If you’ve ever tried to learn a language, you will know that it can be a challenging task! It requires patience, consistency, and lots of practice.
So, how can we make this process a little easier? Here are 5 language learning tips to help set you up for success.
1. Find a way to enjoy the process
Often people become very focused on a big end result for their language learning, like “become totally fluent”. End results are important, but they can take a long time to achieve, and it can be frustrating for us when we aren’t getting there as quickly as we would like.
A healthier way to approach language learning can be focusing on enjoying the process itself. If we enjoy the process, we are more motivated to learn and spend more time learning. We also usually get to the end result quicker! So, find a way to enjoy your English learning. If you like cooking, read recipes in English. If you love sports, watch them in English. If you love podcasts, find some in English.
Reflect: What do you enjoy doing? How could you link English to this interest?
2. Set small goals for yourself and celebrate them
As “big” results take a long time in language learning, focus on smaller results. Rather than aiming for “fluency”, try setting a more manageable goal like “improve my understanding of the present perfect” or “work on my pronunciation of the /v/ sound”. You could also set a particular communication goal, like talking with a native speaker for 15 minutes about your interests. Or a listening goal like “improve my ability to understand the news in English”.
These kind of goals are much easier to meet, and make it much easier to see your own progress. This helps us stay motivated, rather than feeling that we are very far away from our big goal of “fluency”.
Reflect: What kind of small goals would be useful for you?
3. Little and often
Repetition and consistency is really important for learning a language. Rather than trying to study for one huge three hour session per week, it can be much more beneficial to study for 15 minutes per day. The more you study the better, of course, but set a manageable amount for yourself and try to study several times a week if you can.
Reflect: What would be a manageable study schedule per week for you?
4. Active, meaningful, contextualised practice
When we are learning a language we often end up with pages of lists of new words or notes. It’s great to review vocabulary lists, or our notes about grammar and pronunciation. But it’s even more effective if we actually try to use the words, grammar, or pronunciation in a meaningful example.
So, when you are reviewing your notes, don’t just look at words or grammar structures on their own. Try to say or write a sentence with them! Or think of an example from your life that helps you remember them. If you’re working on pronunciation, record yourself speaking. And always be ready to put what you’ve learnt into practise with your teacher. They can give you feedback about whether you are using what you’ve learnt correctly or not.
To make your practise even more meaningful, find people that you really want to communicate with. That could be a teacher, a friend, a partner, or a language partner. Using your language in a meaningful, real-world context can be motivating and exciting, and helps us learn more naturally and quickly.
Reflect: How could you practise what you learn in class? Is there anyone in your life you could practise English with?
5. Don’t be afraid of mistakes
Language learning can be scary. It can feel embarrassing to make mistakes, and to be unable to be ourselves in another language. Some people even prefer not to speak because they are afraid of saying something wrong. But if we avoid using a language out of fear it means we don’t practise. And we all know “practice makes perfect”. Mistakes are an inevitable part of the learning process. So, as we can’t avoid them, perhaps we should embrace them! Mistakes are a great way to learn, as with gentle feedback we can start to notice how to improve in the future. And remember, no one speaks any language perfectly- even their mother tongue!
Reflect: How do you feel about making mistakes in another language?
So, those are our 5 tips for today. What do you think of these tips? Which are the most and least important for you? Are there any others you would add to the list?