As we know, today there are an infinite number of language schools on the market that offer the most diverse methods for learning a new language, some good, some bad! But is there a better way to learn a language? My answer is no, or at least there is no method that is valid for everyone! First of all, before asking the question of how to learn a language, we should ask ourselves, what is a language? What is its function?
A language is an organized communication system, structured for a specific socio-cultural context! The main function of a language is communication!
If you can’t communicate with a language it is just useless(unless you’re studying it for academic purposes!). Without effective communication, there can be no teaching, for example, nor any of the functions that a language normally performs! A language should be practiced on a daily basis! If you don’t, you won’t be able to speak it fluently. You can even lose fluency in your mother tongue if you don’t practice it for a very long time! (Like when you are in a foreign country and never use your mother tongue!). So how do you go about learning a new language? First, the following factors must be taken into account:
- Motivation
- Predisposition
- Patience
- Willingness and pleasure to practice it
- A personalized method that helps you learn the language according to your times and ways of learning
- Available time (at least 2-4 hours per week, but even more if possible!)
Don’t be discouraged if the results aren’t immediate! It is essential to understand that learning a language takes time, at least six months to 1 year and even more! Many start learning a language, but then after a few lessons, they give up! It is unlikely that this type of student will learn a language and become fluent in it!
It is important to remember that one thing is to practice the language by taking a course with a teacher, another thing is to find yourself having to use that language when you are in a foreign country, where either you learn or otherwise you won’t be even able to ask for a coffee and a croissant at the bar!
Therefore, having the opportunity to practice and learn the language in the country where it is spoken is still the best way, even in the age of the internet and socials networks.
However, even if it is not possible to travel to the country where the language is spoken, a good Tutor / Teacher can help you develop your language skills, thanks also to the use of modern communication technologies, with which you can practice listening (podcasts, watching videos, films, etc….), reading, writing and speaking, which would then be the final goal of communication, together with hearing and understanding, of course! (The 2 things go hand in hand in the opinion of the writer when you will be able to fully understand what is being said in a foreign language, you will also be able to reproduce it!)
The results will not be seen immediately, but it can take months or years before reaching satisfactory levels, many get discouraged and give up. In the beginning, one is faced with a sort of language barrier where everything seems difficult and impossible to understand and one ends up thinking that, probably, it will never be overcome!
It is precisely here that we must not feel discouraged and give up, an error that unfortunately many students make (thus ending up wasting time and money in courses, etc ..), but persevere, the results will come, it’s just a matter of time!
It is also important to make an effort to express yourself in that language, even if you make mistakes! (even those who are native speakers do!), otherwise, you will never be able to overcome the obstacle and you will get stuck on a psychological level!
As for the choice of a course, the market offer is wide and varied and there are endless courses and exams to obtain a certification in a specific language. Unfortunately, since the language study sector is very profitable, it is also full of people who are not so competent and unscrupulous who throw themselves headlong into it making money with courses and methods that are often useless.
It is very important to know how to choose the appropriate course or certification exam or, if in doubt, seek advice from a competent and trusted person! Finally, to learn a language you need:
- practice, practice, and then again practice (just like when you do physical exercise, only here it’s mental!)
- Communicate in that language as much as possible by looking for people, preferably natives, who speak it fluently
- Spend at least a couple of hours every day or whenever possible, integrating the lessons taken with constant practice when you have free time
If you don’t do this, you will hardly see the results, and studying a language will become boring, frustrating, and demotivating, for the simple fact that you will never reach your learning goals.
If you found these “tips” useful support me, thank you!
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