How can you avoid repeating language mistakes?

Sometimes identifying errors can be more difficult than it sounds. Oftentimes, we make mistakes without even realising, especially when people don't tell or correct us out of politeness. Here are 3 ways to recognise a common error. 1. Use your gut. Notice how it feels when you say or write your phrase. Your gut often gives you an inclination. 2. Other people's reactions. Pay attention to the other person's reaction to what you say. They may repeat specific words to clarify pronunciation or meaning and one can recognise from their facial expressions if we are communicating clearly or not. 3. Leverage tech. Most note-taking apps can be set in different languages and can highlight technical and grammatical mistakes.

-I think it's always good to understand the rules and their application, but to learn a language faster practice it with natives. Take help of social media to reach out the natives of that language who are willing to talk, chat with you and give you feedback. Trust me there are many people who are willing to help you.

Having an awareness and understanding of the rules is important and seeing how they are ACTUALLY applied in reality is equally vital. Review the rules according to your mistakes and consolidate this learning through exercises and speaking. Now the fun part; find examples of native speakers using this language and witness how they adapt or modify it to suit the colloquial version of the language. There can be a huge difference between a rule and reality!

Without tech - if you're really motivated to improve your mistakes, ensure you keep a short list (of maximum 5 points ) ready. As you step into a dialogue or moment to practice, review the points and engage with the intention of using each of them. Tick them off and witness your confidence grow! With tech - there is now an array of software from spell checkers to transcribers that can support your progress. A tool I've always used with learners is voice dictation apps. Sometimes, even native speakers struggle to enunciate clearly enough for the device to correctly decode a spoken phrase. It's an even bigger challenge for a learner therefore and hence an excellent training activity. Try it!

We have all felt awkward of embarrassed when making a mistake at some point, however, it's part of the learning process and should be encouraged! I like encouraging learners to make a game of mistakes. We create a list of their "favourite errors" ("biggest mistakes / those made most frequently) and periodically quiz each other on it. Making it a game takes the worry and embarrassment out of it. Having a list also serves as a benchmark to look back on and see how far you've progressed!

Routine and consistency are essential to overcoming your language mistakes. Spaced learning is a great technique: review and practice your mistakes after 1, then 2, then 3, then 4 days etc This consistent review and practice will ensure that you'll quickly adopt the correct terms.

Practice with native speakers and ask for feedback on your mistakes. All the tech tools are great but at the end of the day, language is for conversation with each other. We learn much better in action. When someone corrects a mistake, we're less likely to repeat it.

I find that more often than not native speakers make mistakes as well in their (our) own languages. One thing is the prescribed grammar and vocab and another story is what people actually say or pronounce out there. Language mistakes are part of speaking a language. As long as communication is there, I would not worry too much about the actual way of wording it. Obviously different contexts will require different levels of accuracy. A combination of motivation and practice, preferably spoken, should be enough to overcome these mistakes.