The English-Learning and Languages
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Kató Lomb’s
Strategies for Language Learning and SLA Theory
Scott Alkire
Kató Lomb’s Strategies for Language Learning
and SLA Theory
Scott Alkire
Originally published in
The
International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, Fall 2005
© Scott Alkire 2005
Abstract
A
noteworthy yet relatively unknown text on language learning is Dr. Kató Lomb’s Így tanulok nyelveket [This is how I
learn languages] (Budapest:
AQUA Kiadó, 1995, 4th ed.). The text is noteworthy for its
language-learning strategies, which closely correlate to language-learning
strategies of successful learners documented in major
The
knowledge of foreign languages has always been important in Continental Europe,
and from at least the time of Comenius (1592–1670), scholars have written
serious discourses on foreign language teaching and learning. In the last 40
years, important European contributions have been made by Belyayev (The Psychology of Teaching Foreign Languages, 1964), Lozanov (Suggestology and Outlines of Suggestopedy, 1978),
and Medgyes (The Non-native Teacher, 1994),
among others.
A
lesser-known but exceptional text on language learning from
This article presents Lomb’s learning
strategies and correlates them to learner strategies documented in major
Dr. Kató Lomb (1909–2003) was
Largely self-taught in languages (her
doctorate was in chemistry), she first described her learning strategies in This Is How I Learn Languages. Upon publication of the first edition
in 1970, the book attracted scholarly and popular interest across
In her book, Lomb describes her strategies for
learning a foreign language through the construct of a made-up language,
Azilian. She assumes that she has had no exposure to Azilian and that it shares
no cognates with her native language or any language she knows. Because of her
conscious application of strategies to learn languages, Krashen (1997) calls
Lomb’s experience “very relevant to foreign language education” (p. 41).
“First of all, I try to get my hands on
a thick Azilian dictionary. Owing to my optimistic outlook I never buy small
dictionaries; I go on the assumption that I would fathom them too quickly and
then the money I invested in them would end up being wasted. If an
Azilian-Hungarian dictionary does not happen to be available, then I try to get
hold of an Azilian-English, Azilian-Russian, etc., dictionary.
a) In the beginning, I use this dictionary
as my textbook. I learn the rules of reading from it. Every language—and
consequently every dictionary—contains a lot of international expressions. The
bigger the dictionary, the more such expressions there are in it.
b) The words for nations, countries and
cities (especially names for smaller places that are not in danger of
distortion through frequent use) and the scientific vocabulary that ‘transcends
language’ reveal to me the relationships between letter-characters and phonemes
in the Azilian language. I remember that the first thing I looked up in the
Russian-English dictionary I bought in 1941 was my own name: E________1.
c) I do not memorize the words; I just scan
and study them as though they were some crossword puzzle to be solved. By the
time I glean the rules of reading from the above-cited vocabularies, my
dictionary will have revealed a lot of other things, too, about the Azilian
language. I can see how it morphs the parts of speech into one another: how it
nominalizes verbs, how it forms adjectives from nouns and adverbs from
adjectives.
This is just a first taste of the
language. I am sampling it, making friends with it.”
Lomb’s strategy of using a L2–L1 dictionary as a
beginning text for learning a language is unique; there is no extant research
on it. In terms of general dictionary use, her use of bilingual dictionaries
when beginning to learn a language is strongly supported by
Although it is not known if Lomb was
familiar with bilingualized compromise dictionaries, Laufer and Hadar (1997)
suggest that these dictionaries (which follow a bilingual dictionary format but
include the “good features” of learner’s monolingual dictionaries) may
represent an advance over bilingual and learner’s monolingual dictionaries. In a study that
compared the use of learner’s monolingual, bilingual, and bilingualized
compromise dictionaries among 123 EFL learners in Israel, Laufer and Hadar
found that irrespective of the learners' proficiency level, the bilingualized
compromise dictionary was either as good as, or significantly better than, the
other two dictionaries for comprehension and production tasks.
“Following this first assay, I buy a
textbook and some works of Azilian literature, all together. Of the first, I
always buy one with answers provided for the questions in the exercises, as I
am an ALS, or average language student: i.e., because of time constraints, I
mostly have to teach myself.
