You're likely here because you've either tried learning a language in the past and not succeeded or are currently trying and finding it difficult - even seemingly impossible.
Those of us who've attempted bi- or even multilingualism past childhood and adolescence often come up against roadblocks: we compare the new language, stylistically and grammatically, to our mother tongue; we fallaciously underestimate the amount of study and dedication required to attain at least conversational fluency; we focus heavily on form rather than acquiring an overall picture and dividing study time equally between reading, writing, listening and speaking; we use teachers who translate rather than adopting a monolingual immersion approach; or, we simply give up when the going gets hard, afraid - perhaps - of failing.
I did it, sabotaging efforts through maintaining an overly critical perspective about my progress, setting myself up for failure over success. It took a change in perspective and an attitude readjustment before I saw the light that led to learning Italian.
When I arrived in Rome in the beginning of 2009, I was barely able to ask directions to the bus stop. One year later, I was sitting at a dinner table surrounded by Italian-only speakers, discussing the political situation with Berlusconi in charge … in Italian.
I got there, so you can too. There are characteristics and strategies you’ll need to adopt in order to learn that new language (for whatever reason) as fluently as you speak it in your daydreams.
I’m here to help you get past the roadblocks that might be hindering your progress. To start with, take a look at the following hearty advice from expert bilingual speakers and polyglots who have successfully learned one or more new languages as adults.
Roberto
“In order to learn a language, you just need to be positive, have a sense of humour and do not be afraid to make mistakes. Do not be a perfectionist. Use the target language (new language) as soon as possible. Watch films in the new language with subtitles. Listen to the radio. You just need ten minutes per day.”
Tsega
“Subtitles help a lot. Watching movies in the original language helps. In fact, Saba, my daughter, is a living example of this.
I don’t talk to her in English. She watches a lot of movies, everything in English. I can see she’s imitating what she sees. She imitates gestures, accents and she’s learning a lot. She’s got a lot of vocabulary just from watching movies.
Otherwise, I speak to her in Amharic.
Songs help a lot as well. You hear a lot of songs on the radio and you can hear the same songs repeated every day. That helps.
Accent wise, you learn to imitate by watching movies. Talking to someone who speaks the language you’re learning teaches you a lot and helps you practice your vocabulary and formulate your sentences.”
Julia
“My tip for learning a new language is to put it in practice right away! The more you listen to it and the more you are put in a position where you HAVE to use it, the faster you learn it.
So, if possible, travel to a country where that language is spoken and try to cope only with it as much as possible. If you are not able to travel, maybe taking a discussion course or finding someone to speak to would be an option?
Also listening to that language (radio, podcast, audiobook) makes a big impact on understanding the words and sentences.”
Krishna
“Learning new language is all about practice and environment. Practice with friends helps to learn fast. Watching movies with subtitles can correct and helps you learn new words.”
Sherif
“I have learned English through practice, movies and books. The most important is the will to do it.”
Andre
"I think that the best way to learn a new language is studying and trying! Trying, listen, read, see how people communicate, it’s a way to understand how other languages are used.
You can watch films with subtitles in other language or check some songs (in fact this is incredible to know about different cultures) but trying to understand how different people communicate, it's the best way to understand them and you can't feel uncomfortable or embarrassed because if you are communicating with others it is a way to be respected too."
Amanda
“What I’ve learnt about learning a new language ... first to learn a second language you need to have a really clear idea why you want to learn that language.
Secondly, there are no shortcuts, you need to study hard and for a long time but knowing your learning style helps. I personally love interactive learning and learning with people so for me, attending a class, being responsible to do my homework and watching tv, movies and music makes learning more enjoyable.
Lastly, the environment. Nothing can replace going to the country itself to learn a language, their colloquialisms and that will help integrating into the culture and sounds more natural.
There will be ups and downs learning a language but if you have passion and a clear goal as to why you’re learning the new language you’ll go a long way to speaking a new tongue in no time.”
Karletta
“If at all possible, spend time with native speakers. If you can go to the country, then go and immerse yourself. If you are unable to go to the country, then you can still immerse yourself.
