Are you planning on moving to another country or just interested in speaking another language? Whatever reasons you may have, here are sure-fire ways to ensure that learning your new language is stress-free and successful!
- Converse in that language often!
Conversations are everything. Conversations have been widely recognized as the secret to mastering a new language. Countless hours of conversations will make all the difference.
If you are residing in an area where the language is local, go to the mall, the library, bookshop, restaurants. Go anywhere you need to communicate verbally and engage them conversationally. Do not expect this to be a ‘walk in the park’; it’s going to take time. Another reason to simply converse is that to be good at a language, you do not need to memorize it rather, you need to process it and conversations will do that for you.
- Ensure you learn the most common words
It is a great way to start by learning up to 200 of the most common words. Let these words include places, home items, food, weather, moods and everyday objects. Get familiar with them and use them frequently. Whenever you come across the objects, people or situations, say the words over and over to yourself in the language you are learning. It would be wise to learn words that are of interest to you or those that are part of everyday use.
- Attempt to use the new word soon after you’ve learnt it
Immediately as you add a new word to your vocabulary, try to use it as and when you can. Studies have shown that there is a certain amount of times you need to repeat a new word to be become familiar with it. Attempt to use it right away and then use that word again that day. Using this method, you stand a higher chance of having the word stick.
- Keep a dictionary or phrasebook handy and use it often!
Look for a detailed dictionary to be used at home during studies and also have a pocket version. The pocket dictionary will greatly assist you in your effort. It can also be an App which is much more efficient and easy to use, or a phrasebook teaching you the basics of the language.
- Take advantage of online resources, especially for the basics!
You can make use of audio recordings in your early efforts in addition to taking courses online to learn your first 200 words and improve your basic grammar. People learn and assimilate best at different paces, however based on our time-poor society, micro-learning and spaced learning repetition are the best formats for language learning, both possible via online learning. Couple this with live online teaching and you will be reinforcing your learning in no time at all!
- Make use of movies, music, books, social media, etc. to practice the language
These will help you get more familiar with words, ultimately helping you with retention. However, these should not replace legitimate efforts at practice. These are study aids, but should not be used as substitutes for real conversations. Read an interesting article every day and watch a couple of movies every week will keep you interested in learning the language and motivate you to continue learning. It might not be quite as interesting as time spent in conversations but it will be of great assistance in keeping you fresh.
- Join a class!
This is probably the most obvious method on this list; join a class – online or in your city. This is especially useful for you if you have issues with being motivated to learn a language. When you attend a class, you are forced to leave the house and create time to learn and study, which means that it is less likely for you to postpone it like you may do if you are at home.
- Take a trip abroad to study the language
Learning a foreign language in the native country is a blessing and an excellent motivational factor. If possible, do not miss the chance to travel to the homeland of your favorite foreign language and truly learn the nuisances of the language with the culture it belongs to.
- Convert your ‘down time’ to a time meant for practice
Practice your vocabulary while getting ready in the morning, converse with yourself while showering (no one will give you weird looks!), or play around with conjugation charts while on your lunch breaks. You could always listen to music in the foreign language and try to sing the words along, a fun and productive way to pass the time if you’re stuck in traffic!
- The intensity of study will benefit you a lot more than the length of study
This refers to the fact that studying a language for 3 hours a day, for 2 weeks will benefit you a lot more than studying an hour a day for 2 months. A perfect example would be foreign language learning in school, which goes on for year but isn’t as intense. Hence, students tend to forget the language by the time they graduate school. The closer that you can get to full immersion, the more successful you will be.
Now that you know almost everything about learning a new language, get started today! 