What Type Of Language Learner You Are?

You are a language learner, and if your parents didn't speak two different languages to you from the day you were born, you have to work hard to climb the language learning mountain. The way you do it says a lot about you and defines your success.

So what type of language learner are you?

Conversationalist: a language learner interested in people

It's easy to spot a conversationalist. They can be found in the middle of a human crowd, vividly expressing complex ideas with just 20 foreign words.

To pass as a conversationalist, you need a certain personality type. The blend of extraversion, natural talkativeness, and a certain level of empathy usually does the job. While introverts like me may crouch in the corner mentally rehearsing "Perdona, ¿dónde está el baño?" to find a washroom in a coffee shop in Madrid, conversationalists speak up and end up going to a barbecue party with a barista. But not everyone is an extrovert.

There's no such thing as "I have nothing to say" for a conversationalist, the nightmare of an introvert. Nor is there an "I don't know how to say," even if their vocabulary doesn't exceed a hundred words. Exceptional conversational skills help these language learners overcome linguistic limitations and actually make themselves understood, somehow. And, yeah, they don't keep track of grammar as long as they can keep the conversation going.

For a conversationalist, a foreign language is a way to connect with more people. So what they are actually interested in is this connection.

The best way to learn a language is to talk to native speakers – from day one.

Romantic: a language learner in love with a culture

Awww, la France!

Romantics are avid fans of another country. They are in love with its traditions, culture, people, and, of course, its language. This often happens with Italian, French, and Spanish, thanks to their rich history and prominent cultures. However, the more appropriate example would be Japanese. At least one-third of the world is dreaming of learning this language, thanks to Blue Exorcist and Haruki Murakami (or any other combination of Japanese anime, manga, and literature you can think of).

Despite this all-embracing love, the majority of romantics learn their second language while staying at home. They tend to enroll in language classes, dreaming that one day they will move to the country of their dreams. And, fair enough, some of them actually do so, but many do not.

Why?

Because the love lasts three years, and like any other passion, this language interest tends to fade with time and a lack of attention. Nevertheless, if a romantic language learner succeeds in keeping their interest, they can achieve a very high level of language proficiency, as Alice Kaplan's experience in her must-read French Lessons: A memoir.

The best way to learn a language is to use it to explore the culture.

Pragmatic: A Language Learner in Pursuit of Opportunities

And then there are the misunderstood victims: those who had to learn a language.

It’s a common story for English learners: not being particularly excited about the language, even less so about speaking it with anyone, but more interested in the benefits that come with knowing English. Such benefits can include better job opportunities, immigration to a more favorable (from a socio-economic perspective) place, or even premium access to literature and cinema, as it often takes an additional six months to translate such works into other languages around the world.

For pragmatic learners, a language is a tool for solving their problems. As a result, their proficiency level varies quite a bit, depending on the complexity of the problems they are solving. Some would be satisfied with minimal knowledge as long as they can survive in a foreign land (even if it means using phrases like "You go airport. Me pay."). Others would reach the highest levels of proficiency for their professional or academic goals and would still remain indifferent to the language.

The best way to learn a language is to clearly understand your objectives and find a language program that matches them.

Intellectual: A Language Learner Interested in Learning

In the good old days, language learning was considered an excellent exercise for the brain. You didn't learn Latin to speak Latin because it was a dead language. You learned it because it was the language of the intelligentsia and a sign of a learned person.

Nowadays, fewer people learn Latin, and even fewer do it to exercise their hemispheres. However, there are still individuals who engage in language learning simply for the sake of learning.

Learning a second language is a stimulating brain activity that can help postpone Alzheimer's and dementia. It is also generally correlated with better executive control, attention and cognitive function – to name just a few of its advantages.

Intellectuals, who strive to improve their cognitive performance, take the bait and delve deeply into exploring grammar, memorizing vocabulary, and reading literature. The more challenging the task, the better.

The best way to learn a language is to read.

Linguist: Language Learner Fascinated by Language... or Languages

Then, there is another type of language learner characterized by an eager gleam in their eyes at the sight of a grammar book: a linguist.

Well, these individuals can be intimidating and generally dangerous because they don’t view a language as a tool, but rather as a lab rat. They wish to practice vivisection, parsing this language into systems of phonemes, morphemes, lexemes, and other –emes until there are none left. They also enjoy drawing syntactic trees, performing morphological analyses, and examining spectrograms. Exploring grammatical structures is the most fulfilling activity for them.

What!? You don’t like grammar?

Linguists learn languages to see how they work. It doesn’t necessarily result in fluency, so don’t ask this language learner how many languages they speak. They may become aggressive.

Using these languages in real life is a nice bonus, but not the ultimate goal. And if you think that’s strange, don’t say it to them.

The best way to learn a language: Analyze It to the Bones

Linguo-maniac: Language Learner Obsessed with Superpowers

Linguo-maniacs are people you will always be jealous of because they speak around 20 languages and learn five more while mere mortals like you struggle with their second tongue.

For these learners, learning languages is like collecting butterflies: an exciting hobby. They usually are aware of all the benefits of language learning and are honest about their actual proficiency level. So if they can only read in Spanish, they won’t claim to "speak the language."

Linguo-maniacs are a bit obsessive, but language learning is an addictive activity in itself, so you can’t blame them.

One of the brightest examples is Kato Lomb, the world-renowned polyglot with an impressive repertoire of 24 languages and the first-ever simultaneous interpreter. If you’re curious about what drives these people to devote their entire lives to language learning, her book“Polyglot: how I learn languages” is the right place to start.

How Your Language Learner Type Affects Your Progress?

Now, if you had a chance to learn more than one language, you might have discovered that, for the second time, your motivation was different. You might have learned English as an international language to have more opportunities for studying abroad, traveling, and advancing your career. Then, after proudly hanging your IELTS certificate on the wall of your bedroom, you decided to learn Spanish just for yourself because you always wanted to. In a blink of an eye, you shifted from being pragmatic to romantic.

Your learning strategy needs to shift as well.

If you consider language learning as a simple hobby, something you enjoy doing with friends once a week in a local gym, you don’t even have to play well, as long as you are having fun. But if you see language learning as a way to get into college, your approach should be much more serious. You'll even invest in good shoes. If playing basketball is your career and the only way to make a living, you bet you’ll be training hard for eight hours a day.

It would be ridiculous to invest in equipment and training if the only thing you want to do is play with friends once in a while. The same goes for language learning.

You can easily satisfy your learning goals with three levels of Spanish on Memrise if all you want is to find your way around in Barcelona. But if you expect this language to help you make a living, you have to invest in your learning experience. You can choose language courses, the Pimsleur program, or a one-month immersion in Spain – anything that fits your needs.

The rule of thumb here is that a good language learner understands their motivation very well.

So, what motivates YOU to learn a language? Write it down in the comments, and I'll tell you what strategy will suit you best.