Here are my top ten tips:
1. Join forums, groups, connect with local people and practice at least 15 minutes every day. If you can do this in person great, if not, connect online.
2. Use learning tools that suit your learning style … I have found Rosetta Stone great and the Audio programme, Pimlsluer excellent to learn basic words quickly. Other tools are available as apps, and YouTube.
3. Keep a notebook (hardcopy or electronic) handy for any new words that come up.
4. Learn the alphabet so you can write new word as they come up in conversation.
5. Listen to the music, learn the songs, sing Karaoke (with locals if possible)
6. Find a TV drama, soapie or some kind of series that is dealing with everyday situations – family, relationships, employment, issues, life in general etc. Watch it. Don’t use subs. It will be difficult to begin with but have your pause button ready and stop it when you’ve heard a word repeated enough that you just need to know what it is – write it down and use it.
7. Find out if any of your favourite books have been translated into your target language – if so read them. Comparing translations and looking up words.
8. Go to a book store of your target language and buy learning materials used for children. You can get flashcards, alphabet books, books about naming flowers, insects, picture dictionaries are great.
9. Get a native speaker tutor to spend at least one hour with you per week – ask them questions about words and situations that have arisen over the week of language use. If you can’t afford to hire a tutor, then try a language exchange.
10. Learn how to tell a native speaker that you are learning their language and would appreciate their help and patience.”
Jenny
“When learning a language exposure and immersion to the language is the best and fastest way to truly absorb it. As much exposure as possible to the language helps.
I found listening to music, audio readings and following along in text helpful.
Watching shows, even just having the news on in the background, helped expose my ear to the rhythm and accents so when I arrived in the native country my ear seemed to pick up familiar sounds/words even if I didn't understand yet. It also helped me to not have an accent.
Focus on learning to pronounce vowels correctly if you want to avoid an accent. Practice saying words; pronounce as much as you can and ask native speakers to correct you.
Learn a word a day so you have a large word bank.
Ensure exposure to the language, practice, persistence and patience with yourself.
Ask people who have learned a language as everyone has different learning styles so what worked for someone else may not work for you.”
TOP TIPS TO SUCCESS
Did you note any common themes among the comments? These are all people who’ve successfully learned second – third and some fourth – languages, as adults. There are things that work, so long as you’re prepared to do them consistently and apply a little effort to trying.
I’ve broken the responses into themes (below) for your viewing convenience. A few extras have been added to the mix, based on my personal experience of success.
Speak from the Beginning
Parla, parla, parla! was the order pronounced by my feisty Roman Italian teacher, delivered on day one of lessons. She wasn’t wrong.
The more I spoke (and started loosening the proverbial perfectionist belt), the faster new words – and structures – came to mind with ease. I soon acquired more proficiency and, before long, was having micro-conversations with the bus driver, my neighbour and the woman at the Bar where I ordered my daily cornetto for breakfast.
Speaking from day one is essential to a growth mindset.
Practice 10 Minutes Every Day
It’s where size really doesn’t matter but consistency – and regularity – do.
Studies have shown that 10 to 20 minutes of practice per day is more commensurate with neuronal (the cells of the brain) development and long-term memory activation than one or two long sessions per week.
Listen to a podcast, play some music (in the new language) on your way to school or work or simply watch a segment of a provocative show once a day. You may be surprised by the rate at which your understanding develops.
Speak as much as Possible
There are common words in most languages that account for the majority of spoken communication. They’re repeated frequently and, if you learn and speak them early, you’ll do yourself a favour.
Learn one to two hundred of the most common words and weave them into basic conversations every day (even if it is via a Skype call). They’ll get you quite far.
Once you’re becoming au fait with grammar and some common structures – which should have you speaking in a couple of days, learn some common expressions. Don’t undervalue the power of slang and idioms – they’re used frequently in spoken language. Choose ones that are practical, things that’ll get you by: it’s empowering once you no longer need to look up a word on your phone.
If you’re feeling comfortable and a streak of confidence infuses your conversations, it’s time to up the ante and expand some more.
Generally speaking, approximately 1000 words amount to nearly 80% of spoken communication in most languages. It’s an achievable endpoint, so speak as much as possible.
