Language Learning Style

[Taylor Napier-Runnels]

Over the past ten years I have studied several languages in a variety of settings. I have learned Spanish, Arabic and now endeavoring to learn Farsi each with varying degrees of success and frustration. For Spanish I took formal classes with a teacher for 7 years complemented by two study abroad programs in Central and South America, one for 3 weeks and another for 6 weeks. I studied Arabic for 1 year at college followed by a semester long program in Jordan, where 6 weeks of the program was partially devoted to Arabic. After coming back from Jordan I tried to reintegrate myself into the Richmond Arabic program, but had difficulty doing so because of the different teaching styles so I am currently studying the language independently using a variety of resources. From these two experiences learning languages I have learned what methods of learning I respond best to and how to best maximize the amount of Farsi I learn this semester.Spanish and Arabic taught me that I like a language course with structure that is analytical and not abstract. I learn best with lists and charts and dislike learning through role-play and open-ended questions. This doesn’t mean that I don’t like dialogue practices with native speakers, because my study abroad experiences helped me realize that I learned more when I was forced to use the language to communicate with native speakers on a frequent basis. I think because I am a more analytical and shy person I don’t like language activities that involve spontaneous role-play or even coming up with conversations to be acted out in front of people. I prefer activities that are more writing intensive or at least allow me the opportunity to write things down before I have to speak about them. Language activities I like the most include matching phrases with pictures, matching words with definitions, filling in the blank and other similar activities. These were the activities that I did in my Spanish courses and Arabic in Jordan, which was much more helpful to me than Arabic at Richmond where I felt that there was no structure to the class and there were no activities, simply explanations.I would like to work on my ability to be able to converse with more ease, which will involve working on exercises that force me to speak and think on my feet more quickly that writing does. I think that studying Farsi independently will allow me to accomplish this goal because I will be able to create my own structure and goals each week and move at the pace that I feel comfortable with while also challenging my conversational skills through the use of drill instructors. I am hoping that my previous language learning experiences will allow me to understand what works best with me and maximize the amount of Farsi I learn in the upcoming weeks.