English, Italian and Co. 5 tips for learning: There is no such thing as language ability!

In linguistics, it is not assumed that there are people who have a natural talent for languages. Factors that support language learning include time, social environment and, above all, motivation. Pseudo-language talents often devote a lot of time to learning a language and have a clear goal in mind. According to Harsch, this could mean improving your English skills to advance professionally, for example. Or the desire to better survive the next vacation in Italy. “The important thing is to stick with it. It’s best to take small, realistic steps.”

Anyone who actively uses a language and tries to have a conversation benefits twice as much, regardless of their language level. First of all, you can better internalize what you say out loud. In linguistics, we talk about the “production effect”. Second, we get important feedback through chats. “Exchanging ideas with native speakers is particularly useful,” says Harsch. We hear how they pronounce things and what expressions they use. “The earlier we start, the greater the learning effect.”

Harsch says mistakes are part of learning a language. «Children learn their native language over many years until they master it. “They constantly learn from their mistakes.” Best of all, they speak immediately, which gives the impression that they learn languages ​​more easily than adults. Harsch says the impression in school is often that mistakes are bad. This is problematic: “Every time the wrong shape is painted it affects motivation. It makes more sense to focus on what you can already do.” This motivates you to apply what you have learned in daily life and is better than learning all the grammar rules without mistakes.

“Only what you need stays in your head,” says Harsch. He recommends making adjustments to daily life: for example, switching your mobile phone to English, writing your shopping list in Italian, or watching news or programs, such as sporting events, in German, French or Italian in multilingual Switzerland. This way, even if you don’t understand everything, you know what it’s about. Language apps like Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, Babbel, and Memrise also help with repetition. Usually just a few minutes a day is enough to achieve success in learning. However, Harsch says that the learning success that can be achieved with applications is limited. Many are structured in a fun way with scores and levels but theory is neglected. “With this, you can learn words and simple sentences well.”