Five popular methods of foreign language self-study

Learning a foreign language based on vocabulary or immersing yourself in the language is a common self-study method, but there are both pros and cons.

1. Approach based on vocabulary

Vocabulary is an important part of language, so access to vocabulary right from the beginning is the direction of many people. The method of starting vocabulary is how children learn languages ​​when they are young, by associating any word with pictures or corresponding objects.

Learners will memorize vocabulary by associating images, corresponding specific objects and memorizing. For example, when a mother points to balls of different colors, children can name the colors of each balloon.

The advantage of this method is that memorizing vocabulary works quickly, especially at the beginning. Pictures will help learners memorize words visually and vividly. Repeated memorization will make the inscription more deeply embedded in the brain and harder to change.

However, this method of learning lacks coherence, focusing on grammar. Learners can grasp many vocabulary words as well, but without grammar knowledge, they will not know how to use the volume of words they have.

2. Double translation method

The translation method was commonly used by language learners before 1900. First, learners choose a book to publish in the language they are learning and a dictionary of their native language. They combine reading, looking up dictionaries to explain difficult words or phrases and rewriting translations. They then continue to use the dictionary to re-translate the translation into the language they are studying and check the translation against the original.

This method is useful for people who want to learn to read, do not know or do not need to learn to listen and listen. Learners often want to study in-depth material, not really needing comprehensive language self-study.

Because only focusing on reading comprehension, learners using double translation method will not be able to think in linguistics, restrict access to listening, speaking and writing skills and depend on the accuracy and reliability of words. Dictionary.

3. Grammar based approach

The approach to language through grammar is often found in old language self-study books or old textbooks. Each topic will provide some vocabulary and grammar rules to remember to practice. Learners do exercises to make sure they know how to use grammar. The next lessons are built on the vocabulary you learn but apply to the new grammar rule.

The goal of a grammar-based approach is to focus on reading and writing skills. Once learners have mastered the grammar rules, it is easy to use new vocabulary outside the lesson.

However, the disadvantage of this method is that it requires the learners to memorize or master a lot of grammar rules. They may feel depressed at the beginning. After mastering the rules, they had too few vocabulary words to start using language.

4. Communication method

This is a modern method, used in teaching in many schools of language training today. Students in a class are divided into small groups and revise the lesson by topic, focusing on a certain skill such as acquisition skills (reading or listening), production skills (writing or speaking). The focus of this method is to help learners accelerate the process of language acquisition, learn all four skills and can apply practical learning.

Communication method aimed at high school students. Once they have a solid foundation, they can continue their further studies or use it in their normal daily life.

In contrast, because the focus is on four skills, the learning process can be slower than other methods. Classes are usually adjusted according to the average level of the class so good students may feel light and weak students feel overwhelmed.

5. Immersion method

Not through documents, books, immersed in language is a method of learning experience based on real life. For example, listening to music, listening to the radio, watching TV shows, movies in the language you're studying or traveling to the country using language learning and communicating with native speakers to practice.

The biggest advantage of this method is no need to sharpen books. Generally, learners must memorize, memorize vocabulary or grammar rules. But when immersed in the language, they let things flow naturally into the brain and receive them by the senses. This is a recommended method of learning foreign languages ​​for children who are illiterate and can learn languages ​​naturally by daily activities.

The downside of this method is limited reading skills.