5 Common Misconceptions About Learning a New Language and How to Overcome Them

Wouldn’t we all benefit from learning a new language?  Not just in our careers, but in our personal lives too.  Imagine speaking fluently with the French or Spanish hotel staff as you enjoy your holiday…
So, yes, learning a new language is a fulfilling and useful experience. But it’s also pretty daunting!

Because of the huge benefits you’ll see, it’s important not to be put off by the kind of misconceptions that can make you less prepared to start.



Let's break down some common myths about learning a language, and provide a few practical tips for overcoming them.

1. It’s Too Difficult to Learn

One of the most common misconceptions about learning a new language is that learning is too tricky!
This often comes because the writing system and its grammatical structure are unfamiliar.

Overcoming this challenge is easy in two ways:

Familiarization with the writing system

If the language you're learning has a different script, you need to get familiar with each character. This applies to languages like Mandarin, Thai, and Japanese.
On the other hand, if you're learning (say) Spanish or French, you only need to learn the spelling of words – along with using a few accents – since they use the same alphabet as English.

Getting into the grammatical structures

Let’s review a few structures to show what we mean here.
The elements of a sentence are as follows:

Subject = a person or thing that carries out an action, e.g., "Laura read a book."
Verb = the action, e.g., "Laura read a book."
Object = a person or thing that receives the action of the verb, e.g., "Laura read a book."

The structure of the sentence used here – in English – is called the Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order.

But East Asian languages, for example, take a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) structure, and here, the above sentence would be written “Laura the book read.”

Different grammatical structures also exist in other languages you want to learn.  This means that in an Object-Subject-Verb (OSV) structure, the sentence would be written “The book Laura read.”



You’ll need time to adjust, but you’ll eventually be able to form full, correct sentences in the language.  And once you’re under way, it becomes second nature.  We know because we’ve been there!

2. Living in the Country Makes You Fluent

Another common fear is that you need to live in the relevant country if you want to learn a language. Being in an environment where everybody speaks the language you're studying will of course help, but it's not essential. You can achieve fluency without even setting foot in that country.
Constant studying enables you to become proficient without even leaving your home, let alone emigrating!

Here are some common ways you can overcome this fear:

• Sign up for an online course. This will give you the lessons you need, and learning that’s flexible – and usually at a very low price.
• Immerse yourself in the country's culture. Devour pop culture content, like movies, music, and dramas, and you’ll learn and familiarize yourself with the words used.
• Enroll in offline language classes. This is a great option, whether it’s your only course of action, or as a reinforcement to online courses.
• Use online resources to learn more about the language. You can, for example, watch YouTube tutorials to learn how native speakers say the words.
• Talk to native speakers who can help you learn as you build your skills. It's their first language, so they can help you out if you're having trouble with, say, a few pronunciations.
• Join forums and social media groups to get more insights into the language.

3. The Process Takes Years

Obviously, it will take a while to learn a language. And of course the process can be gradual, but dedicated study will help you see results early on.  In any case, if you crack on and take the plunge, you’ll reap the benefits.  And if you don’t … you won’t.

A great way to start is to take a motivational approach, by setting yourself short-term and long-term goals.  You can then measure your progress against them, notching up “victories” along the way.

You could, for example, aim to learn a few phrases for the first week, then read books and articles in the second week. And for the third week, you could set a schedule with a native speaker friend and talk to them in the same language throughout.  Then back to the same routine, starting at week one, or “mixing it up” a bit by introducing new activities, or even changing the order around.

You’ll get more confident with your new language skills as they grow. Celebrate your progress – even small wins – and keep on studying!

4. You Need to Know Other Languages

This is plain wrong! Knowledge of multiple languages – or a general “talent” for learning them – isn’t needed at all.  More relevant will be studying in a persistent and effective way.

The best habit to adopt is to study every day. It doesn’t need to be hours at a time (though it helps to get some long sessions in there).  Even just a fifteen or twenty minute stint will be useful, because it will keep you “in the loop”.  Get a textbook or download a language-learning app and make time for lessons within your daily schedule. You can even get a study partner who's fluent in the language to help you – as long as you make allowances for their own daily schedule!

5. It's Only Useful for Certain Professions

Learning another language is beneficial in a wide variety of careers, like travel, international business, translation and teaching, for example. But you’ll often be considered an asset in your job if you can talk in other languages.

Learning a language, regardless of your career (or even whether you actually have a career) also contributes to your personal growth. To assess your suitability, or the level at which you need to begin, can begin with a skills assessment. So if you’re learning Korean, you would take a Korean level test to assess your skills. And armed with your results, you’ll be able to get lessons suited to your level. As a side benefit, as you become more proficient, you’ll be able to understand that country’s traditions and culture as you expand your horizons.

Final Thoughts

As you can see from what we’ve said, misconceptions about learning languages are often unsupported once they’re up against reality. But they can present a psychological barrier to learning.  Which means overcoming them can lead the way to a fun-filled journey.

It would be good, if you can, to address your concerns with the help of what we’ve said here, so you’re able to approach learning a new language with confidence, positivity and a clear perspective of what you need to do.