The U-Factor

What you won’t get from a language app, CD or YouTube video

So you’ve got the book, got your password for the internet platform, you’ve downloaded the app and been through 1-5 of the FlintStone CDs everyday on your way to and from work this month. You’ve set yourself realistic targets, you’ve put in the hard work, the dedication and the commitment. But somehow you’re not seeing the pay back, you’re not getting out as much as you put in. You ask yourself, why?

We’ve spoken about it before, but the problem here is that one of the essential elements of learning a language is missing: live language. Obvious and banal though this seems, learning is more than just honing communication skills through speaking and listening, above all we are trying to build an important element of real-life communication: dealing with unpredictability. No matter how challenging the first time around, no matter how many times you’ve hit that cd rewind button, no matter how many times you’ve glazed over in front of that you tube clip, you are still missing ‘the U factor’.

The U factor, the unpredictablility factor, is what you’ll need to get used to. It means dealing with not knowing exactly the nature of the exchange: the message, the words, the sounds coming your way. And whilst you’re in the swim, you’ll also need to learn to resist the temptation to tune-out. These are essential coping strategies.

How do you build the U factor into your learning? By mixing it up with non-scripted, un-planned conversation, and injecting that other U factor: ‘uncontrollability’. Essentially you need to communicate with something live, unpredictable and uncontrollable. And we’re not talking man’s best friend here!

So if you can, learn with a study buddy, chat over the internet, by phone or through Skype. Or join a group. With a license to thrill, we teachers have few crazy strategies to keep you guessing.

If you have any questions about this article, or any other element of language learning, please write to us at info@fluentintuition.co.uk or post us a message on Facebook and we'll get back to you.

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