“I go through the lessons and do all the
written exercises in sequence, as they come in the book. I write ‘breezily,’
leaving ample room for corrections. Then I look up the correct answers in the
key and write them beside/above my own incorrect variations. In this way, I get
a very visual representation of ‘the history of my folly.’2
“I scold
myself for the errors made and then promptly forgive myself. I always leave
enough space in my notebook to be able to write five–six correct words or
sentences, similar to the ones I got wrong…. This is very helpful in imprinting
the corrected formulas.
“As all this is a
bit tedious, right from the outset I start reading Azilian plays or short
stories. If I’m lucky, there will be ‘adapted’ texts available. If not, I just
start on any literature published before 1950. (I can have trouble
understanding the style of modern novels, even in my native Hungarian.) I
always buy books in pairs: this increases the chance that at least one will be
comprehensible.
“I start
on the comprehensible novel immediately. To go from incomprehension to
half-understanding to complete understanding is an exciting and inspiring
journey of discovery worthy of the spirit of a mature person. By the time I
finish the journey, I part with the book feeling that this has been a
profitable and fun enterprise.
“At
first reading, I only write out words that I manage to understand, that is,
words whose meaning I have been able to figure out from context. Naturally, I
do not write them out in isolation, but in the context they appeared. It is
only after a second or third reading that I look up words unknown to me. Even
then, I do not look up each and every one. With those that I record in my
notebook, I include the vortex of meaning supplied by the book or by any
contemporary dictionary worthy of the name.”
Notes
No studies could be found on the value of answer
guides in language textbooks. Lomb’s systematic use of them suggests that they
are important for language learning, at least independent language learning.
The
research on whether adapted texts are superior to authentic texts in aiding L2
acquisition is inconclusive. One practical solution, supported by many recent
studies, is to have students choose their own texts (“free voluntary reading”).
This would be consistent with Lomb’s strategy. Krashen (2003) writes that free
voluntary reading “is now perhaps the most thoroughly investigated and
best-supported [language learning] technique we have in the field of
second-language pedagogy” (p. 26).
Lomb’s
strategy of learning vocabulary in context is strongly supported by SLA
research (see Seal, 1991;
“All this, however, does not teach one
of the most important of the four aspects of language learning: verbal
comprehension. In addition, I have not gotten an accurate picture of Azilian
pronunciation (the phonetic transcriptions of the textbook are always of
somewhat dubious value). For this reason, at the very beginning of my language
study I set aside some time for scanning the Azilian airwaves. I figure out
when and at what frequency I can hear Azilian speech live on the radio.
Somewhere, sometime, I am sure to catch the idiom I am interested in from the
ether.
“News bulletins
generally reflect the most important international events of the day in their
main outlines. For this reason—even if the news items are selected according to
the probable interests of Azilia’s inhabitants—they are usually the same in the
broadcasts of different languages. So I always listen to the news in some
other, familiar, language as well. Thus I am given a key—almost a dictionary—to
what I can expect, in advance. If an unknown word crops up along the way, I
write it down. After the broadcast, I look it up immediately in my big
dictionary. The reason for this is that at that time, immediately after the
broadcast, the word still resounds in my ear with its entire context and if I
misheard it (which happens many times), the context, still fresh in my memory,
helps redress the error.
“If I
find the word in the dictionary, a little self-congratulation is in order
again, and this makes learning a pleasant pastime instead of a burdensome task.
“Then,
not immediately, but after a day or two, I record in my glossary the knowledge
thus acquired ‘from the air.’ This temporally staggered approach is advisable
because this way I am forced to revisit fading memories—unfortunately, quite
often not for the last time.
“Once a
week, I tape the broadcast. I keep the recording for a while and play it back
several times. On these occasions, I always concentrate on pronunciation. Alas,
I must admit that based on the announcer’s native pronunciation, sometimes I
have to reacquaint myself with words that I thought I already knew from books.”
Notes
Studies by Crookall (1983), Norbrook (1984), and
Imhoof and Christensen (1986) show that radio, whether used naturalistically or
formally, has positive effects on the acquisition of an L2.
