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Language Learning — Recognizing Vs. Memorizing
When you learn your target language, over time there will be words and phrases that you may not be able to recall when you need them, but if you were to read them somewhere, you would remember what they mean. Learning another language is a long process because we need to get tens of thousands of words, phrases, and “sayings” into our brain so we can have a fluid conversation with natives. This is why reading is so important so you can familiarize yourself with these words on a regular basis so the words, phrases, and “sayings” can be planted in your long-term memory. They’ll be at the front of your mind so you can get access to them as you need them.
Learning a language is not like studying for a test, but more like swimming in an ocean. I’ve made this reference before in a previous post, but some people’s language knowledge may be like a puddle and others (native-level with higher education) will be more like swimming in the deep end where your feet don’t even touch the bottom of the ocean and you can swim to the ocean floor without drowning.
I was at work one day and I was looking at old flash cards I’ve made. These are words I haven’t read or seen in a while, but I remember what they were when I saw them. I saw them in Spanish and remembered the English translation, but if it were the other way around, I probably wouldn’t be able to…
