I would add two more things. First, there is a lot of mythology about how difficult learning a language is - this mythology exists predominantly in the anglosaxon world, where the % of monolingual people is highest on planet. So my advice - ignore this altogether, because learning a language is easier than those people think. To be reasonably fluent in any language- you need on average 2,000 words. Learning 10 words per day is really not a challenge, and even involving frequent repetitions you can get done with it in 15 minutes per day. I recommend anki, an application for flashcards repetitions (I like it much more than duolingo or babel). With this or similar app, you are at 2,000 words level in under a year, with close to zero effort. Second - go abroad and do not live in a club of expats. Do activities with local people, spend time with them, listen, speak, ask questions. Switch your entire environment to that language, including the interface of your telephone and computer. That way, you're speaking a language in no time. That's all. Good luck!
Thanks for the suggestions Pablo. I was also using a similar app with flashcards, called quizlet. Eventually though, I gave up on it; it took too much effort to write new words down, and then re-visit them. Lame excuse, but in the end of the day, I was not using it.
With Danish especially, I find the greatest difficulty to be that you do not understand what people are saying, even if you know the words! A lot of the language is mumbling and omitting letters. Reading is much easier than listening. In such a case, an flashcard app is not so helpful, because it does not help practicing the sounds and the speaking part. One more reason I gave up on quizlet.
100% agree on spending time with locals and not in the "expat bubble". That is also the essence of the suggestion to join a (sports) club. Then you are forced to learn, at least a few expressions. Once your ear starts getting used to the sounds of the language, it is much easier to adapt to any conversation.
Thanks again for the suggestions and for taking the time to read the post :).
I watched Ozark and learned what money launder... wait 🤨... jokes aside, those are great tips, especiallyyyyy the make mistakes one! The possibility of mistakes still makes me self-conscious, but then I realised I wouldn't care if someone made the same error in Italian. It puts things into perspective a bit. Also I repeat "an accent is a sign of bravery" and "mispronouncing words means you learnt them reading" like they're mantras to live by
I have to admit that I need to become better at following my own advice, especially when it comes to making mistakes. Like you say, I am too self-concsious about my mistakes and feel like I am torturing the other person. But I am getting better! Have you tried any other tricks that worked for you?
PS: I just checked and it does have Latin. It also has Klingon, Navajo and High Valyrian😳😳😳
Your article inspired me to write something about my language journey. I am afraid it won't contain many good tips, just a lot of embarrassment XD I think practising English online (chats/forums) made me confident outside the classroom but it's very cringe if I think about it.
oooooh I kinda want to download the app now... These demons won't summon themselves ~
I love this post! As someone who loves learning langauges I have much to contribute! Especially because I belong to the group for whom langauge learning is a struggle. It doesn’t come naturally. So I have tried every trick of the playbook. 😉😅
My general conclusion is that it depends on the langauge you are learning and your feeling towards learning it.
Take Swedish. For Dutch speaking this language is relatively close. Especially if you also know German. I started learning Swedish just because of fun. It sounded beautiful. I just watched Netflix, listened to songs and a bit of duolingo and I picked up a bizar amount of vocabulary. After 3 months I was able to speak and found a buddy in the Facebook group “Swedish people in [city]” that I offered food and coffee jn return. For many expats also a good way of getting to know a local! The guy that replied is still my friend but after 10 Swedish walks we became to good friends that know we just talk in English. Oops!
Italian on the other hand I had to learn. Fast. In order to function in that country. Suddenly duolingo and Disney couldn’t provide me with how to order a coffee or call the municipality. Babbel turned to be the perfect solution. It has an app that actually explains the grammar quite well, has separate vocab sections (handy to learn “body” section before going to the doctor” and live lessons. I managed to get a 12-month unlimited live lessons subscription for €240 euros. If you take 2 lessons a week the lessons will cost you only €2,3! Much more economical then the €20+ lessons on italki. Especially good because the lessons on babbel are very wel structured and you can take them whenever you want! In the end i took 120 lessons in one year. Do your math! 😉
My conclusions so far after learning English, German, some Italian & Swedish and trying also Greek and a bit of Arabic:
- Sound input at your level: in the end you need to know how the language sounds. And you need it at your level to actually grasp words and phrases. The (super) easy language series at YouTube are fantastic, similarly the 101website has very good lessons with transcripts. Other things that help are kids songs (from itsy bitsy spider to Disney), podcasts with news in slow language, or watching easy show like “love is blind”. Podcast tips here are coffee break [language] or the ones from babbel.
- Grammer exercises. I still thank my German high school teacher for doing 1000 exercises on cases and prepositions. And my English teacher for making me say out loud ‘to be was been’ ‘to catch caught caught’ over and over again. It sticks! For me it works and I am very happy my current Swedish course has these repetitive exercises
- Talking: a lot and making mistakes. Because that in the end is the only way you actively use all your knowledge. And you realise which vocabulary you are missing. Babbel live and italki are very safe places to learn and see written the mistakes you make. Perfect for visual learners like me!
- Time! Sometimes all it I need is to sink in!
Gosh I have so much more thoughts. Maybe I will write a post about it myself! 😅
Thanks for all the tips and for sharing your experience with so many languages!
I guess Italy and Sweden are the two ends of the need-to-learn-fast spectrum: from what you describe, in Italy you had to learn fast, because people did not speak English. That is a stressful situation to be in, but works in favor of language learning, because your life "depends" on it.
In Sweden on the other hand, most people speak good English (although with their super cute Swedish accent). So the need to learn the language is not so urgent.
