Ah, to be a maestro of languages! Have you ever daydreamed about a life as a troubadour of the spoken and written word, a multilingual world traveler? You could travel to Paris, walk into a restaurant, and order off the menu in French, with a perfect native accent to match your beret and baguette.
Or, perhaps it would be enough just to have a few party tricks up your sleeve so that when the conversation starts to drop, you can pull out some cool, jaunty Swahili and wow your conversation partner. After all, how many people know Swahili? (According to data from Google, around 100 million.)
Whatever future scenario you’ve envisioned, there’s just something alluring about the idea of being a linguist. Perhaps it’s the association with spies and codebreakers from the Cold War era, when speaking a foreign language might land you a highly classified spot in a highly classified branch of the government, doing highly classified but very fun and interesting and definitely James Bond-worthy missions to save the world from tyranny.
Or, maybe it is the fascination with meaning—and lack thereof. The complete over-my-head feeling you get when hearing someone speak in a foreign language that you don’t speak. There’s a distinct sense of being on the outside instead of the inside, like there’s a glass wall that suddenly goes up. You realize you are suddenly unable to fully understand the person in front of you, and vice versa.
Communication is stunted—not entirely, of course, since body language and many facial and voice expressions are universal in meaning. But you’ve never felt so out of the loop as when you’re the only person who doesn’t know what’s being said. There are only so many times you can say, “What? Sorry, I didn’t get that,” before you feel like a nincompoop.
Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. After all, we all have some languages that we know and some that we don’t know. Even those of us who are multilingual are going to sometimes find ourselves on the outside looking in.
The fact that you’re here, reading this post, suggests that you might be well on your way to learning another language. If you’re already at the stage where you can take good notes on conversations in a foreign language, you’re not doing half bad, my friend! And if you’re just getting started and you’re here for some ground rules, that’s more than okay too.
There’s a lot to consider when taking notes in a foreign language, so I’m glad you’re being proactive and looking into it. There are a number of tips and tricks that you can use to take your foreign language note-taking to the next level, and your linguistic competence along with it.
So get out your pen and paper, put your thinking cap on, and let’s learn how to become linguists.
The Basics of Language-Learning
Children’s brains are like sponges, and there is a period of time when they develop where they are primed for language learning. However, if you missed that stage, you’re likely going to find yourself struggling, unless you have a knack for languages. But for most, learning a second language as an adult is no easy feat.
We’re not going to go in-depth into the facets of language-learning progress, but what I can tell you is that students who are learning a second language typically go through five stages: Preproduction, Early Production, Speech Emergence, Intermediate Fluency, and Advanced Fluency.
Those are probably self-explanatory examples for the most part, but allow me to briefly explain anyway:
- Preproduction: the first six months or so of language learning. The student has very little comprehension of the language, can’t verbalize many words, and is left mostly with gestures as their main form of communication. They are mostly just identifying some vocabulary at this point.
- Early Production: the six months to one year mark. The student has limited comprehension and can produce one- to two-word responses using key words and familiar phrases. Likely can only communicate with present-tense verbs. They can answer “Who…” and “What…” questions.
- Speech Emergence: one to three years. The student has good comprehension and can produce simple sentences, though they’ll still make grammar and pronunciation errors. They can provide short-sentence explanations.
- Intermediate fluency: three to five years. The student has excellent comprehension and makes few grammatical errors. They can answer questions with responses longer than a sentence.
- Advanced Fluency: five to seven years. The student has a near-native level of speech.
Obviously, the time frame is going to vary from school to school and student to student. Just remember to only take notes at whatever your level is instead of being overly ambitious and reaching for levels that are beyond your comprehension. Doing so would only be discouraging and a waste of your valuable time.
The Challenges of Learning a Foreign Language
Learning a foreign language is actually very challenging for the adult brain—some even say that it’s one of the hardest things for our brains to do. The main reason for this is the sheer effort that is required to transfer between linguistically complex structures and to learn to think in another language. To do this takes time, hard work, and consistency.
Each stage of learning a language comes with its own challenges. You may have to start with a new alphabet. Then there are greetings and everyday phrases, and the beginning of vocabulary and pronunciation.
Grammar begins to be added layer by layer, with each one becoming increasingly difficult. You start to learn the exceptions to rules—and there are always exceptions to rules. Verb conjugations, gendered nouns, pronunciation oddballs — you name it, it’s probably in the language somewhere.
