Learning a new language can be fun, exciting, and useful. Whether it’s a hobby, communicating with family members, or counting down the days for a vacation, learning a language is beneficial. There are many steps to evaluate in order to start, or continue, learning a new language.
Motivation
Behind every action, there is a reason. Motivation is a huge part of language learning. We cannot learn a language in one night. It takes time and process to see change and improvement. You need a reason for learning a new language. It could be talking with a friend, or your next vacation is in six months and you do not want to look like a tourist.
Setting goals can motivate you into learning and studying. Try making daily, weekly, and even monthly goals. Learn a new word once a day. Try to identify and recall the name of the day, month, and season by the end of the week. You could also create a learning language journal to maintain your goals.
Entertainment
Studying can eventually get overwhelming. We turn to entertainment to relieve our stress. Don’t want to learn the structure of a sentence? You can substitute a study day with something more easy to consume. Watching tv shows and films with subtitles can activate our mind to recognize words, phrases, and accents of the desired language. Most traditional books do not update the current lingo and slang people are using. However, film and television do, and they categorize the era or decade the lingo is being used at.
Auditory learning can be useful when listening to music, a podcast, or even just the radio. Listening to the radio in your desired language is an option with Radio Garden! Podcasts are informative and easy to follow since podcasters talk at a normal speed with expressive emotions to engage their listeners.
Reading the news can keep you up-to-date with the country’s recent events and can help you identify words that you are not familiar with. There are plenty of books, and even alternate language versions of your current favorite books, to check out.
Talk to yourself and others
Speaking a new language can be difficult in the beginning. You can start by talking to yourself or singing out the lyrics of your favorite songs. Downloading apps such as Duolingo and HelloTalk can improve your accent as well.
The more you practice and use some of these tips, you’ll be a pro at whatever new language you take on!