Types of Learning Difficulties in Language Learning
When you start to learn a new language, the usual question that strikes is how long will it take me to become proficient in the language that I am learning. This question is usual and the answer is unknown.
The duration depends on the person’s language learning ability, interest, motivation, environment, intensity and experience in learning a new language. Not only that, the similarity or differences from the learner’s first language.
What is language proficiency?
Language proficiency is the ability to understand and communicate in a language effectively in oral and written forms in different settings. Proficiency in language needs knowledge and skills to use the linguistic components, background knowledge and critical thinking. It is important to have four skills of language learning that is speaking, reading, listening and writing for different purposes, situations and listeners. Many online institutes are available there to learn languages for
The Receptive and productive skills of language learning
Receptive Skills
Listening and Reading are the receptive skills of language learning. Because it is received by the other through someone who speaks. Listening may look like a passive skill but it needs active listening.
Learning to read a new language depends on the learner’s level of literacy in their native language. If someone who has a sound command of their native language will easily learn to read the new language as well.
Productive Skills
Productive skills refer to the meaning conveyed through produced information. The audience for productive skills is not always the opposite one but it is mostly the one who reads the book or email you wrote.
Learners have the opportunity to engage with others through speaking the new language in different situations, purposes and people in a wide ground of day-to-day conversations. Same for the writing skill as it is for different situations, purposes and people. It is interesting to note that their writing style will be influenced by their home cultures.
How is proficiency measured?
It is measured by four skills
1) Speaking
2) Reading
3) Listening
4) Writing
When measuring proficiency, it is important to take the individual's performance in each skill mentioned above. Enrol in a Summer Program for Languages like Malayalam to measure your language proficiency.
Learning a new language – Difficulties
Learning a new language is hard as it requires dealing with a different model than what you already know. Malayalam Language Learning School Online knows that Motivation to learn plays an important role in learning a new language. Learning from the beginning that is from the alphabet is hard but if you stay focused, it is something you can do. Hesitation is another factor that makes it difficult to learn a new language. A native speaker will always encourage people to learn their new language so, it is okay to make mistakes. Other factors such as poor Vocabulary, Grammar mistakes and thinking in your native language will affect your progress surely.
Types of learning difficulties in language learning
Language Learning difficulty is not a problem regarding the intelligence or motivation of the learner. It is only about receiving and processing the information differently.
It is just the learner sees, hears, and understands things differently. It puts the learner in trouble to learn new information and skill and use them effectively in day to day manner. Individuals who have difficulties learning a new language usually delay learning to speak and read especially with learning the phonics of the new language.
Learning Difficulty or disability is an umbrella term for more than one difficulty namely dyslexia and dysgraphia.
Dyslexia and language learning
Dyslexia refers to the language-based learning difficulty which affects the reading and spelling ability of the language. Dyslexia’s symptoms are not the same for every learner. Learners with dyslexia will have difficulties in hearing sounds and connecting the sounds to the letters they see. They also will have difficulty in reading and writing the new language.
How to learn a new language with Dyslexia?
No matter if dyslexia is present in a learner, trying to speak the language will help you to gain language fluency with Dyslexia. Focus on phonology by watching a film with subtitles to reinforce the sound and alphabet mapping as you see and hear the new language. Moreover, Practice pronunciation and train well your ears about minimal pairs in the new language which are quite tricky to learn a new language with Dyslexia.
Dysgraphia and language learning
When you learn a new language Dysgraphia makes it hard to put your thoughts in writing. It is the inability of expressing in writing. They will have spelling mistakes, poor spacing and handwriting. The term which is used to refer to language dysgraphia is Dyslexic Dysgraphia.
How to learn a new language with Dyslexic Dysgraphia?
When you write use papers with raised lines and large spaces. Making the letters out of modelling materials like clay will help you to have good movement of your hands and the letters will be in your mind. Experiment with other writing utensils and printed writing materials. The more you practice the more you achieve. It is a good idea to practice air writing to learn the new language with Dysgraphia.
Dyslexia and Dysgraphia are both learning difficulties in learning a new language. Both are neurologically based. Dyslexic and Dysgraphia learners may take more time than a normal language learner but it’s not a mission that could not be achieved. With proper motivation and interest, one can learn languages as much as one wants.