Grammar. Whether we like it or not,
at some point we need to tackle the grammar of the language we are studying...
but the big questions are, "When should we start learning grammar?"
And "What's the best way of studying it?"
Today? I'm about to give you my answers
based on my own experience learning six languages.
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The matter of how and when to learn grammar
is a defining characteristic of every different foreign-language learning method:
On one hand, high school and university courses
place a lot of focus on grammar rules
Typically you will start to learn grammar within the first weeks of classes.
On the other hand,
alternative methods try to reproduce the process with which infants and children learn their native language.
These novel methods try to minimize the role that grammatical concepts play,
and some of them remove grammar from the learning process altogether.
As with most things in life, you must find a perfect balance between the two extremes.
Of course, overburdening students with complex grammar rules from the start is discouraging,
counterproductive and, put simply, quite boring.
However, you must still learn grammar at some point.
If not, you will be deprived of a powerful tool that allows you to understand the logic
and the structure of a language.
So when should you learn grammar?
First of all, it’s a matter of time and goals.
Any person who’s compelled to embark on the quest of learning a language
must answer the following questions before they begin:
• Why am I learning this language?
• How much time can I dedicate to learning it?
Let’s take the example of a language I learned some years ago… Portuguese.
Why did I want to learn Portuguese?
My objective was to open new doors to travel
and in my interactions with native speakers.
How much time did I have available?
I had less than 3 months and 15 minutes a day to devote to this task.
Obviously, considering my availability constraints,
it’d have been ridiculous for me to think that I could completely master the language during that limited time.
Plus, my goal was to quickly understand and be able to use Portuguese.
When I travelled to Brazil, I knew that my Portuguese wasn’t perfect,
but that’s OK; my errors generally did not affect the comprehension of my listeners,
After beginning to express myself and having learned enough day-to-day words and phrases,
I felt it was time to perfect the language and face the grammar.
So in my personal example, I started to study grammar after 3-4 months.
Another factor to take into account
when deciding when to tackle grammar is your learning style and personality.
There are those who like to organize what they learn.
They lay down a foundation, develop patterns, and discover rules.
Other learners work better with improvisation and spontaneity.
If either student were to learn grammar too early, it would be detrimental to their success.
In my opinion, I fit somewhere in between both styles.
I like being spontaneous at first,
exposing myself to the language naturally and memorizing words and phrases,
but then I go through a “consolidation” phase,
during which I use precise rules to perfect what I’ve learned.
It goes without saying that, each person needs to find a method that’s most useful for them.
To sum up, the answer to the question “when to learn grammar”
is that it depends on your motivations, goals and learning style.
That being said, I’d like to share with you a practical approach to learning grammar
in order to cover the second topic of the video: how to study grammar.
My approach relies on 5 pillars:
1. Wait until the right time
In my opinion, it’s best to start learning a language by listening,
memorizing new words and phrases, repeating sounds, words, and sentences out loud.
For instance, I’ve never actually studied Romanian grammar.
But this hasn’t stopped me from reaching a level that allows me to express myself
and easily understand the language.
It was only after years of spontaneous practice
that I felt the need to structure my speech and apply grammar rules.
2. Learn only what is necessary, at least in the beginning
I always like to apply the Pareto Principle
when I learn a new language.
For example, I usually start from the 20% of the things that will be needed in 80% of the cases
For example, in English I find it unnecessary to understand the difference
between the present perfect and the present perfect continuous…
and yet at school we spent weeks trying to grasp these nuances,
which have not actually been of much use to me.
Conclusion: It’s better to focus on the most important rules,
and perhaps learn the rest later.
3. Study a grammar rule only when you feel the need to
In many classical methods, you learn tons of grammar rules without really putting them into practice.
So when you finally need the rule for speaking or listening,
you found out you have actually forgotten it!
This way of studying grammar seems a great waste of time.
What I suggest is to do the opposite:
instead of starting from theory with the hope of eventually getting to put it into practice,
start from practice and work your way back to the theory.
For example, while learning German,
I studied the past tense only when I felt the need to talk about the past:
I was speaking with my German tutor
and I suddenly realized that I needed it.
So, I studied the theory, and since I could put it into practice right away, the rules stuck.
4. Identify common patterns and acquire grammar intuitively
My 3-year son is learning 3 languages
and I’m really fascinated by the way he seems to apply grammar rules.
From the sentences he builds and the mistakes he makes,
I figured out that he doesn’t need theory to acquire grammar rules:
thanks to context, repetition and the constant exposure he gets,
he internalizes patterns and reproduces them intuitively.
I think we have a lot to learn from children
and that intuition is much better than rote memorization.
It’s what I did when I wanted to learn the difference between “por” and “para” in Spanish.
Instead of studying the rule on textbooks for hours,
I opted to study the different uses and the context of different sentences,
so I could use them with much more intuition, and without having to stop and think
“OK, so this is where you want to express cause or reason, so maybe use por…”.
Our Abbe recorded a great video which gives you more details about this way of learning.
The link is in the description as always.
5. Don’t let grammar stop you from speaking
I’m not going to lie.
Grammar is a really powerful tool for understanding the mechanisms of a language
and learning to master sentence structure.
But sometimes, especially at first,
when you learn grammar it can be a real drag when you want to speak.
There is nothing more counterproductive than waiting to speak a language
until you feel you’ve fully grasped its syntax and grammar rules…
The best way to learn a language is to simply dive in,
like that, you learn from your mistakes through trial and error.
I really hope this video helped you see things clearer and
decide how and when to learn grammar.
Take a look around our channel because
we have other videos covering other aspects of this topic.
Take care and happy learning!
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