Do you always have to correct your mistakes in the first few weeks?
It is a normal part of the language acquisition process to get mistakes on their first try.
However, some people may have passed this technique to their second language.
Here are some common mistakes when you learn languages on your own.
Linguistic mistakes for learners
There are many mistakes when learning a language. But speaking linguistically, there are many mistakes that you might have been doing that you don’t have any idea of.
According to language experts, there are actually seven types of errors which are:
Overgeneralizations
These are mistakes when the language learner applies a rule in many sentences or words where it’s not supposed to be applied. It’s most common with irregular verbs in any language.
Take a look at this example for this English word:
Foot = Foots
Foot = Feet
Simplifications
This error is one of the common issues that most parents think came from the rise of technology. Many kids started to use slang words and even omitted words due to what they hear or see in the media or from their phones.
Here are some types of simplifications to explain this error further:
- Omission of letters
Doubt = dout
weit = weight
- Addition of words
There are five are guys in front and of the doorway
Correct: There are five guys in front of the doorway
Developmental errors
It is the most common error for kids during their early stages of language acquisition
Developmental errors are similar to overgeneralizations and are not only seen in grammar but how a person relates an object to a vocabulary.
For example, any kid may see a ball and shout out “basketball” even if it’s a tennis ball or a soccer ball.
Induced errors
Induced errors often come from the environment of the language classroom.
All foreign languages teachers and professors have their own instructional strategies that may not be as accurate and correct for the intended language.
This error happens when child learners learn from how the language teacher explains the grammar lesson.
It may include the teacher’s accent, tone, and even the context of what she is explaining.
According to linguistic experts, it is important for every teacher to be careful of how they conduct a lesson for the learning process for young students.
Errors of avoidance
A learner deliberately avoids grammar rules or learning any vocabulary words just because he thinks it is difficult.
Some example situations are kids unmotivated to learn after looking at a heavy textbook.
Another example of errors of avoidance applicable to adults is not doing exercises for conjugation just because the rules and policies are hard to remember.
Errors of overproduction
Rules in language acquisition are important. But what if you use that rule too often?
Errors of overproduction are using a language structure frequently that is often seen in second-language acquisition.
The majority of these mistakes are all part of the linguistic process of learning. But there are other errors that you should be aware of when you’re learning by yourself.
Mistakes that you encounter when you learn languages on your own
After discussing the errors in linguistic terms, let’s take a look at the mistakes that you do when you learn languages on your own.
If you’ve done some of these methods, let us know in the comments!
You rely only on one method
So you’ve been happy learning on your app with a few sprinkles of rewards here and there.
If you only rely on this learning method, you may end up getting bored and burned out.
In fact, many language learners do not really learn so much with apps or games.
For that reason, many serious language learners try to find as many techniques as they can and filter out those that really work.
Not listening to native speakers
One of the most significant principles of language learning is speaking. With this language skill, it is important to mimic the exact way the native speakers are saying each word.
Many language resource tools and apps have a feature to listen to audio lessons or podcasts that are free and will teach you the right pronunciation and grammar of words used in a sentence.
If you really want to sound fluent in your target language, try to speak and mimic the sounds you hear from that audio lesson.
Relying on what you’ve learned with grammar rules
Grammar rules are just as important as learning your conjugation table or keeping a list of vocabulary.
It comes off naturally if you’ve been practicing with basic conversations up to complex sentences.
However, grammar rules for beginners can somehow confuse them or make the lesson longer.
At times, it’s better to focus on how you’ll be able to speak and pronounce words first.
If you focus too much on the rules and corrections, you may end up doing errors of avoidance as mentioned earlier.
Why do we still get language errors even as adults?
That question can be a bit confusing. But, that question is actually vital not only for beginners but also for advanced learners that might not be aware of important learning issues.
As early as a child, everyone undergoes the process of natural language acquisition. So whoever is teaching you or how you were learning back then affects the way you’ve developed learning now.
There are many linguistic mistakes that may have been overlooked during your childhood years.
On the other hand, as adults, we tend to brush off the idea of being corrected. It is important to be open to correction and find better ways to avoid the errors while learning by yourself.