Besides impressing your friends, listening to that conversation in the corner, and being part of more conversations, language learning has many more benefits. If you plan on learning a new language, here are a few ways of learning a new language:
- Travel
The best way of all is to immerse yourself while living or studying in the country in which you want to learn the language. Try and get to know their local culture. Meet new people and make new friends. Meeting people and getting to know new cultures will help you discover the genuine spirit of the language. If you want to adopt the accent, this is the best way to get a British or American accent.
- Talk
What is language, if not a means to communicate? Sure with all the new technology, we are becoming experts at communicating without talking, and texting has become the new normal. However, speaking a language helps you remember it far better than just reading or writing it in language learning.
You may have heard many people say that they can only understand the language and not speak it, no matter how many English lessons they take. Unfortunately, they have turned speaking that language into a significant insurmountable barrier. Do not be like them, and seek a native speaker for an informal language exchange. Also, never be afraid to speak in your target language.
- Take Notes
While learning a language, we often come across a new word or a phrase we enjoy and which at that moment seems challenging to forget. But not everything sticks the first time. To overcome this, get into the habit of carrying a notebook or typing into your phone whenever you hear a new word. Then, make sure to write it down in context to understand the meaning of the words or phrases.
Despite technological advances making handwriting a thing of the past, do not underestimate the power of it helping you to stimulate your memory. The physical effort to write down the words helps memorize them better.
- Change the language setting on your devices.
Switching your devices and social media to your target language can help you learn a lot of new words, which could be very useful for travelling or business. It won’t be easy initially, and you might need a translator, but you will have learned a lot of vocabulary over time. If you wish to speak American English, change the settings accordingly.
- Read
Read everything you can get, whether it’s newspaper articles, emails, social media feed, paperbacks or literature. It helps you learn new vocab quickly and revise vocab, as you may come across many words you already know.
- Use the internet
The internet has a wealth of information or resources; you could watch Youtube videos, listen to podcasts and music, or read blogs. You can find a lot of online content specifically made for language learning. For example, you could subscribe to Youtube channels that make creative videos to teach languages or vlogs. Podcasts are an excellent way to learn if you are multitasking, and what more fun way to learn than by listening to songs and singing along.
