This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Mizzou chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Learning a language is daunting, and it doesn’t help that there is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach. It is definitely doable, though, and there are so many benefits to learning a new language. As someone who has been trying to teach myself French for roughly two years now, I have experienced the highs and lows of learning a new language.

The Benefits

First, why should you take on learning a new language? Well, a couple of reasons:

The process strengthens your self-discipline.
You get to see the world through a new lens.
Being bilingual or multilingual is an impressive resume booster and career tool.
According to Cambridge University, it has been found to improve your attention span.
Cambridge’s research also indicates that learning a new language enhances your memory capabilities.
Additionally, the research shows that the language learning process increases social awareness.
And, of course, learning another language gives you bragging rights (at least in my opinion).

The Principles

If the benefits have convinced you to take up a new language, here are some key principles to remember as you begin:

Time Commitment & Consistency

This might seem obvious, but the more time you dedicate to practicing the language, the quicker you will increase your fluency. Unfortunately, dedicating hours every day is not always feasible. Luckily, it is consistency that wins every time, not simply intensity.

A little bit of immersion every day is also far more constructive than two hours of focus once in a blue moon. Make a playlist in your target language and listen to it on your walk to classes. Watch an episode of TV in the language every night. Or, listen to one of the many language-learning podcasts when you have a minute. It all adds up and, before you know it, you’ll be able to converse and understand more fluently and effortlessly.

Quality

Please, please, please do not begin your language-learning journey by diving headfirst into complicated works. If you’re learning Spanish, don’t immediately pick up “Don Quixote,” by Miguel de Cervantes for a quick read. If you’re learning French, don’t start by attempting “Les Chemins de la Liberté” by Jean-Paul Sartre.

You get my point.

As cool as these works are to brag about to your friends, you have to meet the language where you are in order to get the most quality, helpful and understandable knowledge. At this point, I think I have watched more “Bluey” episodes than my 5-year-old cousin, but I have learned a lot of conversational French from them.

Honesty

This ties in with the quality principle a bit. You have to be honest with yourself about where you are at in your progress. It is easier said than done, but this is a very significant part of the process. Start with children’s shows and books and work your way up to more complicated resources.

woman typing on laptop in cafe — Photo by Bonnie Kittle from Unsplash

My Favorite Tips

Romanticize it. I cannot stress this enough. Make a Pinterest board for your target language, have a cozy playlist, make yourself a coffee when you do a longer study session, and that’s just to name a couple of ideas. I strongly recommend making the language-learning process something that excites you – it makes a huge difference.
Grammar is critical to learn. The pesky rules of languages are not the most fun, but they are crucial. For me, this means grabbing my notebook and, every week or two, sitting down for an hour writing out the intricate rules of French. I promise it is worth it.
Speak, either with someone else (this is preferred, but not always possible) or just to yourself. Pronunciation is often the thing that gets forgotten when practicing, but it is a game changer when you can pronounce words and phrases correctly in conversation.
Most importantly, don’t be harsh with yourself. It is incredibly difficult to learn a language, and you have to go at your own pace. If you ever get frustrated that you don’t understand something, just breathe and remember that you already know more than you used to.

All this to say, there are things that work when it comes to language learning. It is not as intimidating as it sometimes seems to be, and it is a very flexible process – find what works for you. Accept the struggles, victories and everything in between. If you keep with it, one day you will look up and, without a second thought, break into a full conversation in a language that used to utterly confound you.

Good luck! Or, in my own current target language, French: “bonne chance!”

The Art of Language Learning