Learning a Language Word by Word: My Experience Learning Chinese at 66

By Sylvia Langford · 7 min read

For years, I tried to learn other languages using different approaches, but I kept running into the same difficulty: I didn't have the words I needed to say what I wanted to say.

That experience led me to think about the role vocabulary plays in language learning and, years later, to test the Langford Method Chinese programs on myself.

Learning a second language is a goal for many people. We can study at language schools, take private lessons, travel overseas, use apps or practise for years and still feel that communicating is hard.

That happened to me.

After several attempts to learn other languages, I came to a conclusion that would later have a deep influence on the way I taught: for me, one of the missing pieces was vocabulary.

This is my experience.

My Personal Experience with Bilingualism

I was fortunate to grow up in a bilingual family. My parents spoke English and Spanish, and from an early age I grew up using both languages, with English as my first language.

Later, I wanted to learn French.

I studied for two years at a language institute and then travelled to France to study at the University of Angers. Despite the time and effort I had put in, I still felt unable to communicate with the fluency I had expected.

I remember being told:

"Don't translate. You have to think in French."

But for me, that raised a very practical question:

How can I think in French if I don't yet know the words I need to express what I want to say?

The experience became frustrating, and eventually I gave up trying to learn French.

When Other Languages Seemed Impossible

Years later, I travelled to Tokyo for work and once again felt unable to understand or communicate as I wanted to.

I decided I wanted to learn Japanese. As part of that interest in Asian languages and their writing systems, I also started exploring Mandarin Chinese and Chinese characters.

Once again, the goal felt enormous, and eventually I gave up.

Later, as an English teacher working with adults, I noticed something that reminded me of my own experience.

Some people had been studying English for years and knew grammatical rules, but when they wanted to communicate, the same question kept coming up:

"How do I say this?"

Or:

"How can I think in English without translating?"

It made me wonder whether we were paying enough attention to something very basic:

having the words we need available when we want to communicate.

What I Discovered About Vocabulary

Over time, I came to see vocabulary as one of the building blocks of language learning.

Knowing words is not enough, by itself, to master a language. We also need to understand how those words are used, listen, speak, develop our pronunciation, learn language structures and take part in real communication.

But without vocabulary, all of these abilities run into an obvious wall.

If we do not know a word, it is hard to recognise it when we hear it, understand it when we read it or retrieve it when we want to express an idea.

So, for me, the question was no longer simply:

"How can I stop translating?"

It became:

"How can I grow my vocabulary and reach the words more quickly when I need them?"

That shift in thinking later shaped the development of the Langford Method vocabulary programs.

Looking for a Different Way to Learn Words

Drawing on my own experience, I began exploring different approaches to memorisation and learning.

I became particularly interested in the use of images, associations, repetition and short practice sessions.

Over time, I wove these ideas into my own approach to working on vocabulary with students.

The idea was simple: instead of tackling a large amount of information all at once, the student works with small groups of words and returns to them through structured practice.

My experience working with students strengthened my belief that growing vocabulary can make a real difference to understanding and give learners more to draw on when they communicate.

But years later, I decided to put this idea to the test myself.

My Personal Challenge: Learning Chinese at 66

At 66, I still want to learn languages.

This time, I decided to use the Langford Method's own programs to work on my Chinese.

The programs are designed for children aged 2 to 10, but I wanted to try the approach for myself as an adult learner.

I began three programs at the same time and completed one session of about 10 minutes from each program every day – around 30 minutes of practice in total.

After three months, my personal results have been:

recognising about 200 Chinese characters; learning and using around 350 words covered in the programs; keeping up consistent practice throughout the three months; and, perhaps most importantly for me, still wanting to learn.

I am still a long way from considering myself fluent in Chinese.

And that is also part of this experience.

Learning words does not automatically mean being able to speak a language. I still need to keep developing listening comprehension, pronunciation, language structures and chances for real communication.

But now I feel that I have something I was missing in my earlier attempts:

a growing foundation of words and a concrete way to keep practising.

What This Experience Has Taught Me

My experience does not prove that everyone will learn in the same way or get the same results.

What it has shown me personally is that, even at 66, I can keep learning new words and characters through short, structured and steady practice.

It has also reminded me of something I think is central:

a large goal becomes more manageable when we break it into small goals that we practise each day.

Instead of thinking:

"I have to learn Chinese,"

I can focus on something much more concrete:

"Today I'm going to practise these words."

Then I do it again tomorrow.

And again the following day.

Progress stops depending on reaching an enormous goal quickly and starts to build through small, repeated sessions.

Want to Learn Another Language? My Advice

I would not look for a single "secret" to learning a language.

Learning a language involves building different skills and takes a great deal of practice.

But I would pay particular attention to vocabulary.

Ask yourself:

How many words can I recognise?

How many can I recall without help?

How many can I use when I want to get an idea across?

And, above all:

Am I steadily adding new words?

You do not need to learn thousands of words all at once.

You can start with a few and keep building from there.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Vocabulary Enough to Become Bilingual?

No.

Vocabulary is an important foundation, but learning a language also involves listening comprehension, pronunciation, language structures and communicative practice.

My experience has taught me that growing my vocabulary gives me a broader base from which to develop those other abilities.

Why Can I Study a Language for Years and Still Have Difficulty Speaking It?

There can be many reasons.

Understanding rules or completing exercises does not guarantee that we can quickly pull up the words and structures we need during a conversation.

We also need chances to listen, recall, use and actively practise the language.

For me, recognising that vocabulary retrieval was one of my own weak spots helped me understand what I needed to practise differently.

Do I Have to Stop Translating to Learn Another Language?

Not necessarily from the beginning.

Translation can be part of the learning process.

As a word or expression becomes more familiar and easy to reach, we may start to recognise and use it more quickly without constantly relying on translation.

The aim does not need to be to force ourselves to "stop translating" straight away.

Instead, we can gradually build enough familiarity with the language for some words and expressions to become easier to reach on their own.

How Many Words Do I Need to Speak a Language Fluently?

There is no single number that settles when someone can speak a language fluently.

It depends on what we mean by fluency, the language, the context and the kind of communication we want to have.

That is why I prefer to use the number of words I am learning as one way of tracking my progress, rather than as a threshold that will automatically make me a fluent speaker.

Can You Still Learn a Language in Your 60s or Later?

Yes. People can keep learning throughout life.

Age may affect some parts of language learning, and learning at 66 may feel different from learning as a child or young adult.

But my own experience has shown me that I can keep learning new words and characters through steady practice.

For me, that is an encouraging discovery in itself.

Conclusion: Building a Language Word by Word

For years, I thought that my difficulty learning other languages meant that I simply wasn't good at them.

Today, I see it differently.

Learning a language is a broad process, and vocabulary is only one part of it.

But in my experience, it has turned out to be a central part.

After three months of learning Chinese with the Langford Method programs, I still have a long way to go.

But this time, I don't feel that I have to travel the whole distance at once.

I can move forward word by word, character by character and session by session.

And at 66, discovering that I can still keep learning may be the most important result of all.