Humans are the only “animals” on Earth capable of articulated language. There may be other things differentiating us from other mammals and from other species of animals – but up until this moment, articulated language is the only 100% proven difference.
Language is a miraculous thing, you know.
Not only will it allow you to communicate when you’re in a different country, but it can allow you to gain a better understanding of a culture even when you don’t travel there – it can be like an invisible bridge, connecting you and other cultures out there in the wild, beautiful world.
How do you learn a new language, though?
We have some tips for you – so read on and find out more.
Start slow
Let’s be realistic – nobody can read Dostoyevsky after two weeks of learning Russian. You might feel like a first grader when you first start learning a new language and reading in that language – but that’s normal. Baby steps are a much healthier way of learning a new language – and this is precisely why apps like Duolingo are so great. They will push you to learn new words and phrases in a fun and efficient way – but they will never do it too much.
Find someone native to talk to
Even if you don’t travel to the country of the language you’re now learning, finding someone from that country to talk to you in their native language can actually help a lot – especially in the case of those languages you didn’t have much contact with.
It’s not that learning from books or from non-native teachers isn’t good.
It’s just that listening to, and trying to communicate with someone who speaks the language at native level will actually help you understand better, it will help you move past the beginner’s anxiety, and it will help you memorize vocabulary and grammatical rules much faster.
Plus, it’s fun. With the Internet on your side, you can find so many amazing people, from all over the world! Why not use this to your advantage to learn a new language?
Practice every day
It’s really not recommended to take breaks when you are learning a new language.
Even a couple of days of not studying it can put you behind quite a lot, so even if you cannot dedicate a lot of time for this, make sure it’s constant at least. Even twenty or thirty minutes a day can work miraculously well if you do it every day.
Also, make sure that you diversify the language areas you’re studying every day. For instance, one day may be all about grammar, but the next one should be about vocabulary, listening, or simply reading comprehension.
Learning a new language can feel like a real challenge – and it is!
The great news though? Speaking in any other language than your native one will open the doors to a whole new world – one where people communicate differently, yet rely on the same basic emotions to do it.