Language

Language, why is it so hard to master?

Let’s us go back to Myth number 5.

Myth “My child has to have a private tutor- tuition is a necessity these days”
Reality “It works for most children, and the best results can be achieved in subjects like Mathematics”

Why?

Math takes understanding and a bit of practice. Understanding can take place in a twinkle of an eye. For lazy students, as long as they can pay absolute attention for a short period of time, is good enough. Exam deadline will, in most cases, motivate them to practice.
One the other hand, language does not work this way. It takes a lot of getting used to and that takes time.
For example, the phrase “It’s up to you” means to do whatever you want. Can anyone tell me why? Can we translate every word in the phrase to Mandarin to preserve the same meaning? Or can we, by replacing “up” with “down” to expect the phrase “It’s down to you” to have the opposite meaning? Ridiculous!
Let me share with you a story on how my tutor, cousin and I pick up language.

My tutor

I had an English cum Math tutor when I was 16 years old. Knowing that he came from a Hokkien-speaking family, I asked him how he could get to speak fluent English. He did not answer my question. Instead, he pointed to my little cousin who was 4 or 5 then. (Note: good tutors are good salesman. They know when and how to ask questions to get their message across.)
“How do you think your little cousin pick up those swear words up? Do you think he really understands?” I was dumbfounded. This question has never crossed my mind before. He explained further that young children are very desperate to blend into the family. They have to be super-keen observers. As a result, he merely behaves exactly the same way as his mother does. To him it was socially acceptable.
Lesson – the key to getting used to is super keen observation. Observe how well-crafted phrases and sentences are written in books, magazines and newspapers. Take note of the correct pronunciation of news readers.

Years later, I met Morris Allen, the principal of MASC, who wrote almost the same thing in his book, “21 Ways to Score A’s, A Parents’ Guide to Improving their Children’s English”.

Click here to read Morris Allen’s article.

However, there is conflicting evidence shown by researchers that T.V. can be bad.

Let’s take a 2nd look at myth number 7

Myth “Watching educational and children’s shows is good for my child and helps build his intelligence”
Reality “TV can restrict your child’s development.”

Personally, I believe the truth lies in how you use T.V. program. Why don’t you click on the video? It will only last for about 3 minutes. Try to follow the narrator as closely as possible.

For best results, watch video in the following way: Watch it through once 1st. The 2nd time, you have to pause after a phrase. Repeat after the narrator. For example, “Long ago and far away”. Pause. Repeat. ”in a village high on a mountain top.” Your child will be able to learn many vocabulary and well-crafted phrases.

Parents, wouldn’t you agree that anyone would be impressed if your child is able to ‘borrow’ the sentence “Her parents love her every bit as much as the King and Queen love the princess.” and apply it onto his essay?

For Chinese, watch “I not stupid”. Repeat the exercise. Parents, I challenge you to go through this test 1st if you are bilingual. Have fun!

So, why is it so hard to master a language well? The key to super-keen observation is a super-determined student.