Learning a new language is very rewarding, but also challenging, especially if you don't have the means to learn it. For example, many do not have the money to pay for a professional course in the language they want to learn, others live in a place where they do not speak the language they intend to speak or are not surrounded by people who speak the language they wish to learn, and still others complain about not having the talent or time to learn a new language because their life is very busy or they think they are not that smart.
But the truth is that since the advent of the Internet, it has never been easier in human history to learn any language you want. In reality, never in human history has it been so easy to learn anything like now, even for free.
That is, if you really want to learn a new language, this is the best time to do so and in this article I will show you some tips that worked with me when I learned English and French and will certainly be of great help to you too. So, lets get in to it...
N.W: The tips in this article are not a substitute for taking classes with teachers who are fluent and gifted in the language of interest. They are just a reasonable alternative for those who are unable to attend a professional course.
#1 - Know yourself
Each person has a different way to learn and needs to find out which one is their own to adapt to learning. Some learn best just by writing and reading. Others learn only by doing something, others by listening and several people combine all these forms of learning.
What about you? What is the BEST way for you to lear a new language? What is YOUR best learning period? Do you learn better by reading, watching video lessons or in person? Do you learn best in the morning, afternoon or evening?
Ask yourself these questions to find out the best way of learning that works for you. Otherwise, you will only be wasting time, as you run the risk of adopting a learning method that will not bring you so many results.
#2 - Choose languages that are easier to learn
Many are afraid to learn certain languages because, at first, they seem too difficult. In that case, why not choose to learn languages that are similar to English? These are easier because they came from the same mother language: Latin.
You can learn Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, German, Danish, Dutch, Afrikaans, Swedish, and Norwegian, as these languages have grammar and pronunciations similar to many English words, so it will be easier to learn these languages.
After that, you'll find that it will be easier to learn other languages that previously seemed to be quite difficult.
#3 - Use technology to your advantage
As I said at the beginning of this article, learning a new language has never been easier. This is because there are so many resources at our disposal to learn a new language and the Internet is one of them.
Just search on Google and you'll find thousands of quality content - paid and free - that will help you learn any language simply and effectively.
For example, you can subscribe to a YouTube channel focused on learning the language you want to learn.
You can also make good use of your mobile phone to learn a new language. Install apps like JW Language, Duolingo, Babel, Busuu or EWA English which are the most used apps for learning languages.
The best thing about these apps is that, for some of them, you can learn even without internet and at any time of the day. For example, for those who think they don't have time, Duolingo has an option that allows them to dedicate from 5 min to 30 min a day to learn. That way, you can learn when you're on your way to work, during your school break or while your baby is sleeping.
#4 - Learn the new language little by little
Beginners often tend to run with the language right at the start, trying to learn in one day what they should learn in a week. But in the long run it will be detrimental to you. You will find yourself more confused and will most likely forget what you studied much more often.
I recommend that you learn or adapt to this new language little by little and start with the topic that you find easier to learn. For example, I usually follow the list below:
1 - Learn the numbers because they are easier;
2 - Learn the most frequent conversation phrases;
3 - Learn the most common verbs and their conjugations;
4 - Learn at least 10 new words per day;
5 - Formulate sentences with these numbers, verbs and new words in my daily life.
At the beginning I do not recommend that you worry too much about grammar. The most important is to start getting a sense of the new language. Only after feeling a little bit confortable in that new language I start worrying about grammar.
#5 - Practice this language in your daily life
This last step is very important because it is useless to comply with the previous steps if you simply do not practice this new language every day with someone who is already fluent .
Although it is much easier to evolve if you live in a locality where most speak that language, you can still evolve if you practice every day with someone who already knows the language you are learning. That way, with the corrections that person will give you, you will know where you need to improve and how much progress you have made.
What if in your town you don't know a single person who speaks the language of interest? Well, that person does not need to live exactly in your locality. You can call someone who has already mastered the language you are learning to practice for a few minutes a day.
Try to talk to people close to you if they know someone who speaks the language of your interest and make friends with that person or try to join Facebook or Whatsapp groups of speakers of that language. Just be cautious when choosing who will help you. Many may be very fluent, but they are bad company.
#Bonus: Other ways to improve
1 - Do not study several languages at the same time. In the long run it will only mess you up and in the end you will not be able to be fluent in any of them.
2 - Learn to sing a song in the new language. This is one of the best ways to learn. But be careful because sometimes the grammar of the songs is wrong or you can learn more slang than you should. So be very careful when choosing the song to sing.
3 - Watch TV channels, YouTube channels, movies, series, cartoons or listen to audio in the new language for at least 10 minutes every day. And it doesn't really matter if you understand what they say on these channels or not. The most important thing is to accustom your ear to the pronunciations and accents of the new language.
4 - Read newspapers, magazines and other articles in the new language and always have a dictionary when you do this. That way you will improve your vocabulary in the new language. If you don't have a dictionary you can make comparisons to the same article in your native language. Jehovah's Witnesses publish articles in more than 1000 languages. You can read one of the articles on the website in two languages and make comparisons.
I also publish my articles in Portuguese. If thats your language of interest, you can read this article and many others in Portuguese on my blog to make comparisons. Reading the same text in two languages will help you learn better.
So? What did you think of these tips? This article took a long time to be writen, which is way I´ll apreciate if you leave your comment, opinion or suggestion below and share this article with others as a way of thanking and encouraging me to write more articles like this and until next time 😁😁😁
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