Grammar vs. Vocabulary—Where to Start Learning a Language

The question of whether we should begin with grammar or vocabulary when learning a new language is a no-brainer for some and a stumbling block for others. It is natural to try to focus on one aspect first. After all, learning all at once seems overwhelming. It’s a lot easier to get one of the famous spaced-repetition apps and practice vocabulary whenever you get a chance during the day. Or get a grammar textbook, which is less common, and start some verb drills. Each way to take, you can spend months studying only to find out you’re unable to communicate.

The use of language is a complex skill. It’s a core capability that defines us as humans. No wonder why learning a language is different than studying anything else. The fact that we can name and categorize different aspects of the process doesn’t mean we should separate them when learning.

The natural way to learn grammar and vocabulary

Remember how a baby learns a language and how the parents intuitively teach it? First, they teach words like “mommy,” “daddy,” “baby,” and the baby’s name, and immediately after that, the things a baby hears most often are these complete sentences: “Mama loves you.” “It’s okay, don’t cry.” “Daddy’s here.” “You’re such a big boy/girl!” “Look at that smile!” “Who’s my little one?” “Time for night-night.” “You're so clever!” “Let’s get you cleaned up.” “What a beautiful laugh!” “Are you hungry, sweetie?”

People have been trying to mimic this natural process, and many swear by total immersion, but things tend to get tricky when you’re a grown-up. Most people don’t have a chance to get immersed. Also, total immersion is scary. When you’re a grown-up, no one talks to you as if you’re a baby. Even if they did, that would be for the wrong reasons, anyway.

But there is a good way to get yourself gently immersed into a language. Let’s consider baby talk again. The sentences we use when talking to babies are short and simple, but have you ever tried to analyze them? There’s a variety of verb forms in the list above, which is anything but extensive. The baby hears so many grammar constructions in just one day and gets to enrich the vocabulary quite as much. But there are some limits to this variety: present simple, short sentences, affirmative tone.

Now, how would it sound to have someone talk to you about anything you’d like while limiting both the vocab and grammar forms they use? That’s exactly what you can get from many of the qualified, experienced language tutors on LiveXP. Most of them have studied teaching a language. They know how to make you comfortable and make you speak confidently while internalizing both grammar and vocabulary. It’s the safest and most effective choice you can find. An hour a day on the most advanced language app can’t replace biweekly lessons with a supportive teacher, and it won’t encourage you to communicate freely. But let’s get back to the topic.

You don’t need grammar at first—Is that correct?

You’ve probably heard or read this many times. People—especially those who sell certain courses and apps—often say that in their ads and videos. They essentially promise that you won’t get bored while learning a language.

You don’t have to put much effort into memorizing grammar forms. And that’s right. You don’t have to exhaust yourself by practicing verb tenses and stuff. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to learn grammar. It means that you shouldn’t learn it separately.

Focusing on grammar forms first is not only hard, but it can only help you ace a particular kind of test. It is useless in real life. The same is true for vocabulary.

When they tell you that grammar doesn’t matter, don’t take that literally. They don’t mean that. What they are really saying is that your grammar doesn’t have to be perfect—and that’s true.

Why grammar and vocabulary need to be taught and studied simultaneously

Just like a small child who has never heard of present continuous tense but uses it correctly all the time, you can learn grammar intuitively, but not if you study vocabulary and grammar separately.

Words and grammar forms have a deep, organic connection. They give meaning to each other. They also make each other easier to grasp. Reading a text that resonates with us and grasping its meaning is easier than memorizing a list of words of the same volume. In addition to being more effortless, reading a text helps you learn both grammar and vocabulary in context. Since we’re humans, not machines, we need context. That’s essential. A context helps us pick up nuances of meaning. It provokes our emotional reactions. It gets us invested in the learning process. It activates our brains on a deeper level.

To level up the learning process, you need to communicate from day one. To talk with someone. To use every word you’ve heard and understood. That’s what it means to learn a language. Apps and textbooks can be great, but they are a poor primary source for language learning. They are merely additional material. You can use Word Trainer to enrich your vocabulary, but that will only have an effect if you use these words in context while talking to a dedicated tutor.

If you think you have to learn some basics before starting to work with a tutor, you’re wasting too much time and effort. The best time to hire a tutor is now. And it is not expensive at all. The trial lesson on LiveXP only costs a symbolic amount. So why don’t you try talking to a tutor now? There’s hardly a more fruitful way to spend half an hour of your time than to have someone guide you through the process and help you activate all your mental capabilities to learn a language in the most natural way.

People, machines, and language

A long time ago, someone explained to me that whenever I need to learn something, including a language, it has to go through certain stages. I read and memorize stuff, and it gets to my short-term memory. Then, I do the same thing more and more until it reaches the long-term memory. However, following that process involves too much effort, and the results are limited.

To illustrate what I mean, imagine that you need to learn some new concepts, and you can choose between a 200-page book that explores these concepts and 10 pages of condensed definitions that you can memorize. While many would see the 10-page material as a shortcut, it’s actually a trap. It is much easier to read the book. It is more enjoyable; you get to explore the concepts and understand them naturally, and the results are far better. Yet, the approach above prefers condensed information and mindless memorization.

To apply that to the language learning process, imagine that you have to learn, like, 300 words in English. Would you choose a list with definitions or a thrilling short-story collection adapted to beginners that contains all those words? A list is nice and handy, but would it make you able to use these words in context and understand them when someone uses them?

The approach that prefers memorization ignores the way our brains work. It’s just an analogy with computing. Short-term memory is like RAM, and long memory should be like ROM, right? But the human mind is not like a machine. It is much more powerful. Why would we ignore all the natural mental capabilities and learn the way the machines learn?

The funny thing is that machines do not learn that way anymore. Do you know how artificial intelligence, like ChatGPT, learns a language? The machine learning process that makes algorithms able to produce meaningful text is a lot more complex than the RAM-ROM thing. Generative AI is constantly being fed with texts and trained to produce new content. The AI training process is creative. Words and grammar forms aren’t separated from the context. They go together all the time. The “trainers” communicate with machines in a range of natural languages, using a variety of sentence structures to formulate prompts. The process is just awesome.

Memorization is obsolete, even in computing. Retrieving information is a piece of cake. The goal is to use the information to understand and produce meaningful content. The bottom line is this—machines are taught to be creative, and we’re still trying to mimic the previous generation computers and memorize stuff out of context, whether it’s vocabulary or grammar. Does that make sense?

How to improve grammar and vocabulary—the human approach

The most important thing now is to break free from the obsolete beliefs about and approaches to language learning. Use the tools and resources, but don’t adapt to them. Your brain is much more powerful than the model on which these materials are based.

Language is meant for communication. No matter how hard you work, there will be no meaningful results until you begin talking to someone. Luckily, private language lessons are not as expensive as they used to be, and they don’t require visiting a specific location. All you need is to dedicate a couple of hours a week to language learning and choose a tutor based on your level, interests, and other stuff that matters to you.

Look at the friendly faces on the sidebar of this blog, or go to the LiveXP main page, set up the filters, and review the profiles of tutors you like the most. They all have small video presentations, so you can hear them speak immediately. Book a trial lesson with one or more of them. And remember, you’re a human. You deserve nothing less than the help from another human.