What foreign language?

It has been said at other times that a key question people ask themselves when thinking about learning a foreign language is “what foreign language should I try to learn?” The reasons for wanting or needing to learn a foreign language can be almost as many and as varied as the number of people. Family, ancestry, employment, business, education, travel, adventure, romance, and other personal concerns can all play their respective roles in the decision to learn and continue learning a foreign language.

With literally thousands of languages ​​spoken in the world, in addition to some of the major ones such as English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Arabic, Italian, Japanese and German, there is obviously no lack of choice. But many students admit, “I hate trying to learn a foreign language.” Why? Here are the top seven most frequently given reasons.

The seven most common reasons given

1. There is no way to practice regularly

“I know that learning a foreign language is a valuable skill, but no one I know speaks it and I have no way of practicing”:

2. Long vocabulary lists to memorize

“We get a vocabulary list of over 50 words every week in class, and I can’t keep up with memorizing them.”

3. Illogical grammar rules

“The grammar and rules of the foreign language just don’t make any sense to me,” several foreign language students complain.

4. Pronunciation difficulties

“Whenever I try to speak in class everyone laughs at me because I mispronounce my words, they say.”

5. Bad teachers of foreign languages

Our foreign language teacher is absolutely horrible. She hardly seems to know the language herself. She really shouldn’t be trying to teach us. “

6. There are not enough resources available

“So what do we do with it (a foreign language)? We don’t have good tapes, videos, songs, movies, or games. To me, it seems like a waste.”

7. Trips abroad are too expensive

“Hey, I’d love to visit a foreign country where the language is spoken, but I can’t get a visa”: “Even if I could get a visa, I could never pay for airfare and hotels.”

Lower affective filter

If an English as a foreign language teaching professional is to do an effective job, these are just a few of the many possible difficulties and objections that must be overcome. Only then can the affective filter of students be reduced or compensated enough for both teacher and student to get the most out of language learning efforts.

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