(Latin: “To drink the sea” – meaning to attempt the impossible)
How realistic is it to learn a foreign language independently, without teachers or tutors? How well can one master a language this way? Is it like trying to drink the sea? What do you think?
Human potential is limitless. When I say “human,” I don’t mean some abstract individual – I mean each one of us. Every person is unique, and great potential lies within each of us. Yet far too few realize even a quarter of that potential.
I wrote about one reason this happens in the previous issue: lack of belief. Not in God or the devil, but lack of belief in oneself. Without belief, there’s no action.
Can one live without self-belief? Of course. You can believe in a teacher, obey them, trusting they know better what to do and how to guide you along the narrow path to your cherished goal.
Is it bad to believe in a teacher? Not at all. If a teacher is a true teacher, their first priority will be to teach you independence. They’ll wean you from a consumer mindset toward life – and toward your studies. They’ll awaken in you a thirst for knowledge, a hunger for discovery, a drive to conquer new peaks of human potential.
So, can every one of us learn a language alone? Or is this gift reserved for a select few? Let me reassure you immediately: If you have no significant cognitive impairments, if you possess some memory, if you can think even a little – you can learn as many foreign languages as you see fit. And yes, independently.
Alright, learning to read and understand spoken language on your own is conceivable. But can you learn to speak? After all, as they say, “to learn to swim, you must swim”?
The experience of many people called polyglots (multilinguals) shows that learning to speak independently is also possible.
If you structure your studies correctly, if you have all the necessary materials, if you have desire and patience – you will succeed.
The secret to success lies in:
- Setting the right goals for yourself,
- Finding and implementing ways to achieve them,
- Following through until completion.
The first question you should have asked yourself is: “Why am I learning this foreign language?” I hope you’ve already asked it. And what was your answer?