Always wanted to know how to learn another language, but just didn’t know where to start? Here are the most helpful tips to help you on your language-learning journey!
There are so many benefits to learning another language. Planning to travel? Wanting a new challenge? Fascinated by different cultures? Ready to expand your way of thinking and improve your memory and brain function?! The benefits are endless. As a French high school teacher who has learned French for 10 years, and Spanish for 2, I am here to give you the best and most helpful tips that I have learned during this language-learning journey.
Whether you are just starting your language-learning journey, or stuck in a rut and needing some extra motivation, these tips are going to set you up for success. After reading this post, you’ll be ready to integrate your language learning seamlessly within your life and achieve all of your language dreams (yay)!
This post is all about how to learn another language.
How To Learn Another Language – 7 Helpful Tips
Where to begin?!
Before we completely jump into the tips let’s dissect what actually encompasses a language.
Within a language, we can identify subgroups: components of languages and the actual skill sets. Firstly there are three components that make up a language to think about: vocabulary (the words), grammar (how we form sentences) and phonetics (how it sounds). To learn a language, ideally, you are learning content within all of these sub-categories. In order to actually use language in a practical and pragmatic way, we have our language skills: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. If you are just beginning your language journey (how exciting!), you may just start with the basics of language i.e. learning vocabulary/phrases, using phonetics to hear pronunciation/practicing pronunciation yourself, and maybe going through a grammar textbook. If you already have some language knowledge that you’re ready to use, that’s when we want to start integrating our skills of reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Hopefully, this clarifies all the subgroups within a language. Now onto some red-hot, helpful tips!!
1. Create a goal
Learning a language is no easy feat. It takes effort and persistence but it can be the most rewarding thing you do! I see so many people give up on their language learning, and often, it’s simply because they don’t have direction. People often don’t know what they are aiming for when it comes to language! So let’s first get clear on your goals. Now, don’t turn away in disgust from this perhaps seemingly basic tip but….. S.M.A.R.T goals can make all the difference. Bare with me!
Specific – create a goal that is detailed and specific. There are many different ways to get specific when it comes to language learning. For certain languages in the world, you can find the structuring of actual levels. For example, in the European Language Framework (incorporating languages like French, German, Spanish, etc.), Looking into these levels can help design your goals. Choosing a universally recognized level of language can be a great distant goal. If that doesn’t suit, there are some other long-term goals you can set: Are you wanting to learn 1000 words? Could you aim to finish a grammar textbook? Aim to watch a movie with no subtitles? Finish reading a book in your target language? Think of something that feels aspirational to you, and more specific than just “to learn another language”
Measurable – Quantify your language goals. Effective language learning takes consistency, so I would recommend you assign a certain amount of time every week. This will depend on how much time you have, but to ensure you are making some progress each week, I would recommend anything between 4-10 hours. If you can fit more than 10 hours in, amazing, all the power to you!!
Achievable – Is your goal achievable? If you are a busy bee, and can hardly fit in time to do your laundry, learning another language may not be this season of life. Or alternatively, prioritize! Are you really getting the most out of those piano lessons? Can you swap your habit of painting for language learning for even a few months, so that you can reach these language dreams of yours? Something else to think about is money. I truly believe you don’t need to invest money in order to learn a language, but often, it does help fast-track your learning. Think about whether you have any financial means to spare towards your language learning. It could be just $20 every 6 months to go to some speaking meet-ups or a weekly cost for an actual tutor. You may be someone that is highly motivated and feels happy to progress on their own. It completely depends on your situation, your goals, and how you learn best, as sometimes, a financial investment is another extra way to keep your motivation up!
Relevant – This is where you detail your why. Think about your motivation for learning another language. You will need to have a clear reason so that it can keep you going when the going gets tough!
Time-bound: This is an important one. While I am a huge supporter of integrating fun ways to learn a language for the long term (see tip 2), it’s important to have an end date in sight! Maybe you have a trip planned and want to reach a certain language level by your departure date. Maybe you have an exam booked. Whether you have an external motivator planned or not, it’s important to make your own deadline so that you stay on track and not drift away from your goals. Life can get busy, so to make sure your language goal stays a priority, making any deadline can be great for motivation and consistency. Ideally, I think a time period of around 3-6months is sufficient. At least 3 months so that you can really feel your progress. Keen to do more than 6 months? It’s time to set a new language goal, and keep the learning fresh and exciting 😉 !
2.Use Online Resources
If you are already a keen bean language learning enthusiast, then I’m sure you’ve probably heard of duolingo. Duolingo is a great way if you are just wanting to do 5 minutes of language practice a day or if you are wanting to try out a language or two to see if you like it. It is a great starting point, but in my opinion, if you are truly serious about your language learning, I suggest you do a lot more than just duolingo! Lucky for us, there is a multitude of resources to use online.
We are so lucky to live in a world where online resources are available from just a google search, including for the purpose of foreign language!! So use them! There is everything from specific language aps (duolingo), from translator resources (linguee.com, google translate, context.reverso.com), to youtube videos, online movies etc. While I recommend you find a highly-rated grammar book for your specific language, if there is ever a certain grammar aspect that you find confusing, it doesn’t hurt to google it and find another explanation or some more examples. In terms of learning vocabulary there some fantastic online cue card systems that came make your vocabulary learning practical and fun such as quizzlet, anki, brainscape, cram and more.
