Last Updated on August 28, 2023
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How To Study New Language
Oy vey! We get it — learning a new language is challenging, frustrating, and sometimes just downright difficult. And figuring out the best way to learn a new language? That seems nearly impossible. Different science, theories, and learning styles are all over the place, and truthfully, some languages are easier to learn than others. Maybe you’re great at conversing in French, but can’t write in Spanish to save your life. Despite the difficulties, multi-language acquisition is rapidly growing in popularity around the world and bilinguality is becoming more of a highly-desired resume addition.
With so much out there in terms of best ways to learn a language, it can be hard to zero in on what language learning tactics would be especially helpful for you personally. In order to revive and renew your drive in learning a foreign language or to improve upon the impressive skills you’ve already achieved, here are some fresh ideas on the best way to learn a new language:
Best Ways to Learn a New Language
Keep some of these in mind and you’ll be ready to find an intensive language program before you know it!
1. Make New Friends
If there’s a community of people who speak the language you want to learn in your city, start attending events! Friendship is one of the best ways to learn a foreign language, and the easiest way to get comfortable with the slang, intonation, and mannerisms. You can casually chat with your friends in local cafés, bars, and restaurants and slowly build a foundation on the language you want to learn. The great part about making friends who already speak the language (or are learning right along with you) is that you will be able to practice freely without feeling self-conscious or on the spot!
2. Copy Elementary School Kids
Remember pen pals? Just because you’re an adult now doesn’t mean you can’t partake! Find an international pen pal and trade language expertise and knowledge. Edit each other’s letters (keeping what you both originally wrote), so you can see the correct format and spelling. You’ll help each other learn, your skills for writing in a foreign language will increase tenfold, and you may even have someone to visit abroad when you’re ready to put those skills to use!
3. Watch a Movie
For the people who want to take advantage of one of the best ways to learn a language from the comfort of their own home, put on a foreign movie in another language — without subtitles if you can! Not only is this one of the best ways to learn a foreign language, but you will also get a greater sense of that language’s culture as well! If you don’t know enough of the language to turn the subtitles off, keep a list of new vocabulary words you hear and what you think they mean. Look them up later. Come on, looking up words is fun! (sidenote: If you feel ready and want to “level up” your language learning, commit to going out to a theater and watching a foreign flick in public!)
Cozy up and watch a popular film in a new language… subtitles or not!
4. Pretend You’re at a Restaurant
Read a menu in your target language and pick a dish you would order every day — then look up what it means. The names of your food choices will stick with you! Plus, if you end up choosing something that translates to “dog” or “sheep intestine,” you’ll know to steer clear of them when you’re abroad (unless those are your favorite foods). By the time you head abroad, you’ll have an appetite for both the food and the language for sure!
5. Seek Out Online Resources
The internet is a truly magical place. If you’re looking for the best ways to learn a foreign language, look no further! You can fall back on ol’ reliable Google Translate, but why not utilize a helpful browser extension like Toucan? Toucan is a free extension that will show you words and phrases in your target language as you browse the internet. Language learning definitely doesn’t get easier than that! You can choose from languages like Spanish, French, German, Chinese, and more!
What else can you do to learn a language online? You can connect with other language learners via online chat groups, watch YouTube videos, and read articles. The internet is ready to help you reach your foreign language learning goals!
6. Try Online Courses (like Lingodeer and Italki!)
For online language courses, you can check out LingoDeer. LingoDeer will take your language learning to the next level. Choose from Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French, and more! Their curricula is built by language teachers, and the app provides a built-in flashcard function. Plus, since mastering a new language requires you to actually *speak* it, LingoDeer provides stories for you to read and speak so you can master your skills more quickly! You can also take a crack at Italki, another language provider that connects you with language teachers online.
7. Teach Yourself
The key to this one is small steps of dedicated research – and while obvious, remains one of the best ways to learn a new language. Take a little bit of time every day to write out a sentence you would like to know how to say in your target language. Look up each word/section and try to construct the sentence yourself. If you have a language partner, have them double check your sentences when you meet up. This is a great trick to keep yourself in check.Making small goals to attain every day will keep you moving onward and upward on the language learning track!
Say Hola! to new friends at a local coffee shop while you work on your skills
8. Break it Down
Nope, we’re not talking about break dancing here — sadly those crazy moves will most likely not help you learn a language (anything is possible, though!). Instead, focus on vocabulary for one area or topic each week (i.e., transportation or food items), and then move onto another topic the next week. Just like teaching yourself new sentences and passages, this organized routine will make learning vocab and other important keywords more manageable and you’ll begin to be able to group things together.
9. Listen to the Radio
Similar to watching a foreign movie, try listening to a radio station in your target language either in the car, on a podcast, or online. Try to see how much you can understand, and write down words that you recognize but do not understand to look up (Pro tip: listening to the news in another language is an incredible and really intense way to start learning vocab and conversational structures fast!).
10. Go Abroad!
One of the best ways to learn a foreign language is to visit a country that speaks your target language and live with a host family that doesn’t speak your native language. You’ll be absolutely amazed at how much information you can communicate and how quickly you pick up a language when you don’t have any other option. This full-on immersion style training will have you speaking fluently in months. Honestly, what could be better? You could even learn MULTIPLE languages abroad if you choose your country right!
basics of learning a new language
The Four Basic Language Skills
One definition of “language” is “a system of symbols that permit people to communicate or interact. These symbols can include vocal and written forms, gestures, and body language.” Tutors would find this applicable for ESOL learners.
Another way to describe language is in terms of the four basic language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In your teaching, you will need to address each of these skills. And, whenever possible, you should utilize activities that integrate all four skills since each reinforces the other.
People generally learn these four skills in the following order:
- Listening: When people are learning a new language they first hear it spoken.
- Speaking: Eventually, they try to repeat what they hear.
- Reading: Later, they see the spoken language depicted symbolically in print.
- Writing: Finally, they reproduce these symbols on paper.
