I was taking Spanish classes through school but am no longer taking classes as I switched to Korean, meaning I am trying to learn two languages right now. With Spanish, I have had a few years of classes and am exposed to it fairly frequently, so it is easy for me to keep up with it. As for Korean, I am at such a beginner level that I can only talk very minimally about anything. However, I would one day like to be fluent in these languages. Here are some tips that I use in my language learning journey that I find particularly beneficial.
- Fill out your planner, grocery lists, and to do lists in the language you are learning
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This tip is especially useful when it comes to talking about your day and what you like to do. Most of your conversations in a foreign language will be very surface level, especially while you’re still learning, and so by writing out your plans in that language you will already know what to say. As far as for your grocery list, it is just another way to incorporate the language into your life especially if you do ever go to a country that speaks the language you are learning.
- Utilize free apps
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My favorite language learning apps are DuoLingo and HiNative. DuoLingo, as we all know, is a free app that helps you either learn a language from scratch or reinforce one that you are already learning through different activities. HiNative is an app where you can ask questions about the language you are learning to real people and you then answer questions from people about the languages you can already speak.
- Make friends who speak that language
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You need to converse in the language you are learning, especially if you are not studying the language in a traditional classroom setting. Making friends who speak the language you are learning forces you to rely less on translations and more on context clues. It is also a great way to learn the slang of a language that you most likely won’t learn in a traditional course.
- Learn new languages through languages you are learning
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If you are trying to learn several languages, then this tip is for you. Instead of translating everything back to your first language, try translating between other languages that you speak to keep you refreshed. This is a great way to get comfortable with thinking in another language and faster at translating and responding.
- Incoporate the language into your daily life as much as possible!
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Speak and think in the language you are learning as much as you can! For me, I have a pet rat who speaks English and Spanish. He has learned all the words he knows in English in Spanish so it is a great way for me to practice the language when I talk to him. You can also watch shows with subtitles in the language you want to learn, translate your phone to a different language, and do so many other things in your daily life to reinforce your language skills.
Language learning isn’t easy and it’s stressful when you hit a block or just can’t seem to say what you want to say in another language. Because of this, you can’t just rely on a classroom to teach you. You need to incorporate the language into your everyday life in order to truly understand the language and get to the level of fluency you desire!