Although television- or Internet-based
technologies may eventually prove to be superior to radio in facilitating L2
acquisition, in much of the world radio is still the only language-learning
technology available for little or no cost to learners. It must be noted that
Lomb herself preferred radio to television: “I simply believe it
[television] to be a time-wasting activity. My favorite is the radio…. When
considering pronunciation it is indispensable.” (Varga,1996, p. 4).
“Of course, I try to seek out a teacher
who speaks Azilian. If I find a professional educator, I’ve got it made. If
there isn’t a bona fide teacher available, I try to at least get a native
speaker student who is staying in my country on a scholarship.
“I
confess that I prefer to be taught by a woman. Perhaps this is because it is
easier to chat with women. I have long been intrigued by the question of why
women talk more than men do (generally speaking)….
“To
return to my method of language study, what I expect from my Azilian teacher is
what I cannot get from either books or from the radio. Firstly, I ask the
teacher to speak at a slower than average speed so that I can catch as many
words as possible from the context, and secondly, I expect him or her to
correct my Azilian, mainly on the basis of written assignments that I
diligently prepare for each class.
“At
first, I write free compositions because it’s easier. Often these are
disjointed texts, made up of elements not connected with each other, just loose
sentences that I use to hang new, just seen/just heard words and grammatical
phrases on. On the basis of the teacher’s corrections, I verify whether I
grasped their meanings and functions properly. When I reach a higher level of
knowledge, I begin to translate. At this stage, an already given text compels me to give up using well-practiced
formulas and, under the pressure of the translating discipline, employ others
that I am not so certain of.
“Uncorrected
mistakes are very perilous! If one keeps repeating wrong formulas, they take
root in the mind and one will be inclined to accept them as authentic. Written
translations pinpoint one’s errors ruthlessly, while a listening ear might be
prone to just glossing over them….
“I would
like to emphasize another great advantage of written translations over holding
conversations. To speak a foreign language is a matter of practice, and a wise
person learns not to get out of his depth…. [unfortunately,] this does not lead
to an increased vocabulary or an enhanced ability to create sentences....an
ALS….must learn how to expand the framework and then fill it….”
Notes
Lomb recognizes the value of the trained teacher
regardless of native tongue over the native speaker who is not a trained
teacher. This is consistent with ELT theory (see Medgyes, 1994). In addition,
Lomb acknowledges the value of the untrained native speaker as an informant.
This is consistent with ELT theory as well (see Krashen, 1993).
Lomb’s strong belief in written
corrections runs contrary to much ESL theory for teaching writing. Gray (2004)
cites several studies that show that written corrections do not serve to
improve students’ writing, and that they can actually be harmful to students’
“performance and development.” However, Gray notes that most
students “strongly expect” teachers to notice their writing errors and comment
on them.
Harmer (2001) suggests self-assessment:
“Where students are involved in their own assessment there is a good chance
that their understanding of the feedback which their teacher gives them will be
greatly enhanced as their own awareness of the learning process increases” (p.
104).
Lomb’s assertion that translations
advance one’s knowledge of a foreign language and “pinpoint one’s errors
ruthlessly” is noteworthy; translations are an important part of foreign
language instruction in most countries. However, to be most effective they
generally require that the students and the instructor share the same L1. This
is rare in most ESL programs in English-speaking countries.
“Those who had the patience to read
through my musings about mastering the Azilian language might find two things
lacking in them. Any self-respecting language-learning manual’s writer would
now say something like: ‘…I make an effort to familiarize myself with the
history, geography, social, political, and economic conditions of Azilia as
thoroughly as possible.’
“Such
study cannot hurt, of course, as it brings us closer to our goal: as
comprehensive and precise a knowledge of the language as is possible. If I
write this with some degree of reluctance, it is mainly because this
‘trans-linguistic’ field (as I call it) is often abused.
“It is much simpler to attend (or give)
lectures on these aspects of Azilia in one’s own language than to torment
oneself (or one’s students) with the vocabulary and grammar involved….
“If I am able to travel to Azilia, the trip’s
effect on my Azilian may depend on two factors. One is the extent to which I am
able to observe the natives’ speech with conscious attention and to make a
record of what I hear for subsequent reinforcement. The other factor is the
extent of my knowledge of Azilian at the time of departure.
