Here are some Tips n Tricks to learn any new language. Try to understand how important these points are in your learning process. Just follow them meticulously and you will be able to learn your new language with great ease.
You should know why you are learning a new language? This might sound obvious, but if you don’t have a good reason to learn a language, you are less likely to stay motivated over the long-run. No matter your reason, once you’ve decided on a language, it’s crucial to commit: “OK, I want to learn this and I’m therefore going to do as much as I can with this language and for this language.”
Find a Partner who can help you. It’s a really great way of actually going about it. You have someone with whom you can speak, and that’s the idea behind learning a language. Even if you can’t get a sibling to join you on your language adventure, having any kind of partner will push both of you to always try just a little bit harder and stay with it:
Talk to yourself. When you have no one else to speak to, there’s nothing wrong with talking to yourself. It might sound really weird, but actually speaking to yourself in a language is a great way to practice if you’re not able to use it all the time. This can keep new words and phrases fresh in your mind and build up your confidence for the next time you speak with someone.
Make it Relevant. Talking to people will keep the learning process relevant to you. You’re learning a language to be able to use it. You’re not going to speak it to yourself. The creative side is really being able to put the language that you’re learning into a more useful, general, everyday setting – be that through writing songs, generally wanting to speak to people, or using it when you go abroad. You don’t necessarily have to go abroad; you can go to the Greek restaurant down the road and order in Greek.
Have fun with new language. Using your new language in any way is a creative act. Think of some fun ways to practice your new language: make a radio play with a friend, draw a comic strip, write a poem, or simply talk to whomever you can. If you can’t find a way to have fun with the new language, chances are you aren’t following step four.
Act like a child. Children are inherently better learners than adults. The key to learning as quickly as a child may be to simply take on certain childlike attitudes: for instance, lack of self-consciousness, a desire to play with the language and willingness to make mistakes. We learn by making mistakes. As kids, we are expected to make mistakes, but as adults mistakes become taboo. When it comes to learning a language, admitting that you don’t know everything is the key to growth and freedom. Let go of your grown-up inhibitions!
Must be able to leave your comfort zone. Willingness to make mistakes means being ready to put yourself in potentially embarrassing situations. This can be scary, but it’s the only way to develop and improve. No matter how much you learn, you won’t ever speak a language without putting yourself out there: talk to strangers in the language, ask for directions, order food or try to tell a joke. The more often you do this, the bigger your comfort zone becomes and the more at ease you can be in new situations.
Must learn to listen. You must learn to listen before you can speak. Every language sounds strange the first time you hear it, but the more you expose yourself to it the more familiar it becomes, and the easier it is to speak it properly. The best way to go about mastering the new language is actually to hear it constantly, to listen to it and to kind of visualize or imagine how that is supposed to be pronounced, because for every sound there is a specific part of the mouth or throat that we use in order to achieve that sound.
Must watch people talk. Different languages demands different movements on your tongue, lips and throat. Pronunciation is just as much physical as it is mental. One of the ways is to really look at someone while they’re saying words that use that sound, and then to try to imitate that sound as much as possible. It might look difficult at the beginning, but you will. It’s something that is actually quite easily done; you just need to practice it. If you can’t watch and imitate a native-speaker in person, watching foreign-language films or TV is a good substitute.
Make a beginning now. No matter which learning tools you use, it’s crucial to practice your new language every single day. So if you learn something you really go for it and try to use it throughout the day. As the week progresses you try to think on it, try to write in it and try to speak to yourself even in that language. It’s about actually putting what you’re learning into practice – be that writing an email, speaking to yourself, listening to music, listening to the radio.
Bottom line: Remember, the best possible outcome of speaking a language is for people to speak back to you. Being able to have a simple conversation is a huge reward in itself. Reaching milestones like that early on will make it easier to stay motivated and keep practicing. And don’t worry, you won’t annoy people by speaking their language poorly. If you preface any interaction with, “I’m learning and I’d like to practice…” most people will be patient, encouraging and happy to oblige. Taking the initiative to step into someone else’s language world can also put them at ease and promote good feelings all around.
Certainly you can travel abroad speaking your own language, but you’ll get so much more out of it being able to actually feel at ease in the place you are – being able to communicate, to understand, to interact in every situation you could possibly imagine.
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