Learning a New Language

 

Learning a New Language 

Firstly, you got to start with the basics of learning a language: commitment! You got to commit to a language to learn it. You can’t expect to be speaking fluently after one hour of a lesson. It takes time! I will be going through steps and top tips to learn a new language. Let’s get straight into it!

Getting started

When you start learning a language, you have to decide which language you are going to want to learn. It could be Greek, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin or any other language out of the 6,500 that there are. 

You will also need to plan out a good schedule for yourself (as in having the right times to study so that it won't clash with work life.) You might want to only study once a week or dedicate yourself to do one hour every day. Whatever you choose, it will help you reach your goal. I personally, do one hour every day or more as I have really pushed myself to learn Italian. All I have to say is to work when you want to work but to stick to it and not to bail out half way. It is so easy to give up but the real challenge is to keep going.

It is always best to get a tutor or have a friend that speaks the language so that you will know if you're pronouncing any words wrong or if you have any questions. If you don't have the money (or the effort) you can just as easily learn it by yourself using books, youtube videos and even reading (or watching) ads from the internet. I have an Italian teacher who is so helpful but she only speaks Italian. You may be thinking ‘how can I understand her?’ well, I have to. By listening and paying attention, I learn more Italian and make myself learn it.

Lastly, get a good workspace. Clean your study or room and set everything out neatly so that it is clean. Scientists can prove that having a clear workspace can open your mind and help you focus better. I have to clean my desk when I have the time because it is an absolute mess!         

Good Apps to Use

One of the best apps that I use is http://preply.com/ *(preply). It can link you to different teachers for so many languages. I have an Italian teacher, (I’ve already talked about before) who only charges €5 per lesson! I have one hour every day and I am learning so much from her. You can find different teachers who charge different prices so be sure to get a good quality teacher! Overall, this is a very good app! Age rating: 4+

*I am not sure that this link will work so if not search up preply and it should come up with it.

Another great app is Duolingo! Many of you already may be using Duolingo but I will still mention it as it is an app that I have on basically all of my devices! Duolingo offers free education with some ads (the ads don’t get annoying because the app i worth it!) and a premium account which you have to pay for. Each section has five little sections and once I start doing a little section, I can’t stop! It is so much fun and you can learn more than one language. Get the app so you can see what I’m talking about! Age rating: 4+

Memrise... This is also a language learning app very similar to Duolingo. Some perks about it is that you can hear and see other people speaking the language and, there is something like a reels section in some languages (if you have Instagram or another social media app, you will know what I’m talking about). ! Beware that this app may teach you a bad word which I will not write and may not be suitable for younger ages just because of this word! Although, this is still a great app but not recommended for children. Age rating: 12+

My last recommendation, is a translating app: Alive: Voice and text translator. I haven’t actually got this app yet but I can see that it is very good. It has over 100 languages and there are also premium features (but you have to pay for those) so it is very good by the looks of it. This app also features, voice and speech translation and a lot more cool features! Please check it out instead of using google translate because everyone knows that google translate does not translate properly! There were a lot of 'translate's in that sentence... I am also purchasing the app now! Age rating: 17+

Please note that you should go and get these apps right now and this is a command from me! Thank you for understanding and doing the right choice. (I know that you haven't actually went and got these apps because whenever I'm watching a youtube video, they say to like the video, wait for you to do it, and then say thanks but I never actually liked the video! But, if you have gone to get these apps, I am super proud and glad that you have actually used my advice.)

Learning the Language

Once again, you may be thinking, this is the easy part! But trust me, it's not! You actually have to work. You have to stick to your schedule. You have to have sleepless nights thinking about if you said something wrong in your language. THIS IS THE STRESSFUL PART. Well, it's only stressful if you make it stressful. This can be fun and enjoyable so it doesn't feel like a waste of time. When you learn a language, the free time that you would've spent doing nothing would feel more productive. Having fun whilst learning. It won't even feel like school (no offence to any teachers out there reading this). So, here are my top tips to learning the language once you've got started.

Top Tips:

1. Get a notebook. I literally don't care what size, just get one! It really helps when you are translating or writing in that language. Notebooks can organise what you've learnt and, if you want to look back on work, jotting words or phrases down is a great way of finding them again. I personally like to have small notebooks so that I can put it in my pocket and carry it around with me if I ever need to search something up or write something new down.
2. Get a penpal. Penpals can be great to help you speak to others in the language and see how people write and talk. Not everyone speaks with perfect grammar and words so you might get a feel for what people might say when you go to their country. 
3. When you study, get yourself in the country's culture. Having the culture around you can change your mood and help you imagine being in the country and talking to the people. For instance, if you were studying Italian, play some Italian music and eat spaghetti or pizza. Or, if you are learning Mandarin, eat some Chinese food and learn their culture (as I have no clue on this subject of Mandarin culture, please correct me in the comments if I am wrong with certain cultures.)
4. Read, Write, Listen and Speak. These are the 4 main things when learning a language. These will help you to success! Make sure though that you are doing these 4 things correctly because, if you practice something wrong, it will be very hard to change it to make it right because you've now formed a habit. This is why it is recommended to get a language teacher to correct you as well as teach you.
5. Enjoy it! This is my fifth top tip. It is by far the one which will help you the most because, if you don't enjoy what you're doing, you will get bored and quit. It is so important not to put too much pressure on yourself as these things take time and you will see an improvement if you enjoy and actually try.

Note from Me, Myself and I

At the moment, I am learning 5 languages: German, Spanish, Latin, French and Italian. I am only learning these languages because of school but now I am obsessed with learning new languages. I have 2 notebooks: one for German and one for Italian and now I have this blog page about languages! I have taken a special liking to Italian as I am Italian and go to Italy a lot. Talking with locals and friends has helped me to boost my knowledge and to correct my many mistakes. Nobody is perfect so don't think that you can learn a language in one day because it is just not possible. I know I have said this a lot but that is because it's true. Have fun learning a language and thanks for reading. Magnum Out!