanings you have learned and helps you memorize them. Some of the language learning apps you might consider are Duolingo, Memrise, and English Live.
Memorizing song lyrics also helps you gain knowledge and understanding of a language.
4. Speak Up for Yourself
Confidence often deserts people when speaking, even if they can communicate in writing. Pronunciation can be a problem for second language speakers, and you may worry that you'll get it wrong, but this is one of the most effective ways to improve language skills.
If you explain that you are nervous, most people are pretty understanding and will want to help where possible, knowing that you are at least trying to speak their language. By holding short, simple dialogues with someone who knows the language well, you are getting practice and can listen to how they pronounce words, then parrot those words to get the pronunciation right yourself.
Improvisation activities can be fun, depending on your level of proficiency in a language, and since you are in playful mode, it doesn't matter if you make a fool of yourself. Immerse yourself in the language - speak to as many individuals as possible and get all the language input you can by reading and listening whenever you have the opportunity.
5. The Write Stuff
Writing is just as important as speaking, and since our contact with others is often via the written word, it is worthwhile creating opportunities to improve your writing abilities.
You may be able to find worksheets online or grammar textbooks that will help you practice your grammar and punctuation. It is essential to do regular written exercises to ensure your writing improves.
Write about things you understand and have experienced. Try journaling about your day, work, friends, triumphs, and frustrations.
Concise writing conveys meaning more effectively. It is best to avoid rambling. Writing letters is a good way to get started. If you want feedback, why not try writing to online friends?
6. Hire a Speech Therapist
Hiring someone to help you in your language-learning endeavors is often the best way to improve language skills, as they can help you practice your conversational skills and correct, encourage, and guide you in areas needing extra work. A one-on-one situation is preferable to joining a language class as it affords you professional, individual attention, and distractions are limited.
ONLINE SPEECH THERAPY SERVICES AVAILABLE
At Linguabilities, we offer online speech therapy for both children and adults. Our highly-qualified speech-language pathologists use electronic media to deliver speech and language therapy services in real-time via video conferencing, e-mail, instant messaging, or text-based chat.
Studies have shown that online speech therapy can be as effective as traditional in-person speech therapy in treating communication disorders. We offer full speech therapy services, such as screening and assessing speech and language skills, in addition to therapy.
If you're looking for an online program to improve your communication, book your free 15-minute discovery session today.