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Elizabeth Bear, an excellent writer whom I’ve gotten to know online, posted this line in her blog today: To double your success rate, quintuple your failure rate.

She was talking about writing fiction, but this is also true for learning languages. Research shows that students who are brave enough to take more chances DO make more mistakes, but they ALSO learn faster and better. If you only say or write things that you are sure are correct, it’s nearly impossible for you to raise your level.

I know it’s scary, but it’s also necessary.

Now, I don’t particularly like Nike, and I dislike TV ads in general. However, I think Michael Jordan does a good job of reminding us that making mistakes and failing is part of getting better and winning:

When you hesitate to speak, think of what Michael Jordan and Elizabeth Bear said, and then take that chance.

There’s an interesting set of articles about English currently online at website for the Daily Yomiuri, a Japanese newspaper. I agree with many, though not all, of the ideas expressed in the articles. Here are two I particularly liked:

“Forging Paths toward Fluency” by Brian Chapman: “A key element in learning a foreign language well is having the desire and a passion for learning it. The same holds true for teachers, and a passionate teacher will strive to produce what is best for the student to learn–and, more importantly, to communicate.” The writer interviewed a teacher, Stephen Soresi, who uses a special method to get students to talk more. I don’t know how good his method is, but I agree with him that even native speakers don’t speak with perfect grammar–so why pressure students to be perfect? It’s better to help them say anything than to scare them into saying nothing. I also agree with him that the main reason many Japanese people can’t communicate in English even after studying for years has nothing to do with being Japanese. Instead, it’s because of “the way schools, all the way up to the university level, treat English education and entrance examinations.”

In “Business English Fun?”, another teacher has a similar point. Michael Jones tells students “Have the confidence to fail in English!” Research supports this idea: if you don’t experiment with language, it’s hard to progress. Jones also tells teachers “If [students are] communicating, don’t interrupt. If they’re actually speaking, that’s half the struggle–and let them finish.” I totally agree. If you’re looking for a teacher, observe their classes. See if they usually wait long enough for students to complete their thoughts. You don’t want a teacher who is impatient or who interrupts.

Take a look at the other articles, which are all listed on the Language Connection section.

Emily Chen wrote a list called ABCs for English Learners, which is a fun list of ways you can approach your English studies.

In my MA program, we talk about “metacognitive strategies.” These strategies are ways you consciously think about how to learn, use, and remember information or skills. One way to think about it is “learning how to learn better.” This article, Hacking Knowledge, lists 77 different ways to learn better. I don’t agree with all of them, but take a look. (You might want to scroll down to where the numbered list begins.)

Setting goals is one technique they mention. (I really need to do this myself!) Write down a list of your language-learning goals. Be specific: don’t write “become fluent,” but things like “have a long conversation with a stranger.” Discuss the goals with someone else to be sure the goals are reasonable. Then put the goals somewhere you’ll see them often, such as stored in your cell phone, in an open document on your computer, or pinned to your wall. Various studies have shown that having specific goals can lead to more accomplishments.

Have you ever tried this or any of the other 77 ways to learn? Did it help you? (Or do you have a suggestion that’s not on their list?)