Learning a foreign language is always a cultural engagement with the region where the target language is spoken. Learning success usually depends less on age than on motivation. Those who know exactly why and for what purpose they want to learn a language have an advantage over those who approach it as a task without a specific goal, or those who have to do it by force.
The following article briefly discusses various aspects: foreign language courses based on the native language, motivation is more important than age in learning, reading bilingual books, and publishers of bilingual books.
Foreign Language Courses Based on the Native Language
It is often much easier when the lessons and teaching materials are tailored to the learner’s native language. This means that as a German who wants to learn Spanish, you should choose a textbook developed for Germans. So, Spanish for Germans, or, for example, Spanish for English or Americans.
The explanation for this is relatively simple: our native language determines our thinking and thus also language acquisition or foreign language learning. It is the cultural aspects that distinguish a foreign language from our native language and make learning more difficult. This fact also illustrates why someone who has a good command of their own language, has a large vocabulary, and, for example, reads a lot, has an advantage when learning a foreign language. Conscious and unconscious engagement with one’s own language accordingly helps with learning other languages. However, many courses place great emphasis on grammar, which often hinders learning progress because it is an abstraction that confuses many learners.
Motivation is More Important than Learner’s Age.
There’s a misconception that children find it easier to learn foreign languages, but age isn’t quite as decisive. More important than age is the intention to learn a language. Anyone planning a stay in a country knows what they want to achieve with the foreign language. While communication in everyday life or with like-minded people often differs greatly, it begins with a goal, and that helps with learning. Of course, it also helps to apply newly acquired skills immediately, but older learners perform worse in this area because they are often afraid of making mistakes and therefore prefer not to say anything at all. Immersing yourself in the culture and working specifically on your foreign language skills on-site can help.
Reading Bilingual Books
There are now various studies that demonstrate that language teaching in schools is not as successful as hoped and intended. However, numerous studies have also shown that learners who read a lot, and perhaps even in the foreign language, are more successful. Friedrich Maerker Verlag offers various bilingual and multilingual reading materials and bilingual books that specifically support reading in different languages. Reading in a foreign language is therefore a meaningful way to engage with the foreign language.
Publisher of Bilingual Books
A word about Friedrich Maerker Verlag: This publisher specializes in publishing children’s and young adult books in two or more languages. The selection is extensive, including bilingual flip books, bilingual reading materials, pictorial dictionaries, and various adapted classics. The key to these books is that, in addition to vocabulary, they offer various learning aids. All multilingual reading materials, as well as many books, have questions about the text. The questions make a big difference. There are books and texts for every learning level, and there are books for different interests, but they always take into account the cultural aspect that is so important when learning foreign languages. Samples in the catalog on the publisher’s website can illustrate the range; please take advantage of this offer.