“It is a grave
delusion that a stay in the country of the language one is studying functions
as a funnel through which knowledge just pours into one’s head. I think people
have been misled by the Latin proverb: ‘Saxa loquuntur,’ or ‘Stones talk.’
“Houses, walls and buildings do not
undertake the task of teaching. It may be that they talk, but their speech,
alas, is in stone language. It is quite possible to pick up a few colloquial,
idiomatic expressions or clever turns of phrase under the influence of the
local environment, but these generally do not amount to any more than what one
would have acquired anyway by applying oneself to diligent study at home for
the same time period.
“Neither
reminiscing with your émigré compatriots who live in Azilia (‘Do you remember
Alex from sixth grade?’) nor comparative window shopping (or Schaufenster lecken in German, meaning
‘shop window licking’) will do anything for your Azilian. Frequent hearing of spoken Azilian, however, will.
Local papers usually publish information on what museums or galleries offer
guided tours. Then there must be an Azilian version of the Society for Popular
Science Education that is sure to organize free lectures to educate the public.
Whenever I am abroad, I frequent all these types of events and take copious
notes every time. Studying a language also provides an excellent excuse to go
to the movies. I spent three weeks in
“The
ideal solution, of course, is to maintain active relationships with native
speakers of one’s ilk and interests, with lots of shared activities—especially
if these natives are willing to correct your mistakes, and if one is resolved
not to get mad when they do.
“The other factor
that decides the impact of a trip on one’s knowledge of the language is one’s
level of mastery at the time of departure…. ‘A’ and ‘F’ students will benefit
the least from trips. Those who know nothing at the outset will probably return
with virgin minds. For those at a very advanced level, improvement will be
difficult to detect. The best results will show—given the ideal conditions
listed above—at the intermediate level.”
Notes
Lomb’s claim that “trans-linguistic” (i.e.,
content-based) instruction is “often abused” is provocative though unsupported
by
***
“The thoughts distilled in the course of
my linguistic excursions are organized into the little compendium below. Heaven
forbid that we should call them Ten
Commandments—let us perhaps call them Ten
Requests.
I.
Spend time tinkering with the language every day—if
there is no more time available, then at least to the extent of a ten-minute
monologue. Morning hours are especially valuable in this respect: the early
bird catches the word!
II.
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
assignment writing, poke about in the dictionary, etc.
III.
Never learn isolated units of speech, but rather
learn words and grammatical elements in context.
IV.
Write phrases in the margins of your text and use
them as ‘prefabricated elements’ in your conversations.
V.
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.
Memorize only that which has been corrected by a
teacher. Do not keep reading texts you have written that have not been
proofread and corrected so as to keep mistakes from taking root in your mind.
If you study on your own, each segment to be memorized should be kept to a size
that precludes the possibility of errors.
VII.
Always memorize idiomatic expressions in the first
person singular. For example, ‘I am only pulling your leg.’ Or else: ‘Il m’a
pose un lapin’—‘He stood me up.’
VIII.
A foreign language is a castle. It is advisable to
attack it on all fronts at once: via newspapers, the radio, un-dubbed movies,
technical or scientific articles, textbooks, or via a visitor at your
neighbor’s.
IX.
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.
Be firmly convinced that you are a linguistic
genius. If the facts demonstrate otherwise, heap blame on the pesky language
you aim to master, on the dictionaries, or on this little book, not on
yourself.”
Notes
All of Lomb’s “requests,” with the exception of VII
(a minor point), have been validated as strategies of “good” language learners
in research and studies by Stevick (1989), O’Malley and Chamot (1990), Oxford
(1990), Rubin and Thompson (1994), Naiman et al. (1995), Cook (1996), Gethin
and Gunnemark (1996), Chamot et al. (1999), and Lightbown and Spada (1999).
More broadly, Lomb’s requests fall under the two holistic strategies that
Nation (1983) found employed by good language learners: abstraction
(non-analytical learning; requests I, II, V, VIII, X) and rule induction
(analytical learning; requests III, IV, VI, VII, IX).
