Learning to speak a new language can be an arduous task. It takes time, demands patience and requires a lot of discipline and determination. However, there are a lot of easy steps that you can take to get the ball rolling.
First of all, one thing you will want to keep in mind is: don’t be too hard on yourself. Mental fatigue, something that happens when your brain loses the temporary ability to function properly and asses all the information, can happen when you are too focused on reaching a goal.
An article recently published by John Hopkins, one of U.S. most renowned medical institutions, says that anxiety can sometimes get out of control and make performance plummet. That happens because when we are emotionally unwell we “just can’t think straight”, since unmanaged stress shuts much of our brain’s ability to process information.
Believe me, stressing yourself out because you can not seem to get something is not worth it. Everyone has to learn how to speak at some point, even if it is when we are little or learn to use sign language. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to learn to communicate, as long as you keep trying and don’t give up.
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A way to counter stress is to know why you are struggling to learn this. If you don’t have a good reason (that is, a reason that is important to you) to learn a new language, you are less likely to stay motivated over the long-run.
That brings us to our second point which is: make it enjoyable. Don’t go after textbook examples all the time, there is no point in learning another language if it is not something that brings you joy or that can be pleasurable.
If you really like movies, watch them in the language you are learning or with subtitles and then try to reenact them – even if it’s only on your head. Listening to music and watching YouTube videos is just as helpful, and not only it’ll be fun but you’ll get a more realistic pronunciation than books or English learning programs. And of course, try to read books in the language – if you think it is too difficult, you can buy a version that is both in your mother language and in the one you are trying to learn.
Another thing that could work is trying to learn the expressions you most frequently use in your mother language before everything else. While it may not sound like a orthodox advice, it may work since it will be very practical. Get a notebook and a pen, search their pronounce, write them down the way you think it is right, search for the way they’re actually written, correct whichever ones that are wrong, and repeat the process as many times as it takes you.
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The Learning Pyramid was developed way back in the 1960s by the NTL Institute in Bethel, Maine. To summarize it, learners retain approximately 90% of what they learn when they teach someone else or use immediately. So that is why you should prioritize the stuff you will actually need the most or enjoy the most. After all, you are learning a language to be able to use it. Being able to put the language that you’re learning into a more useful, general, everyday setting, means you’re less likely to focus on small bits that you will never actually use.
That’s what brings us to our last tip: you can never speak a language by just studying it, no matter how much you try it. When you study, you acquire vocabulary and improve your grammar. Logically enough, your understanding improves. However, above all, languages are meant to help us to communicate. When you are locked away studying, you are avoiding contact with people who may speak that language and that is why so many people find it hard to remember that, as long as you’re understood, people won’t mind if you break a few grammar rules.
It will be hard – you won’t know how to say things, embarrass yourself one time or another, hesitate a lot and feel that you can’t express things precisely the way you want to. Until you actually use the language in its natural context you will always have this barrier to get through.
You can do this in person if there are natives or other learners close by, or over the Internet with millions of natives. Speaking is imitation. When you speak your native language, you use the same grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation as the people around you. The same happens when trying to speak a foreign language, imitating the grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation of native speakers, which helps you sound more natural.
It’s pretty obvious that, in order to talk like native speakers, you have to listen to the things they say and read the things they read and write. You can do it by studying, learning new words and grammar structures that you can use to express your thoughts. As a result, it becomes easier and easier for you to build your own sentences in a foreign language.
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When you start speaking, it will help you see what gaps there are in your vocabulary and grammar, motivating you to keep learning and learning until it becomes a second nature to you. So you should speak after you’ve been studying it for a bit, even if you have no one else to speak to – hey, there’s nothing wrong with talking to yourself!
It might sound odd at first, but actually speaking to yourself in a language is a great way to practice if you are not able to use it all the time. It can keep new words and phrases fresh in your mind and build up your confidence for the next time you speak with someone else.
Remember, the best possible outcome of learning a new language is for people to reply to you. Being able to maintain a simple conversation is a huge reward in itself. And do not worry, you won’t annoy people by speaking their language poorly, every single one of us makes mistakes. So, don’t give up and keep learning!