You will never find a formula that always works for language learning. If you are looking for a rigid formula, you are doomed to fail.
Formulas are a fantastic way to start, because they provide a novice learner with a template that’s likely to be a safe bet for a good starting point. For example, my A.R.E method is a great way to start building your foreign language vocabulary.
However, formulas aren’t foolproof because they only ever work in a specific context, and the context of language of learning always changes.
Important contextual factors include things like your current level of motivation and, more importantly, your current level of expertise. Novices and experts benefit from different learning experiences, this is called the expertise reversal effect. It’s documented extensively in the learning sciences literature, and I included a section on it in my book on the science of learning.
In addition to a foundation of methods and formulation that others have used, your language learning must be based upon Mechanisms and Adaptation.
Mechanisms
A mechanism is an explanation of why something works the way that it does. It’s a description of cause-and-effect.
Understanding mechanisms is important because it allows us to do three crucial things. Firstly, it allows us to transfer an idea from one area to another in an effective way. If we don’t understand why a certain language learning approach works, we’re likely to transfer it to an ill-fitting situation.
Secondly, it allows us to save resources such as time and energy. Say we read a blog post that suggests that to remember new vocabulary you need to take words from a vocab list, create your own sentences, and transfer them to a spaced-repetition-software using a particular import approach. This may work, but true ‘active ingredient’ (the component at the heart of the mechanism) may just be the spaced-repetition software. Thus, we can save ourselves time and energy by just working out how to do this one, core step well, and ignoring the rest.
Finally, it allows us to adapt. As mentioned above, adaptation is crucial, because your language learning needs will rapidly evolve as you learn. If you understand the mechanisms behind an approach, you can adapt a specific learning approach as you yourself grow and change. Without an understanding of mechanisms, you can still adapt, but the adaptations that you make are likely to lead to a, ‘lethal mutation’, a change in the process that takes out the active ingredient and leads to failure.
Adaptation
Adaptation just means changing your learning approach to suit your evolving needs. It’s supported by the fundamental cycle of self-regulated learning: Plan, monitor, reflect.
To plan means to make a hypothesis about a set of actions that is likely to help you reach your goal. Then to plan exactly how you are going to take those actions.
To monitor means to pay attention to how your plan is going whilst you implement it. What’s working, what isn’t?
To reflect simply means stopping and taking stock once you’re sufficiently far through your plan’s implementation. At this point, it’s time to consider what you’ve learnt, whether to continue with your current plan, and/or how to adapt your approach. Asa wise man once said:
“We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.”
– John Dewey
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These ideas are simple, but they are some of the most important in language learning, and learning more generally.
It equates to taking both a curious and a scientific mindset to your language learning. See your learning process as a series of experiments. With each new experiment, you learn more about yourself as a learner, and you uncover language learning mechanisms that can help you in your pursuit.
Following formulas can lead to short-term success, but long-term success relies upon your ability to learn deeper lessons, and adapt your learning processes over time to your changing context and needs.
Searching for mechanisms and experimenting with adaptation will help you to become an effective lifelong learner, and will also put you in a powerful position to help others.
Look for mechanisms
Adapt.
Plan, monitor, and reflect!
I have tried to model this reflective and adaptive approach to language learning through blog post series on my own journey of learning German.