posted by Christine on Jul 13
Learning another language can be quite tough. You have to learn a lot of words, then form those into coherent sentences. That in itself can be very difficult if the sentence structure is very different from your primary language. Example, you are an English speaker then you have to learn Japanese which has a different sentence structure from English. There are ways to make it easier though and most of them involve practice, practice, practice.
Learn from mistakes - While learning a different language, you will make mistakes. There’s no doubt about it. Making mistakes can be embarrassing, of course. But by making mistakes it will be easier to remember after being corrected. Afterwards, when you try to say the same thing again, you will remember what you said wrong and say it correctly. Try to avoid making the same mistake twice, though.
Put it into writing - The most basic method of learning a language is to write it first. It is often easier to remember what we wrote than what we said. So by writing what you learn, it will be easier to remember in the future. Of course, you also won’t learn just by writing so do both - say it and write it down. It’s also a good thing to write it as how it is written, like Chinese characters for Mandarin for example. You’ll be able to learn a lot from that.
Talk to yourself - There are times that we don’t have anybody to talk with. In that situation, try using your imagination. Imagine talking to yourself and try to speak as fluently as possible. Think of a topic, and then just keep talking about it. Since there’s nobody there anyway, you wouldn’t look like an idiot. So don’t be embarrassed!
Share what you learned with others - If you know someone you can talk to, try using some of the words you learned during the conversation even if they don’t know what you are talking about. Afterwards, tell them what the words mean. It is something I frequently do when I try to learn a foreign language so I can remember it easily. Just make sure to tell them what you are trying to achieve or they’ll think you are simply messing around. It happened to me once. Also, make sure you are telling them the correct things or that would be embarrassing if they found out you were wrong at some point.
Watch movies or read novels - A language teacher told me to do this while learning. By watching movies in a foreign language, not only will you learn new words but also the correct way of saying them. Also, most of the dialogs in those media can be used in casual conversations. So by doing that, not only are you learning the language itself, but also learning how to use it in a casual conversation. It’s also good practice since you will be forced to keep up with trying to understand what the characters are saying.
Be enthusiastic - This not only applies to learning foreign languages but also learning stuff in general. By being enthusiastic about learning something, you will have that positive vibe that will help you learn quickly and easily. Again, don’t worry about making mistakes. It happens to everybody so don’t let those affect you.
Learn with a partner - Or go the full mile and get yourself a girlfriend or boyfriend. Just kidding, although that was half meant. I remember a language teacher saying that the best way to learn another language is to get a lover. Another student took it a step more and said “The best way to learn another language is in bed”. He got bonked on the head promptly by our teacher.
July 15th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
7 Tips For Learning Foreign Languages…
Learning another language can be quite tough. You have to learn a lot of words, then form those into coherent sentences. That in itself can be very difficult if the sentence structure is very different from your primary language. Example, you are an En…
July 15th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
7 Tips For Learning Foreign Languages…
Learning another language can be quite tough. You have to learn a lot of words, then form those into coherent sentences. That in itself can be very difficult if the sentence structure is very different from your primary language. Example, you are an En…