I would add two more things. First, there is a lot of mythology about how difficult learning a language is - this mythology exists predominantly in the anglosaxon world, where the % of monolingual people is highest on planet. So my advice - ignore this altogether, because learning a language is easier than those people think. To be reasonably fluent in any language- you need on average 2,000 words. Learning 10 words per day is really not a challenge, and even involving frequent repetitions you can get done with it in 15 minutes per day. I recommend anki, an application for flashcards repetitions (I like it much more than duolingo or babel). With this or similar app, you are at 2,000 words level in under a year, with close to zero effort. Second - go abroad and do not live in a club of expats. Do activities with local people, spend time with them, listen, speak, ask questions. Switch your entire environment to that language, including the interface of your telephone and computer. That way, you're speaking a language in no time. That's all. Good luck!
Thanks for the suggestions Pablo. I was also using a similar app with flashcards, called quizlet. Eventually though, I gave up on it; it took too much effort to write new words down, and then re-visit them. Lame excuse, but in the end of the day, I was not using it.
With Danish especially, I find the greatest difficulty to be that you do not understand what people are saying, even if you know the words! A lot of the language is mumbling and omitting letters. Reading is much easier than listening. In such a case, an flashcard app is not so helpful, because it does not help practicing the sounds and the speaking part. One more reason I gave up on quizlet.
100% agree on spending time with locals and not in the "expat bubble". That is also the essence of the suggestion to join a (sports) club. Then you are forced to learn, at least a few expressions. Once your ear starts getting used to the sounds of the language, it is much easier to adapt to any conversation.
Thanks again for the suggestions and for taking the time to read the post :).
I watched Ozark and learned what money launder... wait 🤨... jokes aside, those are great tips, especiallyyyyy the make mistakes one! The possibility of mistakes still makes me self-conscious, but then I realised I wouldn't care if someone made the same error in Italian. It puts things into perspective a bit. Also I repeat "an accent is a sign of bravery" and "mispronouncing words means you learnt them reading" like they're mantras to live by
PS: is there latin on duolingo?
I have to admit that I need to become better at following my own advice, especially when it comes to making mistakes. Like you say, I am too self-concsious about my mistakes and feel like I am torturing the other person. But I am getting better! Have you tried any other tricks that worked for you?
PS: I just checked and it does have Latin. It also has Klingon, Navajo and High Valyrian😳😳😳
Your article inspired me to write something about my language journey. I am afraid it won't contain many good tips, just a lot of embarrassment XD I think practising English online (chats/forums) made me confident outside the classroom but it's very cringe if I think about it.
oooooh I kinda want to download the app now... These demons won't summon themselves ~
Embarrassment and personal stories is what we live for Barbs!
I love this post! As someone who loves learning langauges I have much to contribute! Especially because I belong to the group for whom langauge learning is a struggle. It doesn’t come naturally. So I have tried every trick of the playbook. 😉😅
My general conclusion is that it depends on the langauge you are learning and your feeling towards learning it.
Take Swedish. For Dutch speaking this language is relatively close. Especially if you also know German. I started learning Swedish just because of fun. It sounded beautiful. I just watched Netflix, listened to songs and a bit of duolingo and I picked up a bizar amount of vocabulary. After 3 months I was able to speak and found a buddy in the Facebook group “Swedish people in [city]” that I offered food and coffee jn return. For many expats also a good way of getting to know a local! The guy that replied is still my friend but after 10 Swedish walks we became to good friends that know we just talk in English. Oops!
Italian on the other hand I had to learn. Fast. In order to function in that country. Suddenly duolingo and Disney couldn’t provide me with how to order a coffee or call the municipality. Babbel turned to be the perfect solution. It has an app that actually explains the grammar quite well, has separate vocab sections (handy to learn “body” section before going to the doctor” and live lessons. I managed to get a 12-month unlimited live lessons subscription for €240 euros. If you take 2 lessons a week the lessons will cost you only €2,3! Much more economical then the €20+ lessons on italki. Especially good because the lessons on babbel are very wel structured and you can take them whenever you want! In the end i took 120 lessons in one year. Do your math! 😉
My conclusions so far after learning English, German, some Italian & Swedish and trying also Greek and a bit of Arabic:
- Sound input at your level: in the end you need to know how the language sounds. And you need it at your level to actually grasp words and phrases. The (super) easy language series at YouTube are fantastic, similarly the 101website has very good lessons with transcripts. Other things that help are kids songs (from itsy bitsy spider to Disney), podcasts with news in slow language, or watching easy show like “love is blind”. Podcast tips here are coffee break [language] or the ones from babbel.
- Grammer exercises. I still thank my German high school teacher for doing 1000 exercises on cases and prepositions. And my English teacher for making me say out loud ‘to be was been’ ‘to catch caught caught’ over and over again. It sticks! For me it works and I am very happy my current Swedish course has these repetitive exercises
- Talking: a lot and making mistakes. Because that in the end is the only way you actively use all your knowledge. And you realise which vocabulary you are missing. Babbel live and italki are very safe places to learn and see written the mistakes you make. Perfect for visual learners like me!
- Time! Sometimes all it I need is to sink in!
Gosh I have so much more thoughts. Maybe I will write a post about it myself! 😅
Happy language learning!!
Thanks for all the tips and for sharing your experience with so many languages!
I guess Italy and Sweden are the two ends of the need-to-learn-fast spectrum: from what you describe, in Italy you had to learn fast, because people did not speak English. That is a stressful situation to be in, but works in favor of language learning, because your life "depends" on it.
In Sweden on the other hand, most people speak good English (although with their super cute Swedish accent). So the need to learn the language is not so urgent.
Do you have any other advice for new learners?