So. Much. Vocabulary. The sheer quantity of words to memorize is a huge challenge. There’s simply so much to memorize.
Most language learners don’t have the luxury of learning directly from native speakers in their own country. Most of us are in a classroom or using an app for self-study. They say that immersion is the best way to learn a language, but unfortunately, it often just isn’t an option.
But even when you have the opportunity to speak to native speakers, it can be a very intimidating prospect. Fumbling around for the right words in basic sentences can feel humiliating, and we might fear that the native speaker is judging us (they never are, I promise). Self-consciousness in general can be a challenge when learning a foreign language.
Thinking in another language is the goal, and is truly essential when wanting to become fluent. When you’re just starting out learning a language, of course, you’re still thinking in your own native tongue. Translating back and forth takes time and isn’t recommended by linguists. Instead, they suggest that you think in the language you’re learning, with however many or few words you know. The urge to translate is strong, though.
Keeping it up day in and day out for the amount of time it takes to become fluent can be an arduous task. Attitude is one of the biggest obstacles to learning a foreign language. If you think it’s going to be hard, it will be. If you think you might not succeed, you likely won’t. You can very easily create a self-fulfilling prophecy when it comes to learning a second language. It’s a daunting endeavor, and you can easily undermine it with your doubts.
Cultural Differences in Note-Taking
Here’s something you might not have been aware of: different cultures take notes in very different styles and ways. There are note-taking practices specific to each national group that are tied to their unique teaching traditions.
For example, American students write down fewer points in favor of creating a comprehensive compilation of the important points first. Meanwhile, French students try to note down as much as they possibly can so that they can use their notes as a sort of external hard drive.
There are differences in abbreviations, icons, semiographic marks, formatting strategies, and the like. The language itself might influence how notes are taken. So when you begin taking notes in a foreign language, you may find that your native methods for taking notes are no longer viable.
For example, Spanish students have a much easier time taking notes in French than Japanese students do because Japanese and French use different writing systems. Some of the ideographic techniques used in Japanese simply don’t work with the French alphabet.
There are also cultural expectations to consider when taking notes in a foreign language. Names of people and places, knowledge of events or history, and individual words or terms unique to that culture may be unfamiliar to the learner. These may trip up even the most diligent student taking language notes and cause them to disengage from the lecture or presentation in confusion, which then causes them to miss what the speaker says next. Depending on the degree of confusion, things might continue to spiral from there.
Why Language Notes Can Help
Now you may be thinking that taking notes in a foreign language is too hard! Why overcomplicate things? Maybe it would be better just to listen and hope for the best.
Don’t worry! Please be reassured: when implemented correctly, note-taking can indeed improve your comprehension of a foreign language. You just need to follow some guidelines—and we’ll get to those in just a minute. But first, here are three reasons why taking notes in a foreign language is a good idea.
First, it will make you less stressed when walking into the room for a language-learning class. Armed with a pencil and a notebook, you’ll feel a bit more in control of your interest in the subject and your own learning objectives. There’s something soothing about holding a pencil and becoming absorbed in the task in front of you. Note-taking techniques will help you stay focused when you do that, which is doubly helpful when you’re trying to stretch your mind to learn a new language.
Second, it will keep you actively listening and alert to what the speaker is saying. And not only are you listening and watching, but more importantly, you’re engaged, trying to make sense of it so that eventually you can decide what to write down.
Third, it’s practical. Having a record of notes will make it so much easier for international students to study and learn the language.
So, taking more notes isn’t necessary, and no one’s forcing you to do it, but it is strongly recommended. Language-learning research shows that students who frequently take effective notes are more likely to remember what was covered in class and are more likely to succeed academically. And that is exactly what we want for you, so without further ado, let’s look at some techniques that will help optimize and enhance your note-taking when learning a foreign language.
Tips and Considerations for Note-Taking in a Foreign Language
We all want to write notes that help us hear and speak our target language fluently. We want to hear the words being used in conversations and have a complete understanding of what message is being conveyed. There are wrong ways and more effective ways to learn a language, so practice this method and watch your learning accelerate.
Prepare to Listen
Before the class even starts, you should take a few moments to prepare yourself so that you have an idea of what material is going to be covered. Review any notes from your last session, look over any assignments you were given, think about what might be discussed, and note any questions you might have. Refresh yourself on key words or with short readings to get yourself thinking in the language.
