How to Learn a Foreign Language: 5 Tips That You Probably Didn’t Know
Many people aspire to learn a different language, yet lots of them find it difficult and, unfortunately, fail. Some believe it is because learning a second language requires a special “gift” in languages. However, practical (empirical) evidence shows us this is not the case. Mastering a new language is similar to mastering any other ability. It requires consistent practice and time. If you’ve decided to master a foreign language, in this article you’ll find five crucial principles of successful self-guided language learning.
1. Language Learning is a Marathon
Learning a language is a long-term endeavor. It cannot be done overnight, and there is no “secret method” that would allow you to achieve in 3 months what normally would take a year. Such shortcuts in language learning simply don’t exist. Switch your mind away from the question, “How quickly can I learn the language?”. This is the wrong question. Instead, focus on building a learning routine that will make you study and practice regularly.
Learning a little bit every day is the best. These chunks of learning, small and humble as they are, add up to impressive results. However, it takes time. How much time? Normally, you would expect to reach a B2 level in a moderately difficult language within two years of reasonably intensive learning. If you don’t know what ‘B2 level’ means, it’s an Upper-Intermediate level, according to the CEFR classification of second language’ command. Upper-Intermediate is quite a decent level that is normally required to work and/or learn in a college in that language. You can read more about the CEFR framework here.
Of course, some languages are easier, and others are harder. The more similar your target language is to your native one, the easier it will be for you to learn it. For example, if you are an English native speaker, German and Dutch would be easier for you, and you’re likely to achieve B2-level competence in these languages faster than two years. On the other hand, Arabic, Mandarin, or Russian are very different from English. Any one of these languages shares only a handful of words with English, and their grammar is very different from English, so it might take an English-native learner longer to get to the B2 level—probably 3 or 4 years, depending on various factors. However, if you are planning to learn, for example, Spanish, French, Polish, or Portuguese, you may see a 2-year time frame as fairly reasonable.
2. Set Clear Goals
The more specific your learning goal, the easier it is to achieve it. Language proficiency consists of four domains:
- reading comprehension
- listening comprehension
- speaking
- writing
Specify your goals in each of these domains. That’s acceptable if you don’t intend to be equally good at all four areas; you may, for example, prioritize speaking over writing or listening comprehension over reading comprehension, or vice versa.
Let’s take reading skill. What kind of texts would you like to be able to read in the target language? Professional literature, classical novels, poetry, or, maybe, graphic novels? The decision is only yours. It is also okay if reading is not your primary concern at all. How about speaking? Your goal is to be able to speak—about what? With whom? In what context, at what level? There’s no right or wrong answer to these questions; it’s just up to you. Your answer may be any, but you must have SOME answer, and the more specific and detailed it is, the better. Answer these questions about listening comprehension and writing, and you will have a much more detailed picture of your language learning goals. Then you will be able to allocate your time and efforts more wisely, focusing on your priorities and giving minimum attention to the less important domains.
3. Speak, Read, Listen and Write
Now comes the easy part: practice in each of these areas of competence. You will start with very simple, elementary reading and listening, every day. Gradually, you will move on to more advanced content and more difficult tasks. You may be surprised to hear it, but your progress in the language doesn’t come from doing hundreds of exercises. Your progress and ultimate success in language learning come mostly from consuming the correct language through listening and reading and from practicing it through speaking and writing. Exercises are necessary in the beginning, but don’t rely on them too much.
You must feed your mind with a sufficient amount of correct input in your target language, both in audial and written form (also known as “listening” and “reading”). Start with listening to short and very simple sentences. When you feel that this becomes too easy, move on to longer texts, maybe a couple of sentences or a paragraph. Make sure that you completely understand the words and the sentences that you’re listening to (this is known as “comprehensible input”). Our brain is pre-wired to perceive spoken language, and by “feeding” it with audial input in the target language, you are activating its natural neural learning mechanisms.
4. Monitor Your Progress
At any point in your linguistic journey, you must know your “location”—what you already know and how well you know it; what you still need to learn; and what is going to be your next step. When you learn a language in a traditional way—on courses or with a tutor—it’s their task to plan the road map of your learning. If you learn independently, you’ll have to wear the hat of the tutor or a “language coach” and plan your own linguistic quest.
Like most things in our life, it has its pros and cons. The main disadvantage is that planning your own learning process requires time, effort, and some methodological knowledge that you might not have. It means that you also have to wear the cap of a teacher. The most efficient way to do that is to dedicate one day at the beginning of a week or a month to planning your lessons for that week or month in advance. Prepare a detailed plan for every one of your lessons, and you won’t have to hesitate to decide what you’d better do when the time for the lesson comes.
5. Make 10.000 mistakes
When we were at school, some of us got the idea that making mistakes was something wrong, something that should be avoided. We were rewarded for getting the “correct answer,” preferably the first time, and punished for making mistakes. However, when we are learning something in real life, avoiding mistakes can be quite counterproductive. Allow yourself to make mistakes. There are a lot of them. Mistakes that you make must be noticed and corrected (that’s your teacher’s job), but you should keep in mind that making them is absolutely normal and acceptable.
No baby ever learned to walk without falling, and they fell many, many times before making their first successful step. Learning a language in this sense is very similar to learning a locomotor skill, like walking (the skill that all of us successfully mastered), dancing, or juggling. You master it through practicing, and practicing involves making many mistakes. Remember, perfectionism is your enemy. When you are at a beginner level, speak with mistakes; speak “broken” language. If you keep practicing all four fundamental skills (reading, listening, speaking, and writing), you’ll invariably get better eventually. On the other hand, if you won’t speak and will be waiting for the moment when you “learn enough” to speak with zero mistakes, you’re likely to never start speaking at all.
Conclusion
- Don’t try to learn the language “as fast as possible.” Accept the fact that mastering a language is a marathon, not a sprint.
- Set clear, specific goals in every one of the four domains of language competence: listening comprehension, reading comprehension, speaking, and writing.
- Practice in these domains according to your priorities. Anyway, make sure that you get enough comprehensible input, both in audial and written forms (listening and reading).
- Monitor your progress. Reflect on your learning process and correct it when necessary.
- Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. You are about to make a lot of them, and that’s absolutely okay.