The Language Gene Myth
Struggle is Not a Sign of Incompetence
Image by: Andrea Piacquadio
By Hanyu Tales (11th December 2024)
Many language learners find that when their progress does not align with their expectations or that of their peers, they begin to wonder if they were simply not born with the ability to learn a language effectively. In school, we all encounter talented classmates who excel in different areas, while others fall behind. When we are learning our native language in an academic setting, there are always peers who struggle to spell, cannot focus on a book, misuse punctuation, and generally exhibit no natural talent for language. Yet, they still succeed in learning their mother tongue to the desired “native speaker” level.
While being 3 foot tall as an adult might make the NBA a tough task, being “bad at languages”—if such a thing exists—does not make learning a foreign language a bad idea, in the same way not being a natural-born chef does not make ordering takeout for every meal a good idea. H. H. Stern once said:
While being 3 foot tall as an adult might make the NBA a tough task, being “bad at languages”—if such a thing exists—does not make learning a foreign language a bad idea, in the same way not being a natural-born chef does not make ordering takeout for every meal a good idea. H. H. Stern once said:
“To the question why some students fail or have serious learning problems, wile others are outstandingly successful, there is no simple answer. One direction to explore is to try to find out what good language learners do that poor learners do not do.”
This brings us to the exact proposition of this article: instead of lamenting the possibility you were not born with the ability to digest grammar structures as quickly as refined sugar, why don’t we take a look at the research on “good” and “bad” language learners and see what the former are doing that the latter are not? The Extrovert’s Advantage
A review published in the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics found that for some, anxiety can be one of the causes behind their language-learning struggles. A paper from The Modern Language Journal also brought up the notion that language learning can be particularly anxiety-inducing and therefore lead to difficulties acquiring a new language for otherwise successful learners.
Learners who are more extroverted and naturally confident are less likely to suffer from this anxiety. In addition, they are likely to spend time doing things that require speaking, at least more than introverts would. In any domain, the only way to get better at something is doing more of it, so by being introverted and speaking less, learners may find themselves in a vicious cycle in which their rarely practiced speaking worsens their anxiety and their anxiety worsens their speaking. This was alluded to in this study, which found that speaking activities were one of the main forms of foreign language learning that caused anxiety (according to the students themselves). While it would be unreasonable to propose miraculously becoming an extrovert, it is worth remembering that confidence helps massively in language learning, so setting yourself initially small but progressively bigger challenges that involve using your target language in situations outside of your comfort zone will likely reap more rewards than anything else you could do. Here are some ideas to get started, which you can do online or in-person without spending money:
Learners who are more extroverted and naturally confident are less likely to suffer from this anxiety. In addition, they are likely to spend time doing things that require speaking, at least more than introverts would. In any domain, the only way to get better at something is doing more of it, so by being introverted and speaking less, learners may find themselves in a vicious cycle in which their rarely practiced speaking worsens their anxiety and their anxiety worsens their speaking. This was alluded to in this study, which found that speaking activities were one of the main forms of foreign language learning that caused anxiety (according to the students themselves). While it would be unreasonable to propose miraculously becoming an extrovert, it is worth remembering that confidence helps massively in language learning, so setting yourself initially small but progressively bigger challenges that involve using your target language in situations outside of your comfort zone will likely reap more rewards than anything else you could do. Here are some ideas to get started, which you can do online or in-person without spending money:
- The “Speak Out” Challenge: Record yourself speaking and post it somewhere, first on Speechling for a tutor to hear, then on HelloTalk for everyone to hear!
- The “10-Second Courage” Challenge: Push yourself to start a spoken conversation with a stranger in your target language, even if it’s only for 10 seconds.
- The “Daily Compliment” Challenge: Compliment one person per day in your target language.
Image by: Diva Plavalaguna
Underestimating What is Required
Connecting with people, however, is not the only part of language learning that is needed. In fact, to become truly proficient in a language, a huge amount of reading, writing, listening, and speaking is required—this is the same for everyone, no matter what the guy who supposedly became fluent in 30 days tells you. Diving slightly deeper into posts from “bad learners” often reveals one of two things: they have not been doing a lot each day, or they have been doing a lot but not for many days. While they are not universal guidelines, if you have not spent at least as many hours learning a language as the amount the FSI suggests is necessary to reach proficiency in your target language, then you do not have the right to question your language-learning talents yet.
Motivation
An awareness of what’s required to acquire proficiency in a foreign language reminds us that in order to succeed, motivation is absolutely key. In a study looking at why EFL students in Saudi Arabia struggled with reading in English, lack of motivation was one of the reasons given. Furthermore, motivation needs to exist outside of the classroom too, as this article points out. Successful language learners are all motivated learners, so do your best to find a goal that inspires you to truly want to learn the language, or a manner of learning that you enjoy enough to do consistently.
Learners Are All Different
There is a stereotype that British students are bad at languages, but fortunately it is not owed to genetics. A study looking at why British students tend to do worse when it comes to foreign languages, found that the syllabus was the likely cause. In addition, in his book The Good Language Learner, Neil Naiman suggests that a lack of awareness of the differences between students in the class is a significant factor in terms of halted progression. The reality is that a single syllabus is never going to be optimal for every student. For a teacher, this is difficult to avoid, especially in a large class, but it reminds us that not all materials work for all students.
So what can “bad language learners” who are self-studying take from all this? If you realize something you are doing feels unenjoyable and/or is ineffective, then continuing with it is insanity and leaves you in exactly the same position as the students that fall behind following a class syllabus that doesn’t suit them. Experiment and find what works for you, push yourself to do things outside of your comfort zone, and remember language-learning is a triathlon not a sprint.
So what can “bad language learners” who are self-studying take from all this? If you realize something you are doing feels unenjoyable and/or is ineffective, then continuing with it is insanity and leaves you in exactly the same position as the students that fall behind following a class syllabus that doesn’t suit them. Experiment and find what works for you, push yourself to do things outside of your comfort zone, and remember language-learning is a triathlon not a sprint.