Holistic Learning Vs. Structured Learning: Which Kind of Language Learner Are You?
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Which kind of learner are you when it comes to langauges? Are you a holistic learner like me who likes to focus more on words and their meanings, or are you a structured learner who likes to learn about the rules and grammar of a language from the very beginning?
I'm a professional language teacher and it seems that the structured approach is becoming a thing of the past whereas the holistic approach is becoming more popular in the form of Total Physical Response through Storytelling (TPRS). I think a lot of this is largely because our brains are hard wired to acquire languages through context rather than through mere grammar rules (such as memorizing verb conjugation tables).
Me personally holistic up to the point where I reach the intermediate plateau and all progress tends to slow down. I then switch it up and become more structured because when you become more structured in at the intermediate phase it helps you strengthen knowlege in certain areas and in my case I like to go topic by topic and incorporate my strategies to max out my stats.This way I can get to an advanced level whereas if I had stayed holistic I might have improved slower.
I used to be a structured learner, but since I got to know your videos I became a holistic learner. I had textbooks with exercises and flashcards, and I tried to force myself to remember every single bit of information. Now I dropped that and the process became much more enjoyable.
I think you need both elements in order to learn new concepts. Reviewing concepts a lot (holistic) will help you remember it and make it a natural habit, but the explanation (structured) answers the "why?" and "when?", which will be useful to know so you can identify what you are about to learn.
I'm holistic. I've found it useful to start off with a Michel Thomas course because it gives me a grasp of language (how it sounds, vocabulary, similarity to English and any specific grammar issues which I should be aware of such as word order). I don't go through all of the course because I've had enough by the time and get to cd 4. I then work through materials using listening and reading. I find that when I encounter a "grammar explanation" I already understand the gist from the MT course so I either ignore or just quickly read. I don't tend to do the grammar exercises because I find them distracting and sometimes confusing. I'm not a crossword person and I don't think my brain works in the way these exercises are often set out. What I prefer to do is to focus on noticing the grammar point in the text I am working through.
I’m definitely holistic. I can’t stand exercises and I never feel like a rule helps me unless I already had somewhat of an inkling about it beforehand. If a book is mostly vocal lists and grammar exercises I put it down immediately and reach for assimil.
Id say i am 90% structured and 10% holistic. Personally being more of a memorizer amd route learner since primary school,i would say i have an tendency(cue:obsession) first to understand and remember rules of grammar completely and be able to recite time almost perfectly by heart before i move on;otherwise i would feel this inexplicable feelings of inadquecy and angst that prevents my mind from budging and moving on
It's the same for me, I was a structured learner but just because I was used to do things this way, but now I m a holistic learner because I have memory problems and I m a very lazy learner. It would take me so much time to remember something by studying it again and again before moving on, and I don't like to spend a long time doing the same thing, I like 'la nouveauté'.
But I think that one can be holistic only if one has time, when we are at school for instance we are obliged to learn things fast, that is to say the lesson, by heart.
> It would take me so much time to remember something by studying it again and again before moving on, and I don't like to spend a long time doing the same thing, I like 'la nouveauté'.
Same! Although, I also use linguistics to understand grammar more easily, so with a new language I never need to start from scratch. But I find that being more structured only gets me so far. Especially with actually speaking, I need to just intuitively know stuff. Otherwise, I'll be thinking too much, and I'd be way too slow.
I'm doing both now. I hate purely structured learning. With languages. My book starts out with text and then gives explanation. I listen to different sources in the language I'm starting with. Mr. Steve, people will just tell you what you want to hear.
Holistic, stick to that, it will create magic. I am Arabic, and I speak French, and English to the backbone. I am an English teacher. From my experience, any language should be studied en bloc, let alone Arabic, why I am saying this because Arabic is so specific and so so so broad, beyond any imagination. If for example in English you take this verb, you may easily end words by derivation, read, reads, reader,readable, reading, readers etc you may find few other words , the same with french . ... But in Arabic, it seems impossible to finish, I am Arabic, and I know what I am talking about. Give two or three letter, and you will be astonished about the huge amount of words that you can make. This gives so much sense to immerse yourself in reading, listening to it as it is en block. It will come,just be patient. I am fond of all languages, if I listen too much to Spanish, Italian, even Indian, I feel it easy to understand the message , the meaning even though I have zero knowledge of grammar, structures . Good luck for you all
Hi Steve,
I am a holistic language student but for mathematics and science I definitely prefer a structured approach.
