First of all, I am a huge fan of this subreddit and adore the advice given here. While in school, I always thought I was "bad at languages" and would never learn more than the basic introductions in a language.
It has only been the last two years where I decided that I would learn a new language (French) because I met the love of my life and wanted to be able to speak with his family. My thinking was that even though I was bad at languages, I would force and struggle my way through with determination.
During my learning journey, I realised I actually wasn't bad at languages...I just didn't have the right motivation nor the right learning tools and methods to help me. However, I am still plagued with the thoughts that "I barely know the language" and "There is still so much I don't know" where I thought I would be lucky to pass with a B2! Despite there, of course, being tons of vocabulary or grammar rules I haven't mastered, I am at a level which is comfortable and I will continue to learn and improve my skills.
I, personally, am not a fan of those "Learn -x- language in 6 months." I spent hours watching videos, reading articles, searching the web for answers on how to learn a language as quickly as possible and my conclusion is it takes: time and dedication. I believe it takes everyone huge amounts of time and effort to build a solid foundation in the language in order for the language to feel natural and a part of you.
If you are interested here are some of the biggest tips and tricks that helped me:
For all levels:
-
WORK EVERY DAY: Do something concerning the language every day! Even if it's 5 minutes or simply just repeating phrases to yourself from memory, do something every day. Consistency and dedication will do more for your language learning than if you wait for when you feel motivated.
-
Use your DEAD TIME. This is the time where you would normally do nothing or you have the capacity to multi-task (i.e., on the train/bus/car to school or work; cleaning the house; at the gym). Use this time to listen to music, audiobooks, youtube videos in the target language. Fill as much of your dead time with learning.
-
INPUT is essential. Listen to as much of the language as you can. Listen to stuff that is too easy for you, where you can listen without much concentration (even if it means programs for little children), and also listen to things that challenge you (where maybe you understand most but not all). Listen to subjects you already know, listen to new subjects.
-
SPEAKING: Being reserved, this was the hardest for me to do but once I started my level improved drastically. Before speaking the language, I could write and understand the language but was unable to form sentences (or if I did they took me forever to create and filled with errors). Speaking forces you to confront your weaker areas (are you missing essential vocab? Struggling with conjugating? Sentence structure?). The only way to speak well in a language is to practice speaking!! With the new sounds, your mouth isn't accustomed to the movements and your tongue feels heavy. While having a language partner is great, you don't need one all the time to practice speaking. While working with applications or watching videos, repeat what is said and focus on trying to mimic the accent. Read books or sentences out loud and when you struggle with pronouncing a word, you can ask your language partner how to say it or use google translate to listen to the word.
Beginner:
- I used most free applications: Memrise, Duolingo, ANKI (flashcards) to start the process and learn vocabulary and very basic grammar and sentence structures.
- watched cartoons on Netflix in my target language with subtitles in the target language
- watched youtube videos specifically for those learning the language (Learn French with Alexa, français avec Pierre): these are great because they speak slower than normal and they explain useful grammar tips!
Intermediate:
- Anki: downloaded flashcards with 1,500 + sentences easiest to hardest. Would listen to the French sentence and then before flipping the card would write down what I heard in a notebook. This improved dramatically my comprehension, my spelling, and my pronunciation as I would repeat out loud the sentence.
- Began doing language exchanges with people looking to practice their English.
- Started watching French youtubers, who were doing videos on subjects that interested me in English but now listening to French youtubers. -Watching movies and series made for adults in the target language with subtitles in the target language.
- reading books aimed at teenagers and also adults books that I had already read but in English now in French.
Advanced:
- Watching more and more videos, movies, series in the target language but without subtitles.
- reading books aimed at adults that I haven't read in English before.
- creating lists of words and expressions I don't know into Anki to memorise them.
- speaking daily in the target language and writing messages.
- listening to french audiobooks
That's all for my tips. I always appreciate reading how others learn and what works for them. I'm finally at the stage where I feel comfortable learning another language (Italian). I went from someone who believes they didn't have the skills to learn a new language to beginning to learn a 3rd!
[link] [comments]
from வணக்கம் | Languagelearning https://ift.tt/2GWAftP
via Learn Online English Speaking
Comments
Post a Comment