We all remember those endless vocabulary lists our English, German, or Spanish teacher gave us at the end of class in middle school. The same list to memorize and regurgitate in the next class, without ever grasping its nuances… But we all know that this recital of words isn’t really effective. Want to say goodbye to your thick accent? Want to be able to travel abroad without panicking when you ask for directions because you’re lost? Here are our tips.
1 – Have a good reason!
Let’s be honest, learning a new language simply to watch How I Met Your Mother or The Big Bang Theory in the original version without subtitles isn’t really a sufficient reason to master English. However, if you want to go abroad and be able to communicate with English speakers, that’s a whole different ball game! You’d better master the basics quickly… and it’s much more interesting! If you only watch movies or series in their original version, you’ll better understand the pronunciation of words, but you’ll be missing one essential thing: speaking. In France, English, and indeed any other language, isn’t spoken very well. Help us improve the English level of the French. Go back to the basics: grammar, spelling, and pronunciation.
Motivate yourself with goals that bring you joy! Whether it’s to travel with peace of mind and avoid panicking when ordering in a restaurant, to be able to read and fully understand your favorite author in the original language, to simply impress your friends by speaking English, or to work internationally and connect professionally with colleagues and clients from abroad, there are countless reasons to learn a language.
You will achieve better results in any case if you have a goal to reach, so above all, don’t give up on your learning along the way and persevere!
2 – Find a partner!
Learning alone is often more difficult than learning with others. And this is especially true when it comes to learning a new language. You motivate each other, you can push each other to do more, and you can set daily challenges. Imagine learning a language at the same time as your best friend—wouldn’t you want to surpass them, to be better than them? It’s like a Mario Kart race; you definitely want to reach the finish line first… right?
A brother, sister, friend, or classmate can be a great partner in learning a foreign language. The goal is to stay motivated to progress faster!
Practice together. Set yourselves challenges to speak only in English, Portuguese, or whatever language you’re studying. Force yourselves to speak the language all the time; the hardest part is making the effort, and sometimes it’s easier if there are two of you. But be careful, because who in English class, when they had to converse with their neighbor, ended up doing the exercise in French? Forget those shortcuts; force yourselves to speak in a foreign language. It can only be beneficial to your learning. So choose the right person to practice with.
3 – Have fun!
Forget about what others think and the mistakes you might make while speaking a broken language. Take risks and try talking to other people, order your pizza in Italian, or find yourself a pen pal. You can also set yourself challenges and test your skills: write a poem, a short introduction, or even a whole story, cook using foreign recipes… The key is to learn while having fun and without taking yourself too seriously.
You can enrich your vocabulary through reading, by reading Agatha Christie or J.K. Rowling in their native language. These books are often recommended, as they are easy to grasp even if you’re not very good at English. At first, you won’t understand much, but with practice, you’ll get used to it. You’ll enjoy discovering their writing in a new way, and you’ll learn while having fun. This is a very important detail for maintaining motivation when learning a foreign language.
4 – Don’t stay in your comfort zone
When we learn something new, we inevitably push our own boundaries, but we’re quickly tempted to stay in our comfort zone. This safe little space where we feel good isn’t really our best friend when it comes to learning! Quite the opposite.
Are you learning German? Go to Bavaria, ask locals for directions, order your meal in German, and tell the waiter a joke! Take a risk; you won’t see them again anyway! You might have some difficulties, some doubts about the pronunciation or syntax of your sentence, but you will have made an effort. Your conversation partner will appreciate the gesture, and you’ll come away feeling better about yourself. Are you traveling with friends? Make the effort to speak, and don’t let your friends ask questions for you or order drinks at the bar. Go for it yourself! You’ll have stepped out of your comfort zone, and you’ll leave feeling proud of having managed to order on your own. And with practice, it will become easier and easier to chat with locals, and you won’t stress about asking for directions if you get lost. Do you make mistakes? So what?! Children all fall when they’re learning to walk. And we’ve all said “pestacle” before we could pronounce “spectacle” correctly. So if your English sounds like a Spanish cow at first, it’s not a big deal. In fact, it’s perfectly normal. You’ll see, you’ll progress faster if you try and take the plunge.
5. Listen and watch others speak
It might seem strange, we grant you that. And yet! Watching someone speak in their native language allows you to visualize the movements involved in pronouncing certain sounds. Take the Spanish “jota,” for example: completely unnatural for a native French speaker, it requires a specific muscle engagement. If you visualize this movement, you’ll achieve the desired result more easily!
Similarly, watching series or films in their original language is the most classic piece of advice you’ll find. And for good reason! It works. If you focus on both the sound and the visuals, you’ll eventually retain the language, its pronunciation, and its usage more easily. Of course, you have to do it regularly for it to work! The more you hear a language, the more familiar it becomes… Sure, you’ve already heard it hundreds and thousands of times, but give it a try, and you’ll see for yourself that with practice, you’ll understand the language more easily and progress much faster. And if it’s speaking that you find more difficult, this advice will also help you, since you’ll expand your vocabulary.
6. Immerse yourself in the language daily
It’s important to listen to English, Spanish, or any other language you’re learning regularly. Total, daily immersion is how you’ll progress. That’s why you’re told to travel, watch TV series, or movies in their original language. So here’s another tip for immersing yourself in foreign languages: watch YouTube videos and listen to podcasts. You’ll enjoy following YouTubers from other countries, and most importantly, you’ll improve your listening comprehension! Only consistency works! By listening repeatedly, your ear will become attuned to the language. You’ll understand more easily and quickly.
Podcasts are also excellent ways to improve your listening skills. That’s because there are no visuals, no subtitles! You have to rely solely on your hearing. You can’t rely on any other senses. The progress will be all the greater.
You can then follow foreign YouTubers, but also watch news on TV channels from neighboring countries. Take advantage of the internet, and its many resources: television, newspapers, videos from foreign creators… and the most important thing is to do it daily.
7- Don’t get discouraged!
Are you panicking? Are you afraid of making mistakes? Do you lack confidence? Are people telling you that you’re terrible at English? And you have proof, your high school grades were 10 or even below… Forget all those prejudices. Don’t discourage yourself before you even start. Just because you had bad grades on school exercises doesn’t mean you’re not good enough, or at least that you can’t improve.
Who has ever thought they would never be able to do something, solve a math or French problem, or give a presentation in front of the whole class? And yet, we all manage it. You just have to be motivated. Learning a foreign language is the same. You have to give yourself the means to succeed. Above all, don’t get discouraged, and don’t let others distract you from your goal.