While grammar explanations, translators, and cue card resources are helpful to initially building your language components (vocabulary, grammar, phonology), ideally we would like to find online resources that show authentic language. I.e. online resources that help us speak, listen, read or write in our target language. For example, for reading we could find any blogs, articles or written texts in your target language; for listening, youtube or podcasts; and finally it’s a great idea to find some form of language exchange website or app where you can exchange through speaking and writing such as HelloTalk, Tandem, Preply, MyLanguageExchange, Bilingua, Mixxer (for something free) and more. If you are interested in reading about the previous language exchange online resources, read through this article and make your choice!
In other words, explore online for some language resources that work for you and your chosen language. There is plenty out there that are can be truly so helpful and useful for your language learning, and make learning a language a whole lot more fun!!
3 . Integrate passive ways of learning a language.
When learning a language it’s important to have the right balance. Unless you are a grammar fanatic, you probably don’t want to be spending all your time just learning grammar with your head in a textbook. It’s important to have a balance. Yes, sometimes, we need to be really active in our learning of a language, in other words setting specific times and putting direct effort into learning vocabulary or completing a listening or reading comprehension. But it’s also just as worthwhile to integrate some pockets of language that don’t require all your attention. For example, start listening to some music within your target language! Every now and then I love to find a French artist or listen to a Spotify playlist called ‘French top pop hits’. Not only do I pick up on language here and there which is good for my listening skills, but it also makes me feel connected with the culture. Another way is going and watching some movies or shows within your target language. Look up some of the top films within the country on google, and get watching! Even with subtitles, it’s so beneficial for your ears to listen while also building your cultural awareness (which is just as important).
4. Say yes to some random language fun!
Sometimes we can get into a bit of a monotonous routine of learning a language. A way to combat this is to plan something a bit different to spice up our routine and keep the motivation rolling. Admittedly this can sometimes be dependent on where you live, and what your town has to offer. See if there are any language classes around, or speaking classes you can book as a one off to re-invogorate your studies. See if there are any activity classes offered within your language. For example, in Melbourne I found a special yoga centre that instructed the whole class in French, which was so fun and different! Do some googling of any events, is the Spanish film festival on, or a salsa class to attend? Is there some cultural event you could go to, like Oktoberfest or Chinese New Year? Is there a Russian restaurant you can go to and possibly speak Russian, or even better eat some delicious Russian food? It doesn’t have to be something that completely blows the budget but rather something that again, connects you to culture and keeps you excited and motivated to continue your learning.
5. Get amongst that grammar
As much as there are many fun ways to learn a language, through music, tv shows/films, youtube etc. I am a strong believer that you need to actively learn grammar. Even if you were to live in a country for years hoping to pick up the language, chances are you would learn a lot of phrases and vocabulary, but you will never fully comprehend and form sentences on your own without doing the proper work on understanding grammar. As mentioned previously, I really advise finding a grammar textbook that is highly rated or recommended and makes sense to you and start working through it. This is so important for learning a language and will truly take you to the next level! Go get your grammar nerd on!
6. Talk talk talk!
While learning grammar is pretty pivotal, talking practice is just as important and (in my opinion the most fun!). Now if you are living in a country where they speak your targeted language this is obviously going to be a lot more convenient for you. To those people, I say seize the day! Make friends, spark conversations with strangers, order food or coffee in your targeted language and keep putting in the effort! You’ll be fluent in no time.
For those not living in a country that predominantly speaks your targeted language then it does take a bit more effort on your part. Please don’t let it stop you. I often see students using duolingo and they get in the habit of not speaking their language authentically in conversation. After forming the habit of not speaking, I found they are more intimated and nervous when the opportunity to speak their language presents itself. Yes, speaking in a different language can feel scary and intimidating, but communication is at the core of languages! It’s why we learn them in the first place! To be honest, you will never feel ready. No amount of vocabulary learning or grammar will prepare you for speaking, as speaking fluently simply comes from practice.
So consider getting a tut for one hour a week, just so you can have some conversations and practice this skill. Or conversely, there are often organizations around that hold ‘speaking classes’ where a whole group of people joins simply to practice their speaking. Use one of the platforms, and find a speaking contact to converse with. It may be difficult to set up initially, but once you’ve got a weekly or fortnightly routine, your language skills will be boosted and so will your confidence! You will not regret it. Get out and get talking.
7. Remember why you started.
The last tip is just to remember why you started. Learning a language can seem like a long and difficult task at first, and sometimes even longer throughout. Unfortunately, too many people quit before they really see how far they have come with the language, and experience all of the benefits. Celebrate the small wins, and keep your goal in sight. It does take a bit of effort, but you can do it! Integrate fun things to keep the learning journey spicey and fun, and keep reminding yourself of why you started. At the end of the day, those that stick to their goals and stay consistent will always get there in the end. GO GET THOSE LANGUAGE DREAMS!
This post was all about how to learn another language.
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