***
“As seven of the biblical Ten
Commandments are in the negative, let me now approach the question from a
forbidding angle and list what not to
do if you aim to achieve an acceptable level of linguistic mastery within an
acceptable time frame.
1. Do
not postpone embarking
on learning a new language—or restarting such a study—until the time of a
prospective trip abroad. Rather, try to gain access to native speakers of your
target language who are on a visit to your country and who do not speak your
language. They could be relatives or friends. If you accompany them and show
them around, they will help you solidify your knowledge of their language out
of gratitude; they will enrich your vocabulary and overlook the mistakes you
make.
2. Do
not expect the same
behavior from your compatriots. Do not practice on them because they will be
prone to giving prime time to your errors—or at the very least, they will be
inclined to employ meaningful facial gestures—to demonstrate how much better
they are at it.
3. Do
not believe that
instruction by a teacher in a course, however intense and in-depth that might
be, gives you an excuse not to delve into the language on your own. For this
reason you should, from the outset, get into browsing through illustrated
magazines and into listening to radio programs and/or prerecorded cassettes.
4. In your browsing, do not get obsessed with words you don’t know or structures you
don’t understand. Build comprehension on what you already know. Do not
automatically reach for the dictionary if you encounter a word or two that you
don’t understand. If the expression is important, it will reappear and explain
itself; if it is not so important, it is no big loss to gloss over it.
5. Do
not miss noting down
your impressions in your own words, with familiar expressions. Write in simple
sentences; words you can’t think of at the time can be replaced by words from
your own language.
6. Do
not be deterred from
speaking by the fear of making mistakes. The flow of speech creates a chain
reaction: the context will lead you to the right track.
7. Do
not forget to store a
large number of filler expressions and sentence-launching phrases in your
memory. It is great when you can break the ice with a few formulas that are
always on hand and can help you over the initial embarrassment of beginning a
conversation, such as ‘My English is kind of shaky’ or ‘It’s been a while since
I spoke Russian,’ etc.
8. Do
not memorize any
linguistic element (expression) outside of its context, partly because a word
may have several different meanings: e.g., the English word ‘comforter’ may
refer to someone who is consoling another, or it can mean a knitted shawl, a
quilt or eiderdown, or yet again a baby’s pacifier. In addition, it is good,
right off the bat, to get used to the practice of leaving the vortex of
meanings around the word in your own language alone and reaching out to its kin
word in the new language or to the context you have most frequently encountered
it in.
9. Do
not leave newly learned
structures or expressions hanging in the air. Fix them in your memory by
fitting them into different, new settings: into your sphere of interest, into
the reality of your own life.
10. Do
not be shy of learning
poems or songs by heart. Good diction plays a more significant role in speech
performance than the mere articulation of individual sounds. Verses and
melodies impose certain constraints. They set what sounds must be long and
which ones must be short in duration. The rhythm inherent in them guides
speakers and helps them avoid the intonation traps of their native language.”
Notes
All of Lomb’s “no’s,” with the exception of Point
2, have been validated as traits of “good” language learners in research and
studies by Stevick (1989), O’Malley and Chamot (1990), Oxford (1990), Rubin and
Thompson (1994), Naiman et al. (1995), Cook (1996), Gethin and Gunnemark
(1996), Chamot et al. (1999), and Lightbown and Spada (1999). As with Lomb’s
requests, her no’s fall under the two holistic strategies that Nation (1983)
found employed by good language learners: abstraction (non-analytical learning;
no’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 6) and rule induction (analytical learning; no’s 5, 7, 8, 9,
10).
Conclusion
Lomb’s text is
noteworthy, it has been shown, for its language-learning strategies, which
closely correlate to the language-learning strategies of successful learners
documented in major
1. This transcribes as “Yekatjerina,” the Russian
version of “Catherine.”
2. This is a reference to the title of a romantic Hungarian
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Dr. Kató Lomb (1909–2003) was an interpreter and
translator based in
Scott Alkire has taught English as a Foreign
Language for the Open Society Fund in the
Kornelia DeKorne is a certified member of the
American Translators Association.
Copyright held by
author
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