I always get compliments from people who find out that I am bilingual - Russian native speaker, and advanced English speaker. And I always respond to them that they are exaggerating because I never really had a choice if not learning English. I completed 11 years of education in the regular public Russian school which was with intensive learning of English. However, I do not think that the learning was intensive at all. Right at the beginning of primary school my mum also placed me in a language learning center in the group with the kids who were older than me and had the elementary level for sure. On top of that I had private classes with the same teacher who was leading the group classes. If you ask me why did I have so much English when I was just 6.5 years old? Well, do not ask me, ask my mum. She is a huge believer that if you want to develop any trait in your kid, you have to do it from their childhood. I agree with that more than anything. Now when I realize how drastically English transformed my life and perception of the world I can not thank my mom enough for what she did to me when I was in primary school. So, regarding my previous experience as a language learner I can definitely say that most of the times I was placed in very challenging and uncomfortable situations where I had to be creative in order not to look like the most stupid kid in the classroom. This experience was really out of my comfort zone, and who can potentially like it? What I really enjoyed is the outcome. Since primary school I would always get the highest points on English tests/exams. By the age 14 I would freely speak English, communicate at the tennis tournaments, and etc. And, by the age 18 I was admitted to an American University based on my academic achievements, SAT and TOEFL scores. All of these were the result of my hard work in the classroom because let me tell you that Russian and English languages are completely different universes. Moreover, I never really had a chance to practice my English with native speakers except for my trips to the tennis tournaments.
About a month ago I started learning a new language from scratch. Some people might say that it might be a very challenging task because adults learn new languages much slower than kids. However, I will respectfully disagree with them because some researchers showed that adults perform learning tasks much more successfully than kids due to the ability to keep focus and self-discipline much longer. So, here I am a senior at the University at the age of 21 starting the new language - Hungarian. I am very excited about it, and I am planning to put myself in challenging situations where I would have to perform to my best learning potential, same as my mum did to me when I was 6.5 years old.
The surveys that I have completed did not reveal anything about learning abilities that I have not known before. I am definitely a visual learner, and I memorize things much faster once I see them or write them down. Maybe that is why I always prefer using the book where I can mark, highlight things instead of my laptop, write in the notebook with colorful pens instead of typing out lectures on my laptop. According to the assessment “Find Your Strengths!” My top three intelligences are body movement, a very good sense of self, and I am a very social person (aka I am good at gathering ideas from other people). Some of the learning activities and methods that I can incorporate in my learning journey can be:
-taking a walk while memorizing new words, story, project materials;
-use different types of surfaces where I write down new information;
-practice breathing and relaxation during study breaks;
-use brainstorming methods before reading;
-setting up interviews or little dialogues with friends or family in order to practice new vocabulary.
I think these might be some very helpful learning techniques, and I am looking forward to incorporating them in my studies.
