Table of contents:
- Tips to make it easier to learn a foreign language
- 1. Learn the right vocabulary in the right way
- 2. The importance of variety
- 3. Look for relationships with each other
- 4. Expand vocabulary list with mnemonics
- 5. Maintain the quality and quantity of learning
- 6. Don't be afraid to talk
- 7. Commitment and consistency
Humans are born with a language instinct. Our brains are naturally attached to language. The brain has the ability to process complex information from sound, movement, and context, and this capacity for language extends throughout life. This means that you can learn any language, any time.
No need to bother going to the destination country to be able to learn the language. Today, the Internet is filled with language learning tools, such as apps, translators, online flashcards, and ebooks. You can get many of these facilities for free. Now, just leave it all back to yourself to harvest all these conveniences. You live in an age where education and information are at your fingertips.
Tips to make it easier to learn a foreign language
However, learning more than one language at a time requires careful planning and accurate strategies. Unlike inexact science, there is no universal method of learning a language. Below we provide tips and tricks that can make it easier for you to learn many foreign languages.
1. Learn the right vocabulary in the right way
Vocabulary is the most common obstacle in learning a language (even Indonesian), and one that most often makes people give up before they really start.
In fact, the main key to being proficient in foreign languages is to get closer to familiar words that are often used in daily conversations. Find out what vocabulary and phrases are most commonly used by the public when speaking - transfer them to your own custom notes or use an app, such as the Anki app, which you can download - and study them regularly with an incrementally incremental repetition strategy. , every other day, four, eight, etc.).
Or, you can use your favorite reading book as a child (which you know deeply about the story line) - Snow White or Pinocchio, for example - in the versions of the languages you are learning as well as your native language (for example, the Indonesian version, English, German and French).
This will allow you to translate a foreign language line by line and easily decipher how the sentences and grammar of a language are constructed. You can also refer to the Indonesian version when you want to double-check your understanding from time to time.
2. The importance of variety
Having a variety of learning activities is very important to avoid boredom. While repetition is at the heart of the learning process, methods that are too mechanical can bore you. There are three types of variations
- Material variations: The variety of learning materials can keep you motivated. At first, you can use one type of material - theory books, for example - and then quickly move on to other methods, such as interactive language games. That way, you may find that some aspects of language learning resources are interesting and effective for you, while others are not.
- Variation of activities: Reading and listening are two very useful activities for mastering a language, but these two methods are not the only ones. The more varied your approach to language - such as practicing conversations with friends, coaches, or indigenous people who speak the language, or using pictures - the better. It's important to engage in activities that aim to hone the language in your brain, while keeping you motivated.
- Position variations: You may be a little surprised to learn that posture and how we move play an important role in learning. In other words, posture has an impact on concentration, which also affects your ability to retain your information. So, don't just sit idly by! Try listening to a German course podcast or Chinese radio while you are jogging in the evening, or reading an Italian online newspaper while lying down?
3. Look for relationships with each other
When learning a foreign language, you actually already know some basic words without realizing it.
For example, the words “anak”, “sick”, or “expensive” in Indonesian, have the same meaning in Malaysian and Tagalog as spoken in the Philippines. The words "late" ("late" in Indonesian) and "tante" (aka aunt, Indonesian) also have the same meaning as "te laat" and "tante" in Dutch.
In addition, the languages of European countries such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and others - even some vocabulary in Japan and Korea - have many words in common with English which indicates that they share the same etymology. For example:
Arm (arm)
French: le bras
Italy: il braccio
Spanish: el brazo
Fever (fever)
French: la fièvre
Italy: la febbre
Spanish: la fiebre
Tongue (tongue)
French: la langue
Italy: la lingua
Spanish: He lengua
In addition, "action", "nation", "precipitation", "solution", "frustration", "tradition", "communication", "extinction", and other English words ending in -tion are spelled exactly the same in French (although pronounced differently). You just have to change the “-tion” with “-ción” (Spanish), “-zione” (Italian), or “-ção” (Portuguese).
4. Expand vocabulary list with mnemonics
Memorization and repetition will indeed engrave a sharp memory of new vocabulary words that are important for you to learn. However, it is not impossible that you forget every now and then.
To get around this momentary 'senility', you can use the mnemonic method for a number of important words. Mnemonics can help stick the words in your head more effectively. Basically, mnemonics are a unique method of depicting a visual narrative that you can associate with the word you want to remember. For example, you are learning Spanish and have trouble remembering the verb "caber" means "to fit something (to fit)". You can compose a visual narrative in your brain of a bear squeezed in the window of a taxi (cab) racing down the street.
Or, "sausage" in German which means "wiener". You can imagine someone who is on the podium champion 1 after winning a sausage eating competition.
These associations (caber -> cab, bear -> loading a bird in the cab) will make it easier for you. It might sound overwhelming at first, but practice this association a few times and you'll come to see how this silly, memorable visualization can be so effective. So that over time, you no longer need to use this method to memorize foreign vocabulary.
5. Maintain the quality and quantity of learning
Learning a language has many obstacles, and many aspects of language can discourage a person. So, especially at the beginning of learning, it is important to prioritize quality in order to build a strong foundation, where later we can expand our knowledge in a language. It's important to focus on small portions of material and study them thoroughly from scratch until you get the hang of it.
Here are some rules of thumb that you can use as a guideline:
- Understand short and superficial texts or language units first. Long text or dialogue can cause you to get distracted easily.
- Study 1-3 times a day, at regular intervals in a fair share of time (for example, every 4 hours).
- Arm yourself with various skills. For example, when studying the "simple tense" grammar unit, study it from a different perspective (read, speak, listen).
- Schedule your study period effectively. Avoid studying at times when you risk getting distracted - if you're easily sleepy in the afternoons and it's easier to be inspired in the middle of the night, why not swap your schedule every now and then?
- Focus on study time. Thirty minutes of an intensive one-language study period is 10 times more effective than two hours of “multitasking” for two languages at once (or working on a unit of language that you think is boring or too difficult).
6. Don't be afraid to talk
One of the ways to gain fluency in a foreign language is lots of speaking practice.
As you progress, dedicate at least 30-60 minutes to speaking only a foreign language - German, for example - and continually adjust the study time to ensure that your conversational skills are being honed, not just general knowledge of the language through a 'formal' vocabulary list. you may never use it in everyday dialogue.
For example, have a session where you could ask how your weekend a native native speaker or language teacher was doing in that language, and afterward tell how your weekend went. You can add some ideas that you may be thinking about or about another general topic, or you can let your opponent initiate a new topic. It's important to take an active role and make sure you have varied conversations.
Make a list of the topics you want to discuss and cover (hobbies, recent movies, dreams, vacation plans, etc.) and ensure that the conversation can keep flowing.
7. Commitment and consistency
Learning a foreign language is a fairly complicated and continuous process. It's important to do the right thing at the right time, and make sure it's right for you. If you don't have a compelling reason to learn a language, you are very likely to run out of motivation halfway through. No matter what your reasons are, once you have set your intention to learn a language, be committed and consistent in living it.
Adapt the learning method according to your current language level. Some things will look really interesting at first but turn boring later. Others are somewhat difficult to understand at first, and not very effective to do, but they get easier with time.
For example, listening to the radio at level 1 won't be of much use, but it will be of great use at levels 2-3 when your listening skills are much more developed. Being consistent with your level and interest in learning is the key to optimizing your understanding of language learning.
Lastly, never be afraid to be wrong. ¡Vamos, comenzar a aprender español!
