The Definition of Language Input
When I first started learning Turkish, I struggled with coming up with ways to get that all-vital “input.” I’d define “input” as simply as “correct phrases and sentences in the native language.” This definition, while simple, has two key parts:
The first part is that the input has to be “correct.” People learn languages by building up what could be considered almost a repository of correct words and phrases. When you want to then talk to someone in that language, you draw from this library of phrases. When you hear or read something in the language, you are subconsciously comparing it to this repository; if it matches up with something that you’ve heard before, it sounds “right.” If it doesn’t match up with something you’ve heard before, it sounds “wrong.” Sometimes, you can’t even tell why something sounds wrong or right. In fact, in your native language, you very likely can’t trace it back to that specific grammar rule. Even if you can’t, you will still have a strong opinion around whether what you just heard or read is right or wrong.
The second part is that the language has to be full phrases and sentences. One initial strategy I took when trying to learn languages at first was to memorize the meanings of individual words. While this got me to an OK place, it never got me to fluency. That’s because people don’t speak in individual words. They speak in phrases and sentences. If you can’t see the most common ways words are used with each other, how they’re typically conjugated, which words go with each other, it will be hard to understand the language, and even harder to produce phrases that will sound right to natives.
The final part is that it has to be in the native language. Now, this is an important distinction. I spent years learning Spanish in a U.S. classroom. While this helped me get far, if I were to encounter your every-day native speaker, I would have had an extremely hard time understanding them. Why? Because I had gotten used to the accent of my gringo teachers. I had gotten used to their word choice. I had gotten used to their mannerisms. I had gotten used to all of the things that were completely separate from what a native would have actually done. That is why, whenever possible, you should make sure that the input that you’re getting is from a native source, rather than a non-native.
I will describe in future articles some of the best ways to get input that satisfy these three criteria.
The first part is that the input has to be “correct.” People learn languages by building up what could be considered almost a repository of correct words and phrases. When you want to then talk to someone in that language, you draw from this library of phrases. When you hear or read something in the language, you are subconsciously comparing it to this repository; if it matches up with something that you’ve heard before, it sounds “right.” If it doesn’t match up with something you’ve heard before, it sounds “wrong.” Sometimes, you can’t even tell why something sounds wrong or right. In fact, in your native language, you very likely can’t trace it back to that specific grammar rule. Even if you can’t, you will still have a strong opinion around whether what you just heard or read is right or wrong.
The second part is that the language has to be full phrases and sentences. One initial strategy I took when trying to learn languages at first was to memorize the meanings of individual words. While this got me to an OK place, it never got me to fluency. That’s because people don’t speak in individual words. They speak in phrases and sentences. If you can’t see the most common ways words are used with each other, how they’re typically conjugated, which words go with each other, it will be hard to understand the language, and even harder to produce phrases that will sound right to natives.
The final part is that it has to be in the native language. Now, this is an important distinction. I spent years learning Spanish in a U.S. classroom. While this helped me get far, if I were to encounter your every-day native speaker, I would have had an extremely hard time understanding them. Why? Because I had gotten used to the accent of my gringo teachers. I had gotten used to their word choice. I had gotten used to their mannerisms. I had gotten used to all of the things that were completely separate from what a native would have actually done. That is why, whenever possible, you should make sure that the input that you’re getting is from a native source, rather than a non-native.
I will describe in future articles some of the best ways to get input that satisfy these three criteria.
