Have you noticed what lots of language courses are doing wrong?

Have you ever attended a class to learn a new language? If so, the chances are high that you didn't notice anything particularly special or unusual. Generally, people already have an idea about how you are supposed to learn a language based on their experience at school. The idea that the way you learn a new language could be totally different never crosses your mind. But once you've attended a lot of language classes, you start to see how strange they are.

The old ways

It all started at school for me. As a Dutch person, I had to learn three different languages: English, French and German. At university, I tried to study English, but I failed miserably. The old writings of Shakespeare just didn't resonate with me, so I decided to study Spanish instead. At least I would learn a new language that way.

Although I loved languages, I often felt frustrated. There was very little room for fun and creativity and certainly at university, it seemed that they liked to make it more difficult and complex on purpose. During my studies, I heard multiple times that the main goal was not to speak the language, but rather to understand things on a higher scientific and academic level. It annoyed me a lot. Speaking another language freely was what I wanted the most, and to be honest, I couldn't bring myself to care about boring linguistic theories.

Despite this, I hardly questioned the teaching methods that people were using; I took them for granted. I was lucky when I had a nice teacher (my French teacher, Mevrouw Schenkenveld, still has a special place in my heart). Somehow I accepted that the way I had to learn and study was just the way that it was.

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A learning breakthrough

Things started to shift when I went to Istanbul for a couple of weeks to learn Turkish. Although the classes were quite traditional and sometimes even old-fashioned, I noticed something in me was ignited. An everlasting fascination for how languages and language learning really works. The weirdest thing? Thanks to Turkish, I could understand how my own language, Dutch, really works, and it has helped me tremendously in creating and developing my own method.

Because of my love for languages, I have attended dozens of language classes in Italian, Japanese, Greek, Portuguese and more! This might be the reason that I have started to spot things that others seem unaware of. The odd things that almost all language classes do that don't help people to learn at all. 

Not all speaking is equal

Here is the first thing that I find really strange: Have you noticed that teachers often get you to talk with a student sitting next to you? The intention is obvious, of course; the aim is that you get used to speaking your new language. A similar thing that I personally do not like at all is een rollenspel, a role-play. Now you have to pretend that you own a store and that your fellow student wants to buy een haring, stroopwafels or klompen.

What started to bother me, though, was if the person sitting next to you is also learning, then how do you know that you will be learning the right things if no one can correct you? Have you noticed that during many courses, including the very expensive ones, many teachers simply walk away?  If no one corrects you, the chances are that you will learn the wrong thing and even ingrain it in your system.

On top of that, once you start to speak with real Dutch people, you’ll quickly realise that they sound completely different to your fellow students. The idea is that if you just memorise a couple of sentences like a parrot, then you will be fine, but I always love to say that you can't memorise your way into fluency and confidence. 

Boring will not work

Have you noticed that often you are only allowed to talk about one subject? In some books, they dedicate a whole chapter to de fietsenmaker, the bike maker. Instead of just saying: mijn fiets is kapot, maak mijn fiets – my bike is broken, repair my bike - you’ll have to learn many details that you will only use if something specific is wrong with your bike. And yes, a bike is something that you often need, but focusing on it too much will not really help you to get your Dutch to a whole new level fast.

Here is another strange thing: many people simply follow a book, reading sentence by sentence, with many sentences that do not make sense, and tolerate it as boring but necessary. But it is hard to learn if you feel bored. On top of all that, many classes are very standardised. You can't get sidetracked down an interesting path. You can read a sentence when it is your turn and, if you're lucky enough, you can ask a question now and then.

Don't settle for the same old

From personal experience, I know how a language course can make all the difference. Once you learn how to learn and start to see how a language really works, and how to have fun with it, everything changes. For me, in the end, speaking a new language is all about freedom, greater independence and individual expression.

I have always loved it if people could give me more clarity, and when they showed me shortcuts and new things that I could initially not see for myself. I firmly believe that this is what a teacher should really do: allow you to see a bigger picture and find confidence within yourself. At the end, great learning is always an adventure.

This is also my tip for you. If you want to speak better Dutch with more confidence, then make sure that you do some research, because one thing is certain: language courses are not the same. There are huge differences between them, and not only in terms of cost. From free courses at the Gemeente to expensive residential programmes, make sure the teaching method is one that will work for you. Take the time to make the right choice. Then, once you're sure that speaking Dutch is something that you want, really go for it!