Also, prepare your notebook for what’s about to happen so that you’re organized and not scrambling at the start of class. Date the page and label it. Prepare any colored pens, pencils, or other forms of drawing materials that you’re planning on using. Take a deep breath. Get ready, get set…
Handwrite Your Notes
Students are more likely to handwrite notes for foreign languages than for other subjects, but we still must drive this point home. Researchers have found that handwriting notes improves learners’ comprehension and retention of the material more than when they type them on a computer. Students who handwrite their notes also tend to perform better on tests.
The reason behind this is quite simple: handwriting is harder than typing. It’s slower, so students have to practice and be better at prioritizing what they choose to write down. It’s more creative and complicated in that it utilizes unique letters and complex spatial and tactile information that typing on a keyboard does not, and this only makes sense because the brain integrates it more deeply into the context of your memory.
Create an Alphabet Chart
In the front of your notebook, copy down the alphabet and a pronunciation guide for each sound of the foreign word or language you are learning. That way, you can easily refer back to it whenever you’re trying to spell or pronounce difficult words. Having a reliable reference point will make it easier for you to memorize vocabulary.
It will also help you build confidence since your handy little chart has your back. This might be all the encouragement and motivation you need to continue learning your language. Alphabet charts are a proven, effective method for practicing language fundamentals.
Keep an Index and Table of Contents
Similarly, you’ll want to create a table of contents and store it in a place that’s easily accessible in your notebook. This will help organize your notes and make it easier to find material (be sure to number your pages as well). As we’ve mentioned, one of the challenges of learning a foreign language is the sheer amount of information that you have to wade through. Having a list of where to find access to all of this information will prove invaluable, especially as you keep adding to it.
You should also find this system much easier to stick to for reviewing purposes, and you may even find that it helps you see how different concepts and sections of text are related. So every time you add a new line or section to your notes, be sure to label it and add it to your table of contents.
It’s also a good idea to add an ABC glossary index at the back of your translation notebook for a list of all of the words in alphabetical order.
Abbreviate Effectively
Some scholars consider abbreviating procedures in language notes to be a performance indicator of note-taking; aka, your notes are only as good as your abbreviations. And this becomes particularly troublesome when learning a second language, because abbreviations are not generally among the first or even tenth things you learn. You’re not aware of the surface abbreviating procedures commonly shared by native speakers and advanced learners.
For example, someone learning to speak English as their second language would not find LOL in the dictionary; they would instead have to write out “laugh out loud,” an exercise that requires much more time, space, and mental effort. Secondary language learners also don’t know icons or possess a very large variety of techniques for translating turns of phrase or jokes.
See if you can’t make a glossary of abbreviations in your new language, so that you can catch up on these tricky little shortcuts and not be thrown off kilter by them.
Interact on Every Level
This is pretty straightforward: read, write, listen, and speak in your foreign language. Don’t avoid one of these levels just because it’s hard, uncomfortable, or makes you feel self-conscious. You need to become adept at all of them in order to learn the language.
Read children’s stories in your second language. Use contextual clues to help you understand unfamiliar words. Read the news in that language.
Write in the language and have a teacher or classmate check your work. Write about things you care about and would talk about, so that the vocabulary is relevant to you. Keep a journal in that language. Write mock emails or social media posts in your new language. Try to pen a poem or short story.
Listen to broadcasts or watch TV shows in your new language. Listen to music and watch foreign movies.
Speak with peers, instructors, friends, coworkers, etc. in your target language as often as you can. Join a language discussion group. Talk to yourself throughout the day.
Short-Term Memory and Second Languages
Have you ever wondered why it takes you longer to process audio material than it would a native speaker? At least part of the answer comes down to your short-term memory being shorter than theirs; we use short-term memory when processing audio materials. It’s quite literally as short as understanding the sentence or concept being uttered—the listener has to remember the entire package in their mind in order to understand it.
Keep this in mind as you’re learning a language, and be patient with yourself. Your grasp of the language will improve with time.
Focus on the Main Ideas
Note-taking isn’t diction, so don’t set out trying to transcribe the speaker’s every word. This would be impossible even when preparing for a course in your native language, but even more so when you’re already struggling to track everything the speaker is saying and then remember how to spell foreign words in a potentially unfamiliar alphabet.
