3 Tips for Learning a New Language
Insights from a Friendly Polyglot
With the various language apps that permeate the internet, there are millions of people in the world who can speak in more than one language. However, to gain the self-discipline needed to learn a language in the first place, there are many things to consider, such as one’s ability to set aside the actual time needed to learn a language, your ability to retain knowledge for a sufficient amount of time, and many more.
Thus, I’d like to highlight 3 major tips for learning a new language.
Learn in Gradual and Flexible Increments
Instead of trying to memorize as much as you can in one day, it might be easier to learn small doses of language learning across multiple days. Whether it’s for 5 minutes to 1 hour, a person could set aside small amounts of time to accommodate their ever-changing schedules.
If that means just learning a handful of words in between two major tasks, that’s perfectly okay. You don’t necessarily have to memorize the words themselves either. Instead, through repeated visual exposure to various terms, your brain will internalize it and store it in a long-term memory reserve.
With hurried memorization, our memories are more likely to be temporarily housed under a short-term memory reserve and you may end up forgetting things very quickly, especially after several days. The key here is to just learn a little each day and allow the information to be absorbed until it is internalized.
Understand the Cultural Context
When you’re learning a new language, you are also learning about the cultural norms associated with said language. Culture can help inform why words are used in a specific way.
For example, there are many variances of a single language. In English, we may see this when we see an Australian and a Canadian interact. We might also see nuance in language when a friend speaks versus the family physician.
Sometimes, it becomes easier to attain self-discipline if you have some idea of the local culture itself. If you wanted to learn a new language for job-related prospects, then formal language training is the way to go. However, if you wanted to learn a new language just to speak with extended family, perhaps socialization is the way to do it.
Plus, culture gives you an excuse to learn more about the world, expanding your worldview in a very fun way. If that means talking to others online, reading a new book, and watching movies, it can be a great stepping stool towards language learning.
Use What You Learned
It’s quite understandable to be feeling anxious when we start to learn the words of a language and want to try it out somewhere. Fears of embarrassment may permeate our minds, especially if there are few real-life opportunities to flex those language learning skills. However, everyone starts somewhere, in one way or another.
If that means signing up for a virtual session with other novice language learners, you can soundboard off of one other, under the careful eye of a native speaker. Plus, with the proliferation of online meetings, the host of the session can reinforce turn-taking, visual aids, and slower speaking, until you feel comfortable talking to people in real life.
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