Learning a new language is one of the key ways to spur your mind, and this is also helpful when you make your travels as you get to speak well.
Although learning a new language comes with its thrills and excitement, it is usually very difficult to learn a new language and remain committed to it.
But what if it were possible for you to learn the language quickly? And what if you could also have a lot of fun working in this process? This is possible when you follow the key strategies you will find in this article to learn a language quickly.
Why learn a foreign language?
While travelling the world for work, you should learn to converse in a variety of languages. An engineer named Lucas Corey learned so many languages – including Spanish, French and German – that he was able to work in them easily and became nearly fluent in several others, including Mandarin.
Even the basics of conversational Mandarin took Corey less than a year to learn. Corey’s first foreign language was Spanish, and it took him over a year to learn. Corey compiles a script of sorts when he first needs to learn a language to be able to answer simple questions from strangers. The more languages Corey learned, the more he was able to translate technical engineering texts.
The experts say you can benefit from phrasebooks and online tutorials at this early stage since they can provide you with the vocabulary and the confidence to converse with native speakers, the crucial first step in learning a language.
Read: 10 Free Online Language Courses with Certificates in 2024
Deterrents To Learning a Foreign Language
If you’re interested in learning a foreign language, you may be met by a lot of impediments. These impediments include:
1. A Flawed Curriculum in the Schools and Universities
Students take foreign language courses because they have to, whether they are in college or school.
School or college students study foreign languages for between six months and several years.
Students realize that they can no longer communicate in the language they have been learning for so long after spending years studying, taking tests, and completing assignments. Why?
It is not yet recognized by many people, but there is a solid reason behind it.
There is no doubt that most public and private schools, universities, and continuing education institutions operate with flawed or outdated curriculums.
Does this class work well?
The answer is “terrible.”
Have any of your friends or you learned any foreign languages in school or college?
It is very likely.
Is that language easy for you to speak?
Do you have the ability to watch a television series or movie without subtitles, write an essay, or read books or papers in the language of the screenplay?
Are there any other words or phrases besides the beginners’ phrases they remember?
I don’t think so.
What accounts for so many failures among language learners?
Your initial reaction might have been that you had caused the problem.
What was wrong with you was the pointless and flawed curriculum you were constantly fed into your head.
There is a tendency to treat languages as a subject to study, rather than a skill to acquire.
The study of foreign languages is different from studying other subjects, where textbooks and memorization are primarily involved. Languages can also be acquired through learning.
To become more expressive, you need not be aware of facts or information.
In schools and universities worldwide, this is unfortunately not followed, not just in India.
A language’s study should include three essential components. Today, most schools and language institutions lack these three elements.
Foreign language proficiency requires the “M” (mental comprehension), “A” (auditory comprehension), and the “C” (conversational understanding) aspects.
Without these three elements, any language curriculum is just as pointless as a bald man buying shampoo for himself.
For Indians, it’s just a matter of studying foreign languages for decent or passing marks, not as a skill to acquire.
Reading, writing, listening, and speaking are the four essential language skills.
You might have noticed that they lack language proficiency in their target language quite often. Language learning centres and schools alike encounter this problem quite frequently.
Listening and speaking are two of the most important components in addition to reading and writing.
Learning a language doesn’t matter whether you think it is important or not.
Current methods are not working. This is obvious to everyone.
Why waste so much time and money on something that everyone knows won’t work?
2. You have very little or no time to learn the language
Learning a new language will never be easy because it’s not like walking in the park.
You are more likely to succeed if you realize this as soon as possible. Language learning requires dedication and time, which must be invested in it.
People tend to fall short in this area.
As far as I know, there is no shortcut for language learning, at least not in my experience.
You will soon lose a language you learned quickly.
The best method for learning a language is to go at a steady pace for a longer period and follow the phrase “slow and steady wins the race.”.
In addition to learning the language, you will retain it for a long time.
How Long Does It Take to Learn a Language?