Both, I guess. I organize my learning in goals. First, learn the new sounds, and how to make 'em. Second, I practice the speaking and listening, with dialogues. In this process the language starts to feel familiar to me. Then I get assimil or something similar, and every time some pattern seems difficult, I study it. Then I move to more advanced material, like short grammars or learning books, but the method still the same: get used to patterns (and the logic of the language), and every time something is not easy to understand I go see the explanation on internet.
I do the same. Completely agree with your approach. However, be careful with the explanations on the internet. Some of them are complete rubbish and it would be counterproductive to use them. Happy learning!
I usually consult more than one source, then I compare them. I know sometimes I can get something wrong, but this way is more productive, and faster (in my opinion). Eventually I can come across the correct explanation, in this case I'll have to readapt the use of certain rules, but it's better than getting stuck.
Happy learning for you too!
I am a holistic language learner, an Arabic native speaker
I'm extremely holistic. I find it very hard to get myself to study grammar
Great video!! Holistic learner
Everyone is a holistic learner after a certain point. You cannot learn a large lexicon in another language without holistic exposure
I’m definitely a structured learner. Although, is seems like learning holistically is an option for me (I learnt/ am learning German like that) it always makes me feel more insecure and anxious. I still find myself checking a German for Dummies book out of the library because I think I need it, only to flip through it and find a handful of things that I was unsure of. So, it works, it certainly does, I just don’t prefer it.
Holistic has always worked best for me.
Arabic wise I think its best to focus on the alphabet then work on the grammatical side. once you get the alphabet down, and understand Arabic stems I think for a dictionary Hans Wehr is good
Vidéo géniale!!!
Merci Steve
I'm a holistic learner. I spend my time basically listening and a bit of reading. I also review my Anki almost every day.
Language is learnt in context, but without understanding grammar (not memorising the rules, but understanding and using them) we'll be forever making the same mistakes. So, both!
True. I never really had to have thought of understanding grammar. It's one of my favourite parts of a language, so I can do it pretty well and it's never been seen as that much of a challenge to me. However, the grammar is always tied to context, and there are grammatical constructions and usages that you would not imagine and that can not be explained until you actually have context. Thus, I've always seen the context as the thing I'm missing, and so I've convinced myself that context is the utmost important aspect, since I only notice what I don't have. But now thinking about it, I can not imagine how a person with no grammar knowledge would feel.
I guess I'm pretty much holistic in that regard. If somebody would ask me how I learned Chinese for example I couldn't really say "oh well, there is this and that what I did...". :D
I often ask native speakers of my target language random questions that just pop up in my head. They often seem to be related to learning a specific language to such a small degree that people wonder why I would ask such questions. :D
But for me it's actually really helpful because I get a very good overview of the "mentality of the language".
But everybody has their own "goals"...or rather understanding of what a language "is for" and what you want to do with it.
Im pretty 50/50 on the learning honestly
Thanks from Egypt: )
Steve, I think you might be at the beginning stages of developing a new linguistic theory that could be compared those of Krashen and Chomsky. A book would add to the academic community.
I learned the Cyrillic alphabet in a day. I have the same problems with Arabic as you, and I speak Hebrew as a third language after English in French. I would approach Arabic in the same way as you, but I would do those book exercises first or concurrently with hollistic learning. The Arabic alphabet is less obvious and logical to me than Cyrillic, Hebrew or Latin alphabets.
Structured. I think my obsessive-compulsive tendencies have something to do with that.
I’d say I’m mainly holistic, being super structured (relating to content) i find I get bored or want to move onto to other stuff and come back
Mnemonics
I find this the easiest way to learn letters.
Russian (www.alphabetcartoons.com/russian-alphabet/)
Japanese (Hiragana / Katakana) Dr Moku (and my own mnemonics)
Kanji (Kanshudo.com)
Arabic (not available but intriguing) Dr Moku
I start approaching learning structured then i end up holistic
Constant struggle between both
A question, how are you reading without the vowel signs especially when you are not focusing on grammar? I am Muslim from a non Arabic speaking country so can read the Quran with the vowel signs without understanding. Now I am practicing without the vowel signs with the holistic approach looking up words, listening and trying to understand.
Both
My advice to you don't study grammar Arabic it's hard
learning any language without previous studying the grammar is possible.
I am quite successful in reading Turkish not having studied the grammar.