Taming the Language Monitor

A chance conversation with an acquaintance reminded me of one of the most important concepts in foreign language learning — the role of the (subconscious) Language Monitor.  

I think of the Monitor as a tiny strict language teacher sitting on my shoulder when I speak another language, constantly checking what I say to make sure it conforms to grammar rules.

What's wrong with that you may say?  "I would love for someone to make sure I am speaking a language correctly." Here's what's wrong.

The acquaintance asked if I spoke a lot of Italian on a recent trip abroad.  "Not much," I complained., "I could read lots of the language but when it came to speaking....." 

 "What has happened with my Spanish," the acquaintance confessed, "is that I have been studying for two years, and I know so much grammar that it is slowing down my speaking ability.  I used to speak Spanish fairly fluently," she added, "but now my mind is checking everything that comes out of my mouth."  

How about it, reader, have you had a similar language learning experience? Do you have an overactive Language Monitor in your brain holding you back?

A first step in taming the Language Monitor is accepting the that fact that language errors must be viewed as helpful rather than disastrous. 

I know.  No one likes to make mistakes in life. But the idea that you are always going to speak perfectly is not even logical, even in our native language.  We expect babies learning their first language to make constant language "errors."  So will we as adults make many errors as we learn a new language, and it will be a good thing. Our minds will begin formulating our own subconscious idea of how the new language works (its grammar).   

Given the fact that language errors are inevitable in speaking a new language, why not let the Language Monitor clean things up before you speak?  Sounds logical.  But the reality is that specific conditions must exist for the Monitor to do its job. 

-The speaker must know the rule well in order to apply it. Remembering all of the written rules of a language is a difficult task, and many rules remain unwritten and not available for learning.

-The speaker must be focused on form rather than meaning.  (Have you ever made a conversational partner wait until you conjugated a verb in your mind to get the right form?  I have.)

-The speaker must have time to apply the rule.  I am picturing an impatient listener who just wants to get on with the conversation rather than waiting for you to stumble around trying to express yourself in error-free language.

So how about loosening up a little and patting yourself on the back for communicating successfully rather than formulating a perfect sentence?  Did you succeed in getting directions to the train station in Paris?  Were you able to ask for the check and pay with a credit card in Mexico City?  How was your chat on the Via Rail train in Canada with German-speaking dinner companions?

Tell your Language Monitor to cool it until you are writing an email to a new Portuguese-speaking friend whom you would like to impress with your perfect language.  Then you may use your Language Monitor that has been waiting in the wings, red pen in hand so to speak.

Musings on Language Errors

Do you want to be corrected when you are speaking a foreign language?  If I ask a group of adult language learners that same question, the majority will vote yes for receiving correction.  And many learners are absolutely adamant that they need and want correction. How else will they ever learn to produce error free speech, they plead. It sounds so logical, doesn't it? Make a mistake, get corrected, say everything right the next time.  Step 1, step 2, step 3. Too bad learning a foreign language is not that straightforward.

Here is the argument against error correction.

When you are participating in a conversation in a foreign language, your mind is extremely busy, trying to pronounce sounds, choose words, and put phrases and sentences together.  Your goal is to communicate meaning.  If someone (generally with the best of intentions) corrects your language, in most cases your mind cannot process the information.  Your personal grammar making machine located in your mind can't absorb the information quickly enough to make your language more correct in the future.

If you are still with me, thinking through this thorny issue, the next logical question is, "Okay, if correcting my language errors does not lead to a more accepted version, how will I ever improve my language skills?" And most people, given the choice, really do want to speak more correctly.  The solution is for the learner to listen to and read enough standard language that the brain begins to compare your evolving second language with the more standard pronunciation, word choice, and phrase and sentence structure of native speakers.  Complicated?  Not really,  Children learn their first language by this method all the time.

Now, that being said, I was reflecting recently about the role of error correction in my favorite online language learning program, Duolingo. When I make an error, Duolingo definitely brings it to my attention by a bleeping sound, an X , and the correct solution.

And I believe that I do indeed profit from the correction of my errors, because when I'm given another chance by the patient computer program, I often can produce the correct response. That realization led me to consider the difference between language learning on Duolingo and face-to-face conversations.  

The first difference that comes to mind is that on Duolingo, I am not hurried.  I can carefully consider my error, read other people's comments about the question, or even defend my answer by reporting a problem to Duolingo.  Therefore, I can internalize the information much better than in a conversational exchange where I have to consider the presence of another person, keep the conversation going, and even possibly overcome my embarrassment at having made the error. After all, Duolingo doesn't care if I make an error; it just rewards me for getting the right answer by making a cheerful sound and moving a bar forward so that I can earn points.

My conclusion is that many kinds of language experiences are valuable for language acquisition, but the experiences call for different language learning techniques.  As for me, I'll continue to remind my live conversation partners that I don't want to be corrected, just understood.  But I'm looking forward to conquering some obscure grammar rules on Duolingo by taking its corrections to heart.  

   

Why do we hate to make language mistakes?

"Acquire language like you were a child!"  "Don't be afraid of making errors!" "Talk to as many native speakers as you can!"  There is certainly no scarcity of advice nowadays when it comes to how to acquire other languages. But how easy is it to follow that advice?  Why is it so hard to allow yourself  to make errors when learning a foreign language?

Let me say up front that I understand that mistakes are a natural part of the language learning process.  I accepted communication as the main goal of foreign language learning many years ago.

Communication is the goal!

I am familiar with the concept of  interlanguage, a term that linguists use to describe a version of the new language that a learner speaks on the road to becoming a native-like speaker. And every learner's interlanguage is rife with errors. Errors are a good thing, I keep telling myself.

Now let's go from theory to practice.  Making errors in another language (surprisingly more than making errors in my native language, English) embarrasses me to death.  And I have met very few adult learners of other languages who feel differently.  Both my husband Wayne and I have been faithfully completing Duolingo language lessons each day.

Duolingo

Both of us murmur an interjection (or in Wayne's case, more probably an expletive) when the program informs us that we have erred. And to add insult to injury, the program takes away a heart (serious business!), accompanied with a few bars of lugubrious music.

Don't lose all three hearts, or you are dead!

After every conversation I have in a foreign language, even in e-mails or text messages, my mind goes over and over the message long after it is gone, checking to see what errors I may have made.  And if I discover one, I blush.

I try to remember that making errors is a positive step in language learning when I am helping Wayne with his Spanish study.  I don't correct him when we are conversing.  I subscribe to the doctrine that correcting speakers when they are trying to formulate language in their minds is not only counterproductive, but possibly discouraging to them. But he persists in asking me, "Was that right?"  If I respond with, "Do you feel like you communicated what you wanted to say?", he says, "Yes, and was it right?"  

Why do language mistakes loom larger than other mistakes we make in life, like taking a wrong turn, calling a wrong number, or forgetting to lock the back door?  Maybe it's because language is something very personal to humans.  We create it from our minds.  And we hate doing it wrong!