6 Steps to Learn Any Grammar Point
Azren's Top Language Learning Tips 9 of 12
Note before you read this article: Everyone has their own take on effective ways to learn a language. Because of this, last summer I decided to try distilling fundamental truths about language learning that all, or at least most, language learning experts would agree on.
This is the ninth lesson. You can watch the video here, listen on Spotify here, or keep scrolling down to read a summary. You can see all 12 lessons by clicking here.
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Learning new grammar points is not complicated…but it can be time consuming.
Here’s a 6-step process that I've come up with. It won’t appeal to everyone. And that’s fine. Try other methods first if you want. There are lots of other strategies out there :)
However, if you’re stuck, use process. In my experience, it’s about as foolproof of a method that exists. These are the 6 steps.
Get exposure to a new grammar point. This can be done organically (e.g., you hear a native speaker conjugate a verb in a way you’ve never heard before and it sparks your curiosity) or in a structured learning environment (e.g., a teacher in a class introduces you to a new grammar point.)
Learn the theory and/or rules behind the grammar point. For example, if you were learning about regular Spanish verbs in the present tense you would study the three verb groups (AR, ER, IR) and the conjugation rules for each group. If you’re having a hard time understanding the grammar point in question, seek out 50-100 example sentences that utilize that grammar point. That will help you see the pattern. Don’t reread explanations of the grammar point over and over.
You can ask ChatGPT to give you example sentences by using this prompt: write me 50 sentences using ______ (grammar point) at an A1 level. Include an English translation of each sentence.
You can also ask ChatGPT to explain grammar points to you. I like using this prompt: I don’t understand _______ (grammar point.) Explain it to me like I was 10 years old. I then ask it follow up questions or ask it for example sentences if I’m still confused.Do practice questions. This can be done through worksheets or online quizzes. Do at least 50 practice questions. More is better. Use ChatGPT if you run out of practice questions from textbooks or online quiz websites. Here’s a prompt you can use: give me 50 practice fill-in-the-blank questions for _______ (grammar point.) Provide an answer key. Keep in mind that ChatGPT does sometimes make mistakes in its answer key, so if you think it’s wrong you can ask it to double check the answer.
Write your own sentences using the grammar point you’re trying to learn. Have a private tutor or a native speaker you know correct your sentences. You could also have ChatGPT correct the sentences if you don’t have access to a private tutor or native speaker. Write at least 20 sentences, but more is better.
Steps 1-4 will be enough to master, or at least, get a good handle on most grammar points. However, for very complex ones, here are two further steps that will help.Pay attention to native speakers of your target language and how they use the grammar point you’re trying to learn. Every time you hear or see a phrase that uses the difficult grammar point, write it down in a notebook or note file on your computer. Strive to add at least 10 phrases into your notebook per month.
Pick 2-3 phrases a month from step 5 - make a conscious effort to use them when you talk/write as often as possible. You will learn at least 24 phrases a year that incorporate the grammar point you think is hard. Within a year or two (possibly faster), you’ll be using it all the time correctly despite not having the rules memorized.
Important note: each grammar point you learn is like a different food. Some foods are quick to digest, others take longer. If you’ve seemingly tried everything to learn a particular grammar point, you might just need to give your brain time and rest to “digest” it. Just like you can’t eat more steak to make the steak you just ate digest faster, you can’t always study more to make your brain digest what you just studied.
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