Practice in your Head Regularly
All of us have conversations running in our head, at various points throughout the day. Generally, they occur in our native tongue.
Change this to the new language and start practising sentence construction. Even better, create simple conversations. When you have these conversations with a real person, they’ll transpire more easily.
Think of topics you like, things you want to discuss with others, then practice the vocabulary in your mind as you take the bus, ride the metro or walk the streets. Just don’t move your lips while practising!
Lose your Fear of Making Mistakes
When I first started learning Italian, I was at a gelateria in Rome and ordered a scoop of ‘vagina flavour’. It turns out the word for fig is quite close to the word for that part of the female genitalia. It brought smiles to a few faces.
Mistakes are inevitable.
Don’t be a perfectionist (like me): you’ll never speak, otherwise. Accept the inevitable, lose your inhibitions (at least a little) and start gaining proficiency.
Date a Native Speaker (if Appropriate)
I received this advice on countless occasions while living in Rome. In fact, most of my expatriate colleagues who dated (and later married) their Italian partners, gained proficiency much faster than I did. It’s both an investment and a strong motivation to learn.
Don’t forget to claim it was lost in translation if you do something to irritate your boy or girlfriend!
Adopt a Language Friend
Communicating one-on-one with a native speaker has numerous benefits. It affords you the opportunity of having errors corrected, accent improved and form tested.
There are many exchange websites whereby foreigners who wish to learn English trade practice time in their native tongue. There are also applications such as italki which allow you to hire a personal virtual teacher and negotiate the terms of the relationship accordingly.
One-on-one language support is ideal particularly for those who do not like classroom learning.
Start with the Most Common Words
You want your time and study investment to yield results as quickly as possible particularly if you’re relying on the language for immersion in a new city, country and culture. So, isolate the vocabulary you will be using most frequently and learn it first.
Start with 50 or 100 of the most common – and useful – words, put them into basic sentences and repeat.
If you have some basic grammar (such as a simple present tense) in your language toolkit then you’ll be speaking and even understanding faster than you think.
Identify Patterns
If you’ve opted to learn a Latin-based language (and your mother tongue is English) then you may be in for a surprise: merely adding an ‘o’ or ‘a’ to the end of a word (despite the tongue-in-cheek stereotype) often does work. For example, ‘Australian’ is ‘Australiano’ in Italian and ‘motive’ is ‘motivo’ in Spanish.
It doesn’t always work but the similarities that do exist – thanks to Latin – makes remembering some common vocabulary easier than expected.
Patterns exist is many languages. Identify them and it’ll reduce the study workload.
Use New Words Immediately and Repeatedly
According to my undergraduate bioscience lecturer, organic utilisation of a new word (such as a person’s name) at least three times in an initial conversation forms a new connection between neurons – a memory is created.
Use the new word you’ve just looked up in the dictionary immediately in a sentence and repeat it (as sensibly as possible). Use it again within an hour then again, the next day.
Repeated use will etch it indelibly into your memory and make it part of your expanding vocabulary.
Watch TV (with or without subtitles), Read the Newspaper and Listen to the Radio in the New Language
The methods listed here are not substitutes for practice with real people – they are the gold standard. However, watching movies, reading newspapers and listening to the radio in the target language can certainly help you to acquire proficiency in comprehension, refine your accent (and tune your ear into a variety of regional accents) and improve your agility in identifying slang, idiomatic language and new vocabulary.
Although I’m not much of a newspaper reader, I made an effort to read Roman newspaper articles at least once a week while taking the metro to work. It refined my vocabulary and exposed me to colloquial ‘Roman’ expressions I may not have otherwise noticed in conversation.
Make it Fun
I now occasionally teach Nursing to students at Universities in Australia. I see a collective eye roll in class when I suggest they make study time fun.
If you associate language learning with fun, you’re more likely to feel motivated to study and you’ll also probably stick with it.
Writing out sentences hours on end is not my idea of fun and it’s probably not yours. Go to events. Find interesting people with whom to speak. Talk about topics that intrigue you or fill you with passion.
Make it personal and make it real. Otherwise, you’ll burn out and the whole process will become tedious.
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Happy language learning!