It is never easy to learn a foreign language.
There are many components to the system, and each requires time, commitment, dedication, effort, persistence, patience, and discipline on the part of the user.
The majority of beginners and lower-intermediate students give up after the beginners’ or lower-intermediate levels.
Don’t enrol in a degree program if you can’t be devout for several years.
Find out how long it takes to learn a language at How long does it take to learn a language?
At least one hour of study in the morning or at night? How many people will get up early to study?
I have a very hectic schedule. Studying is impossible for me.”
Know you have already planned your failure if this is one of your numerous excuses. It will inevitably come to that.
When you are free or well relaxed and empty, try to study.
Do not only ensure you use your wasted time for studying but ensure it is not wasted on your brain.
No matter how brief, you can squeeze in 30 minutes of study time into your schedule and use it wisely.
Regular practice is incredibly important, not just when you have time but regularly.
Learning a new language requires repetition and consistent practice. No real-life benefit or job prospects can be gained from taking language courses for a few months.
There is no shortcut to success.
Read: 10 Best Japanese Language Schools In Japan In 2024
3. You lack motivation, interest & passion for studying language
It is mainly because of lack of motivation that most people find it difficult to learn a language.
The goal might be to take classes in French to benefit your career; therefore, you decide to learn the language.
Learning a language is an essential part of advancing our careers. Yet it is still not as motivating as the desire to learn the language.
Learning Hanzi characters by focusing on a career will never be as rewarding as if you immersed yourself emotionally in the language.
You must connect emotionally with the language.
The language has to be your passion.
The culture and people of the country. Being motivated to learn a foreign language is the best way to do it.
It will help you overcome any obstacles the language may contain if you are emotionally invested in it. Essentially, learn the language that you love!
The key to learning a language is passion and motivation.
Thinking of all the languages I could learn gives me a sense of pleasure and joy.
At least for me, there is a sense of well-being.
Sadly, most people are not as passionate or as eager to learn languages as some of us are.
Probably because our education system focuses mainly on obtaining a job, being employable and achieving career success rather than on finding and pursuing interests, passions and hobbies.
We promote the rat race in our education system. In almost all colleges, it has become an expectation that every student will land a lucrative language job.
Hold on.
What’s the point of talking about passion when the topic is why language learners fail?
They lack a passion for learning a language, regardless of how hard they try.
The passion that drives us forward is what keeps us going. Motivation and passion are intertwined in language learning.
In addition, salary and job satisfaction aren’t closely related.
The most important thing at the end of the day is to do what you love and to feel passionate about your work.
Unless you’re willing to put in a lot of effort, foreign language study probably isn’t for you. Working hard is the key to success.
In contrast, if you truly enjoy what you do, even when you have to work hard, you won’t feel like you’re working.
How hard do you work?
4. Procrastination and inability to define your language goals
Time is stolen by procrastination. There is always someone who claims to have the secret to all your language learning challenges.
The search, selection, and acquisition of appropriate materials will never inspire you.
It is common for people to try and locate the perfect source, book, blog, YouTube videos, and podcast.
They never get past the first page of these materials, even after collecting all of these materials.
While maintaining the language ‘failure’ corridor, you will never achieve your goals if you keep procrastinating.
Your inability to define your goals is another factor contributing to your failure to learn a foreign language.
How will you ever reach your destination if you don’t know where you are going?
You need not learn all there is to know about a language.
By setting SMART goals, you will be on your way to success faster.
Remember, however, that timeliness is the child of speed, not haste.
5. Wasting time looking for the perfect method or technique
You might want to find out, “What is the best language teaching method?”.
How about “what are some great language learning apps?”
To solve problems that they have to face, people often look for quick solutions. There is no way to rush it.
Searching and researching endlessly should be the last thing on your mind.
Let’s see who has the best approach or method for learning a new language.
You cannot choose an ideal technique.
