Be it for taking a new job responsibility, knowing other cultures, or reading your favorite novel, learning a new language is one of the most interesting experiences you can have in your life. However, learning a language, especially when starting from scratch, appears to be a slow or tedious process. You’ll need to brush up on your grammar, remember vocabulary, practice speaking, and so on!
Whatever your cause for learning a new language is, you can surely agree that learning it quickly would be ideal. You don’t want to waste another seven years relearning a language the hard way, so here are 4 tips for learning a language quickly.
- Have Conversation with People Better Than You!
If there’s a “trick” or “hack” to learning a new language, it’s hours and hours of laborious discussion with people who speak the language better than you. This is due to several factors. The first one is motivation. You’ll be significantly more interested and motivated to converse with a live person in front of you than you will with a book or audio program on your computer, isn’t it so?
The second one is that language should be processed rather than remembered. Memorizing a word 100 times in a book doesn’t go well as being forced to use it in conversation two or three times.
- Prioritize Fluency Over Accuracy
Another technique to learn faster is to prioritize fluency over accuracy.
Fluency is the capacity to communicate clearly and readily. It entails conversing smoothly in the target language in real-time. On the other hand, accuracy refers to the ability to be precise. It entails communicating without making any grammatical, lexical, tonal, or other mistakes.
When learning a new language, the ultimate goal is to be able to utilize it fluently rather than accurately. This isn’t to say that we should overlook the value of precision. It is just that we have to pay less attention to accuracy and more to fluency. Consider moments when you didn’t strictly adhere to the laws of your own language but were perfectly understood by others.
- Make Language Learning a Fun Experience
Taking a language out of the must-do task of your life and putting it in the entertainment section is a great way to learn it rapidly. Treat learning a language as a fun adventure, be it for your new job or traveling! Make language study a priority rather than a chore. It’s time to come up with some very entertaining and enticing ways to swiftly pick up certain skills.
You can do this by gamifying language learning, that is, you can download apps or board games in your target language that can add an element of fun to your language learning.
- Find A Partner!
It’s perfectly acceptable to seek assistance from others. So go for it! Having another person’s help will greatly expedite your learning. Find someone who is also learning your new language, no matter where you are in your learning process. Share any resources or tips that have proven to be beneficial to you. Set aside time to meet and share any progress you’ve made, as well as provide feedback to one another.
- Attend a Course
Indeed, the best way of learning a new language is to actually attend a course. At some point, we all have to sit down, take classes, do homework and conversation. In general language courses can be classified into two main categories: a) In person – The good, old fashioned way is that of walking into a classroom. b) Online – There is a wealth of courses you can take online which allow you to learn from the comfort of your home. In fact, you can do it from anywhere, as long as you have an internet connection. It’s super convenient, really.
Give a try to the above-mentioned tips and see the change in your language learning process! When you accept the ups and downs of the learning process, you’ll be able to enjoy and appreciate the journey more, which will lead to additional possibilities for language learning.
