SO YOU WANT TO LEARN A LANGUAGE?

People have the concept that learning a language is an insurmountable task; however, if you internalize four concepts, you will make steady progress.

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The simplest and most logical tip about language learning is immerse yourself in your target language.  Now while we can't all quit our jobs and travel to another country for immersion, we can make simple choices everyday to reach our goal. Put on music, podcasts, and news in the target language. Watch shows in the language.  Even if you don't get everything, you are still reviewing and learning new vocabulary, grammar, as well as improving listening and reading skills.  Put your phone in the language or your laptop so that you are interacting with language indirectly.  You may think this won't add up, but remember that immersion doesn't necessarily equal learning.  There are many people who have lived in the United States for years, but may not know English since they only use their native language in their daily life. You don't have to go to another country to learn the language, do it here with the tools available to you.

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We have all heard the adage "practice makes perfect" which is true in many cases; however, I would modify this saying to "active practice makes perfect." What do I mean by active practice? Well, let's say I want to play basketball. I start watching basketball everyday. I read articles about it. I go to practices and watch people play it. If I do that everyday will I learn a great deal of basketball? Of course I will! I will learn how to stand. I will learn how I should move. I will learn proper names for the equipment, but I will not be able to just step out onto the court and play basketball. Why not? Because I never dribbled the ball or practiced shooting free throws. Language is exactly the same. You can't just sit in a classroom and listen to a teacher. You have to open your mouth and speak! You have to be actively engaged in the learning process.

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Since you are actively engaging in speaking a new language, you will make mistakes.  That is life. You will mispronounce words, say bad words by accident, have people look at you blankly, and get frustrated. That is how you will learn. Some of my biggest learning moments in language have come from my mistakes. Don't hold yourself back. Be brave and put yourself out there. No one cares about your mistakes in a real world situation. People will just try to understand what you are communicating.

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Finally, the last goal is to learn vocabulary. Vocabulary is essential to communication and even if you can't conjugate a verb correctly, or put words in the correct sentence structure, if you can produce the correct word, the native speaker will understand your message. Find a vocabulary learning strategy that works for you. It may be using an app like Duolingo or Mango. You may prefer keeping a notebook with new vocabulary. Make sure to review new words regularly in different orders over a few weeks so that you retain them in your long term memory. Good luck on your linguistic journey.  It is hard work, but the most gratifying things in life are always a struggle at first.