The core theme is the crucial, often underestimated, connection between foreign language learning and the reading of literature, arguing that integrating literature is essential for true language mastery and appreciation.
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Hello everybody. This week I'd like to
share with you some thoughts that I've
been having recently about
the relationship between uh languages
that is foreign languages language
learning and and literature the reading
of literature. Literature being uh not
just text not just reading anything but
uh reading things that have been
consciously and deliberately well
written uh with intent to express
something edited and appreciated by uh
people for for that quality of of of
writing. Um
I have come to the conclusion that many
people uh on both sides I know people
I've always known people who who love
literature who love reading um and who
sort of have the idea it would be nice
to read this in the original uh but uh
that's that seems like a terribly far
away hard goal and in the meantime they
want to enjoy the meaning of something
uh and on the other hand I know uh many
people who are really aimed and focused
uh have this passion for for learning
foreign languages want to learn a not
want to learn them well, want to learn a
variety of them. Um, and have the idea
somewhere in the back of their heads
maybe that um, yeah, I know that uh,
reading is important for expanding my
vocabulary. Um, there are approaches to
uh, you know, that that integrate that
sort of take reading or texts and uh,
sort of call them stories, learn through
stories. You know, we learn well through
stories, connected themes, narratives, a
textbook that has a narrative thread is
is much better than one that doesn't. uh
you know reading making graded readers
and easy stories to grab your interest
helps you read naturally. That's all
true. Um
reducing literature or text to sort of
comprehensible input, making sure
they're at the right level that you can
read them so they're not uh too
frustrating. That that makes sense, too.
But uh that said, I really do when I
think about it have a feeling that the
majority of people that that that I've
known uh sort of separate the two and
think well okay uh yeah I really want to
learn this language and uh and
literature might be a nice frosting on a
cake. I enjoy a good book at times but
maybe reading really isn't my thing and
you know I'm more into conversing or
watching movies or other forms of media
to to get my interaction with the
language and those are your your
interests. That's fine. That's that's
that's that's good too. But I'm talking
to people who uh about people who who
who do appreciate both or who do like
both. And uh maybe who if uh because
again uh in in my channel here in my
academy that I run I you know maybe it's
the kind of person that I talk to comes
to me with their sort of issues and and
and problems or frustrations. How do I
overcome this? How do I uh how do I uh
get better at this? So I'm facing
difficulties in the aspect aspect of
learning. Come to me. I've got a lot of
experience. What should I do about that?
I'm happy to help. But I think that um
when I look at a sort of a deep root
cause of of I think of a reason why a
lot of people who uh have high
aspirations for learning a variety of
languages and and you know have a base
in them are yet always feel somewhat
frustrated that uh you know about their
progress and where they're going to go
and what they're doing is um maybe
because they don't really have a I had
to say proper relationship or or or or
concept of the relationship between
language and and literature in their
mind. Uh again, they're sort of seeing
the the learning and the studying of the
nuts and bolts, the vocabulary, the
grammar, the getting the conversational
ability as as as one thing. And then uh
maybe reading uh reading a good book
from time to time as as uh sort of
another thing, an optional uh thing that
they can do with them. And uh I'm just
not sure that it all can work that way.
A uh a language is something that um
well sometimes we're you know given in
bilingual circumstances but mostly a
language is something that we are chance
into and and grow up with and we have
that as our base language our mother
language and then some of us out here we
get we get curious about other languages
and we are intrigued uh fascinated
captivated by the idea of learning
foreign languages and we'd like to do it
well and um that's uh that's a goal that
people set off on and then uh to to
think of literature sort of being oh a
nice reward at the end or uh something
that's that's one way people think about
it and then as I said I know that there
are lots of other people who you know
love literature first and foremost and
um might want to to go at a foreign
language to say okay I really appreciate
this author so I'd like to see how how
he wrote in the original I think that's
an admirable goal but again to sort of
separate that out and say okay now I'm
going to learn the language and not have
the literature be here
to me the literature of a language is is
like the the soul of the language. It's
you know what's been expressed well in
this language is the language itself.
