I came to the conclusion today after finishing my first classical german book (Die Judenbuche). That at least I need to start treating learning German like how I learned English my native language. I also hope this helps anyone who has felt what i am about to describe. I would like to also note that i think this is mostly for people who are starting to verge on a more intermediate and advanced level in their target language.
When i started this book i really struggled i was trying to look up and make flashcards for the words that i didn’t fully “know” even though i could more or less understand what they meant in the sentence and in the plot. This was obviously painful as there were at least 5-10 of these words per page. i was having trouble keeping up with the story and getting lost with what was really being said. These where words i’ve only heard a few times or words i haven’t really seen before.
Yet when i just pulled up the audiobook and read at the same time just trying to enjoy it i realized i could easily understand 100% of what was happening. I was feeling the emotions the author wanted me to feel noticing the symbolism the author wanted me to see.
I think we get so caught up while trying to learn a target language thinking we must exactly be able to know a perfect description or translation for every word.
Yet when we were kids and learned a words like “melancholy” or “egress” or “exacerbate”, were we really able to give a precise perfect definition of these words? Did we stop and pull up dictionaries for them? I think at least in my case no. Sure maybe a few times once or twice when i was really stumped. Rather, I learned the feel of these words. I know what they mean because i just do, either because i’ve read them from my favorite book or heard it from a show i loved.
I think in the beginner stage where you are learning words like “red” “cow” and “blanket” you should be able to know what that is exactly.
But for more advanced words I don’t think that’s quite necessary. I think what’s important is that you can understand what is being said.
I personally believe that when we stop trying to translate every word or try to put words in a box without context or feel, we start to weaken our progress.
When you’re at a level that you can read literature and watch movies and listen to podcasts in a foreign language, you should stop treating your target language as this lesser side language. It has now become a part of you and you should treat it how you treated your native language as a kid. Sure It isn’t fully accurate or precise yet but it IS GROWING. You should be reading, watching, and listening to things you like in your target language because they interest you. Not just because it will improve your target language. And I’m pretty sure when you do this your understanding of new words will deepen along with the enjoyment of media.
TLDR:
When you are at an advanced level stop trying to translate every word in your target language. I think most of us weren’t doing this with a dictionary when we read books or consumed media we loved as a kids. Enjoy the content you are consuming and if you’re understanding what is going on and really enjoying what your consuming the words will come along with that understanding.
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via Learn Online English Speaking
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