Do yourself—and the rest of your learning—a favor and focus your concentration on writing down only the main concepts and key words that you want to remember. This same discipline will also make it easier to remember these more important ideas and words since they won’t be buried in a bunch of clutter and distractions.
Review Immediately
The whole point of taking notes is to have something you can refer back to and remind yourself of the information you learned. You can start using this tool for study and review immediately after the session; doing so will help cement the information deeper into your short-term memory. You’ll also be able to identify anything you were confused about or any information that you may have missed.
Collaborate and Ask Questions
There is no dumb question, especially when learning a new language. I know that stumbling around with the basic vocabulary of a new language can make you feel like a toddler, but I promise that your intelligence is not in question. Step out of your comfort zone to compare notes with classmates, ask questions about what you didn’t understand, and listen again if you need to verify information.
Use Color-Coding
Colors help to differentiate topics and add visual cues for more effective learning in your language notes. Create a color code by using the same colors to indicate the same types of information about status, such as using blue for new vocabulary and green for grammar rules. Highlight any keywords, phrases, or grammar rules you want to remember. You could also have separate colors for your native language and your target language. Or you could have different colors for the separate particles of speech.
Seek Out Audio and Digital Resources
Language modules always contain audio, since speaking and listening are huge parts of languages. Many also have video components to supplement class materials and lectures. Take full advantage of any of these resources that are made available to benefit you.
You can also go out of your way to track down other audio recordings and digital sources that have key information you can explore and use to supplement your learning. Films, foreign television or audio channels, foreign radio stations, the news, advertisements, feature programs, the weather forecast, broadcasts, games, internet discussion boards, website links, maps, videos, podcasts—whatever you can find with relevant information that helps you learn better.
Conclusion
Muy bien! You’ve done a good job getting this far. Learning a foreign language isn’t easy, but you’ve proven that you’re dedicated enough to see it through.
Just imagine yourself a couple of years from now traveling around your language’s country of origin, chatting with locals, and getting by perfectly fine by yourself. You’ll be able to read novels in that language or listen to music and know exactly what the lyrics are saying. Whole new worlds of media, information, and connection will open themselves to you.
Just keep in mind the things we’ve discussed today, and you can consider this language as good as learned! (Definitely still put in the work, though; these are not magic!) Let’s do a quick recap.
First, we talked about the basics of language learning and explained how the learner develops their grasp of a secondary language over the long run. It’s important for the note-taker to be aware of what their skill level is so that they can plan ahead and use resources that are best suited to helping support them on their growth path.
Learning a language is hard! Not that I have to tell you that. It’s very challenging for the adult brain and requires a lot of effort to learn the vast amounts of information and new mental structures that come with a new language. It’s also hard to be isolated from native speakers and keep up a good attitude.
Note-taking in a foreign language can be challenging if that foreign language vocabulary isn’t very compatible with your normal note-taking style. Note-taking differs from culture to culture for a number of reasons, and language structure is one of them.
However, we looked at some ways that note-taking will truly help you learn a new language. It will make you feel more comfortable talking, help you actively listen to the speaker, and it’s downright practical for studying. Another great way to take language notes is through audio notes.
Finally, we looked at twelve tips, suggestions, and considerations for note-taking in a foreign language:
- Prepare before class starts by reviewing any old materials and thinking about what might be covered in the upcoming session.
- Handwriting your notes is better for comprehension, retention, and performance on tests. This is because it’s more complicated than typing and therefore engages the brain more.
- Create an alphabet chart so that you can refer back to it whenever you’re trying to spell or pronounce words.
- Keep a table of contents as a means of organizing your notes and making it easy to wade through the material. Also, make a glossary index for vocabulary words.
- Learn to abbreviate like native speakers do and take note of turns of phrase that come up often.
- Interact with your target language through reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
- It takes longer to process audio as a new learner because your short-term memory for a new language is incredibly short-term.
- Just focus on writing down the main ideas rather than trying to transcribe your teacher’s every word.
- Review immediately, starting right after class, to establish the material more firmly in mind and identify any points that need clarification.
- Collaborate with others and ask questions. Don’t be shy or self-conscious.
- Use color-coding to add visual cues to your notes and make them simpler to navigate and easier to remember.
- Find audio and digital resources to supplement your course material. It’s the best way to immerse yourself in the language without being surrounded by native speakers.
Again, learning a language isn’t easy, but I know you can do it—and now you have some more note-taking tips and tricks to make it easier for you. Good luck!