That's why language exists so that we
can think and express things. And so to
um sort of
not have that as as an integral aspect
or or part of the language learning
process I think does result in in sort
of stunted growth of the language and
and and feeling that uh you know I know
a lot of people are aware that uh in
language learning uh per se we we come
to plateaus we come to sort of an
intermediate plateau and you know at
different layers we make a lot advance
of advances and you know a lot of
progress and then we come to a flat area
and we get frustrated there and it seems
like we're we're not uh making any
progress and people turn to all sorts of
other methods and things that they're
doing and and wonder what's going on and
get frustrated and I think if they would
take more time to
pick up good books because they're good
books and at a certain point almost
forget that it's in that foreign
language because it shouldn't be foreign
to you anymore if you're at the point
when you can hook up pick up a book and
that's what we're aiming for. But um to
to have that relationship with sort of
letting your mind get into the ability
to have that other operating system to
function with other words and other
grammatical rules is is the first and
foremost. You need to have some basic
ability to do that. And when you start
reading a foreign language, yes, the
first couple of books that you read in
it are going to be, you know, slowgoing,
frustrating, hardgoing. But uh there are
many ways to to to go with that. And
ultimately to get to the point when you
are actually reading literature is when
I think the language comes alive in you
and when you really start to think it
and really appreciate it. And if those
are your goals, I think that u you need
to read more. And uh I don't when I look
around uh or talk to people or or think
about uh conversations that I have um
the the the the reading of good books in
foreign languages.
I don't know why that seems like it's a
relatively rare thing. Um I don't think
it ought to be. If I could sort of
redesign the world, that might be one
thing I would do. to wave a magic wand
and say, you know, it it shouldn't be
such a strange thing for a human being
to pick up a well-ritten book, a
meaningful book, a good book in another
language, the not his native language,
his maternal language, a language that
this person learned of his own
intellectual curiosity, maybe for the
sake of of reading good books like that.
Um, it's maybe a strange ideal, but it's
it's it's one that I I like that. I like
the idea of a world where um people
could could do that where, you know,
that was just sort of if you're an erite
person, if you're learned, if you you
know, you're a scholar, if you if you
have artistic inclinations, if you
appreciate beauty, that that ought to be
something that uh ought not to be a
strange ability, a facility. You're a
native speaker of this language. Um,
you've never lived here. you you you
know you don't have a particular reason
for knowing this language but you were
curious about it, you liked it, you
learned it and now you can take it to
the ultimate degree of of not just
conversing in it but uh you know that
higher vocabulary level of appreciating
the culture that's been expressed
through it. I think that ought to be
sort of a a common uh common ability of
of of people who learn languages and I
know lots of people who learn languages
and like languages uh and and do that
and yet uh don't uh sort of take enough
care or concern to to go on or into that
that sort of literary level. uh you
might be able to pass some sort of exam
certified exam saying that you're at
very high what's it C1 C2 the highest
level you can be but uh
that is based on some cultural knowledge
I think most of of of of those kinds of
tests that that I've seen but um yeah
there's so much far that you can go beyond
beyond
anything even like that and that is when
you really plunge into the you know the
literary tradition the living literary
tradition of of a culture of a language
and see the connection and see how the
language is used to to express that that
kind of ideas. So, um yeah, if uh you
are somebody out there who enjoys my
videos, likes this and the kind of
things I talk about, uh you're probably
very interested in in learning
languages. Um, do you give yourself a
check, a reality check and say, you
know, what to what degree do I hold the
reading of literature sort of um as my
goal or my my reward or something at the
end of of my studies that will uh make
it all tie together because I think the
relationship between languages and
literature is uh extremely important and
I'm going to make this whole video
because as I look around me I I don't
resonate with the fact that uh enough
people sort of concur with that. I think
uh too many people separate the two and
and and here focus on just language
learning is learning or maybe over there
on on literature and trying to read it
and appreciate it and analyze it. But uh
to really get the two together and
appreciate the the literature through
the language and use the language to
learn literature. Think of that as as as
sort of an ideal to uh recalibrate in
your mind and and think about uh how you
think about the relationship between
languages and literatures. if if you
appreciate the kind of thing that I talk
about. So, thank you for listening to me
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