People who are successful in learning another language know there’s no silver bullet, so they don’t waste their time looking for it.
Make the most of your language skills; set yourself up for success by using your language!
Best Way to Learn a New Language
If you want to learn a language quickly and efficiently, you must show a great degree of commitment to your goal. Additionally, you need to follow these tactics which include:
1. Make a plan for learning a language.
A great way to learn a new language quickly is to set goals for what you want to accomplish. It makes sense. In the absence of goals, how can you measure your success?
Most of us feel overwhelmed when faced with the prospect of learning a new language. The number of words and the methods of learning is endless. The purpose of setting goals is to narrow your focus, so you can stop worrying about the details and get to work.
Setting goals that are relevant to your goals increases your chances of success.
2. Learn Proper Words
There are shockingly many words in languages. Consider the English language.
It doesn’t take that many words to learn a language well. It is estimated that about 50 per cent of English language texts are made up of the top 100 words, and about 90 per cent of English language texts consist of the top 1,000 words!
Check out these lists of the top 1,000 words in these languages:
- Spanish
- French
- German
- Japanese
You can save time and learn more quickly if you focus on learning these words first.
3. Start using the language all day, every day.
Trying to use the language all day can seem overwhelming as a beginner, but it’s not as difficult as it appears. Adding the language to your daily life can be easy and even fun.
The first thing you should do is learn new words whenever you can. While you’re riding the train or bus (never while you’re driving, please!) or waiting to meet a friend, study flashcards.
Doing the same thing you would normally do in your native language in your target language will allow you to switch from active to passive learning when you feel tired. Listen to a radio broadcast in your target language, or watch a video in your target language.
Audio and video clips can be found on many online resources. You can go to YouTube, search for radio stations available on the Internet.
Read: 20 Profitable Benefits of Learning A Second Language
4. Learn about the culture
It takes more than reading words on a page to understand a language. To understand the meaning of these words, you need to learn their culture and history.
If you have a basic understanding of the history, current events, religious beliefs, and customs of the culture, you can better understand what people say and do.
When children understand the culture and context behind the pieces they read, they learn to read in a second language more easily.
Study the culture of the people who speak the language you are learning as you begin to learn it. Even if you have to read and watch videos in your native language, don’t dismiss it as a waste of time. Your knowledge will be invaluable, preventing you from making potentially embarrassing mistakes.
5. Seek out real-life practice
Learning happens best in real-life situations, especially when you must use a foreign language.
Studying or traveling abroad is the easiest way to gain practical experience. While studying abroad, you’ll be surrounded by native speakers of the language you’re learning, many of whom don’t know your native tongue.
Organizations like the Peace Corps often place people who don’t speak a language or have little knowledge of it in full immersion situations. Despite their discomfort, these environments provide tremendous motivation to learn.
Nonetheless, even if you don’t travel abroad, you can immerse yourself in real-life situations that will provide you with a lot of language practice.
FAQ
As you probably already know, the correct answer is “it depends.”. You can learn how to speak, write, and read fluently in a new language between three months and two years.
After 18 years of age, the ability to learn a new language, at least grammatically, begins to decline considerably. Learning must begin before the age of 10 if you want to become completely fluent
For all Group 1 languages to reach basic fluency, FSI research suggests around 480 hours of practice.
After age 25, it is strongly believed that our brains’ plasticity begins to harden. Creating neural pathways becomes more difficult, which means it’s harder to learn new skills. Although rigid neural patterns in the brain exist, we believe it’s possible to break them apart.
Conclusion
When it all comes down to it, there is an infinite number of ways to learn a foreign language. Because learning styles vary between every individual, there will be certain things that you’ll find that will work well for you.
Just ensure you remain consistent and focused while following the techniques we have laid out for you in this article.
References
- Inc – 9 Places to Learn a New Language Online for Free
- Nymag – 15 Best At-Home Language Learning Programs
- Speechling – The Truth About Why You Can’t Learn a New Language
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