1.
Be the language
If you want to learn a language it’s important that you get this language in your head. You have to try and get to a point where you think in the language you’re trying to learn. Only this way is it ever going to stick. Try to be with the language as much as possible. Also, when you’re talking to someone in a language you’re learning, try not to switch to English but explain in the foreign language what you are trying to say. It’s not easy, but you’ll learn much more from it.
2.
Get over your fear of speaking
Many people when they begin to learn a language are afraid to speak it and don’t want to let other people hear them make mistakes. They basically won’t let anyone hear them speaking the language until they speak it “perfectly”. This is one of the biggest mistakes made by learners, in my opinion. A because you will never speak a language perfectly, there is no such thing. And B because you will only learn through speaking the language. I think it’s best to start speaking the language from day one. Even if all you can say is “yes”, “no” and “I don’t understand,” it’s a start, and something to build on. I know it can be very exhausting for other people to listen to someone not being able to say what they want to say, but that’s the only way to learn.
3.
Make time
A lot of people tell me “I don’t have the
time to learn a foreign language,” well, as far as that’s concerned; there is
no easy way out! As I said in my first post, language learning IS time consuming. But that doesn’t mean
that you can’t make time for it, even if you are a busy person. (Like I am, by
the way.)
The trick is to do something every day, even if it’s only 15 minutes of practice, it will help you memorise the language and stop the process of forgeting things.
It’s not always easy to make time, but it has to happen.
The trick is to do something every day, even if it’s only 15 minutes of practice, it will help you memorise the language and stop the process of forgeting things.
It’s not always easy to make time, but it has to happen.
4.
Be determined
You really have to want to go for it, otherwise you’ll never get there. Like I said before, it’s not easy and it is time consuming, but if you’re really determined then you’ll get there. You have to want it.
5.
Give it your everything
Basically comes with being determined. You
have to want to work for it and give it your best shot possible. If you’re
doing tip 1, then automatically you are giving
it your everything already. Giving it your everything –for me- doesn’t mean
that you have to study from 8 am ‘til 10 pm with no break whatsoever. Don’t
overwork yourself, just do as much as you can so at the end of the day you don’t
get the feeling you could have done more. A good day in language learning –again,
for me- is when I can say to myself “well, look at all the progress I made.” And
that’s where it gets rewarding too!
6.
Make a plan
Don’t just start with no goal or target
set. You’re bound to get derailed that way. Ask yourself what your aim is, how
far you want to get with this. Try to put a timestamp on it, just to give
yourself something to work toward. Try to switch between learning grammar and learning
vocabulary and getting as many aspects of the language as possible. Also,
gather your resources on beforehand, otherwise you’ll get lost in all that’s
out there. Try to find a good learning book or website, and try to complete
that before you move on to the next one, otherwise you’ll have done chapter 1
of every book and website –mostly about the same thing- and you’ll never get
any further than that because you feel you’re stuck.
It’s ok to have more than one resource, but make a plan!
It’s ok to have more than one resource, but make a plan!
7.
Don’t procrastinate
“I want to learn Swahili someday,” is probably the most annoying thing someone can tell me. What do you mean someday?! Someday is simply not good enough. When people say someday, they really mean never. If you want something, do it now. There’s never going to be a better time to start. You’ll lose the courage to do so if you don’t get started now. –Been there, done that-
“I want to learn Swahili someday,” is probably the most annoying thing someone can tell me. What do you mean someday?! Someday is simply not good enough. When people say someday, they really mean never. If you want something, do it now. There’s never going to be a better time to start. You’ll lose the courage to do so if you don’t get started now. –Been there, done that-
8.
You can do
it!
“I want to learn Swahili, but it’s too difficult,” is probably the second most annoying thing people tell me. There is no such thing as a difficult language. Besides, we probably already speak a so called “difficult language” without even noticing it. –Yes, English is considered difficult by many people too!-
Chinese is one of the best examples for this, many people consider Chinese an incredibly difficult language to learn. (Or, Finnish too for example, which I am learning)The thing is, it’s all about perspective. A 4 years old Chinese boy speaks Chinese fluently, it really can’t be rocket science. It’s all about attitude, if you start out by telling yourself that you can’t do this, then you’re already minimizing your chances of succeeding. Believe in yourself, you can do it!
9.
Tell people
People often just don’t tell other people they’re learning a certain language. Out of fear, or with the thought that they just don’t know enough of that language yet to tell anybody about it. That’s a mistake. In fact, you should tell everybody that you’re going to get started on a language because it makes it much more concrete. It’s much realer. And you’ll be more determined to continue learning it because people will ask you how you’re doing with it. You’ll be much less tempted to just stop learning that language all together.
People often just don’t tell other people they’re learning a certain language. Out of fear, or with the thought that they just don’t know enough of that language yet to tell anybody about it. That’s a mistake. In fact, you should tell everybody that you’re going to get started on a language because it makes it much more concrete. It’s much realer. And you’ll be more determined to continue learning it because people will ask you how you’re doing with it. You’ll be much less tempted to just stop learning that language all together.
10.
Don’t give up!
My experience is that the first couple of
weeks or even months of learning a language are piece of cake, but after that,
there is some sort of barrier where you can’t seem to push from that
intermediate level to an advanced level. This is where you just have to keep
going, no matter how little progress you seem to make. I compare this with
obese people that are trying to loose their excess weight, at first they seem
to lose weight by tons, but after a while they just don’t seem to do as well.
Not because they’re not continuously working out or sticking to their diets.
But just because after a while it just gets harder. The same goes for language
learning, at some point you’re going to feel a little stuck, but that’s ok,
just don’t give up!
And tip 11 HAVE SOME FUN. Language learning does not have to be boring!
