On Polyglot Kató Lomb and Second Language Reading

The Reading Series: Lomb’s 10 Suggestions for Successful Language Learning

To sustain my motivation and trick myself into thinking that I am an avid Japanese book reader, I have turned to one of the most renowned polyglots of the 20th century, Kató Lomb. Lomb did not believe in innate language talent; instead, she stressed that successful language learning is gained by maintaining motivation throughout the learning process and not becoming disheartened by errors.

Her book, Polyglot is a hefty read of 217 pages but the TL;DR message of her methodology for successful language learning can be summed up in a straightforward process: reading. Moreover, finding material that interests you and being consistent with it is a way to leverage discipline and motivation for success in language learning. If you focus on the process, you will always get results. With this reasoning, I am now on a mission to read 100 Japanese books (manga and other picture books excluded). As I delve more into Japanese literature, I have realized how rote memorization and SRS have failed me because my brain seems always to find a way to forget things that I have learned.

“Aside from mastery in the fine arts, success in learning anything is the result of genuine interest and amount of energy dedicated to it.”

Kató Lomb, Polyglot: How I Learn Languages

Although reading is at the core of her language learning methodology (now known as the “core novel method,” which means having as much comprehensible input as you can), Lomb also emphasizes the significance of listening to and speaking the language in the learning process. It is unfortunate that while I would like to turn into a bookworm/ひきこもり, I know that I cannot neglect other aspects of language learning. Anyway, here are Lomb’s 10 Suggestions for Successful Language Learning (pp. 159-160) for you to peruse:

I. Invest Time
Spend time tinkering with the language every day. If time is short, try at least to produce a 10-minute monologue. Morning hours are especially valuable in this respect: the early bird catches the word!

II. Cultivate Enthusiasm
If your enthusiasm for studying flags too quickly, don’t force the issue but don’t stop altogether either. Move to some other form of studying, e.g., instead of reading, listen to the radio; instead of writing a composition, poke about in the dictionary, etc.

III. Learn in Context
Never learn isolated units of speech; rather, learn them in context.

IV. Create Cue Cards
Write phrases in the margins of your text and use them as “prefabricated elements” in your conversations.

V. Translate in the Wild
Even a tired brain finds rest and relaxation in quick, impromptu translations of billboard advertisements flashing by, of numbers over doorways, of snippets of overheard conversations, etc., just for its own amusement.

VI. Avoid Fossilization
Memorize only that which has been corrected by a teacher. Do not keep studying sentences you have written that have not been proofread and corrected so mistakes don’t take root in your mind. If you study on your own, each sentence you memorize should be kept to a size that precludes the possibility of errors.

VII. Memorize Expressions
Always memorize idiomatic expressions in the first person singular. For example, “I am only pulling your leg.”

VIII. Utilize Media
A foreign language is a castle. It is advisable to besiege it from all directions: newspapers, radio, movies that are not dubbed, technical or scientific papers, textbooks, and the visitor at your neighbor’s.

IX. Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back
Do not let the fear of making mistakes keep you from speaking, but do ask your conversation partner to correct you. Most importantly, don’t get peeved if he or she actually obliges you—a remote possibility, anyway.

X. Believe in Yourself
Be firmly convinced that you are a linguistic genius. If the facts demonstrate otherwise, heap blame on the pesky language you aim to master, your dictionaries, or this book—but not on yourself.