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Learning a new language can be incredibly rewarding, but more than a little bit challenging. It takes a great deal of time, effort and determination to get to grips with the many words and phrases. However, you will be fluent in no time with a little perseverance and practice. Read how you can successfully learn a new language.

Identify Your Learning Style

The wrong learning style could be the reason why you are struggling to learn a language. While some people might absorb the language through writing down words, others might learn best through repetition or by listening carefully to a native speaker. That’s why you should aim to identify if you are a visual, auditive or kinesthetic learner.

Select a few words from your desired language and read over them multiple times. If you manage to remember the words the next day, then you are a visual learner. If you forget the words, ask a loved one to read the words several times without looking at them. If they remain in your brain the next day, you are an auditive learner. If this tactic is unsuccessful, both write down and read the words, repeat them aloud and listen to them said by another person. You should also attempt to associate any feelings or emotions with the words. If you can remember the words the next day, then you are a kinesthetic learner.

Practice Pronunciation

While every language shares a similar alphabet, different countries may not pronounce the letters the same way as your mother tongue. It’s therefore important to turn to learning materials that offer audio recordings, as this can help to improve your pronunciation. For example, you can turn to language software, such as Duolingo or Rosetta Stone, to learn some helpful pronunciation tips that can aid the learning process.

Focus on Grammar

You must pay close attention to grammar if you want to learn a new language successfully, or you will be unable to communicate with native speakers. Review the language structure and consider the masculine, feminine and neutral. You will be able to successfully place together the words once you understand the language structure.

Set a Daily Goal

Ensure you stay on track by learning little bits of a language each day. It’s thought that learning 30 words or phrases each day will allow you to memorize 80% of a language within 90 days. We recommend starting with the most common words, as they will be easier to memorize. Also, write each word or phrase down a dozen times to ensure it remains in your mind.

Use Words in Different Sentences

Get to grips with a language by using the same words in different sentences. This will allow you to learn new phrases, while triggering your memory to recall words when you need them. Also, don’t forget to refresh your memory, even when you have been busy memorizing other words.

Perfect the Alphabet

If you are learning a language with a different alphabetical system, you must learn what the different letters look like and how to use them. One effective way to do so is by associating an image with a letter or sound, which will allow your brain to remember it. You may also need to start reading from right to left instead of left to right, which can be challenging alone.

Listen to the Language

Learn by watching movies or TV shows in your chosen language. Pause the movie or show to repeat the words out loud, so you can practice your oral skills. You could even listen to well-known songs in another language, which you can enjoy at home, in the car or at the gym.

Play an Audio Lesson

There is nothing stopping you from learning a new language on the way to work, as you can buy an audio lesson to perfect your skills. Try to repeat short segments until you have a good understanding. You can also regularly listen to the same course until you have absorbed an audio lesson.

The Shadow Method

Polyglots, people who understand multiple languages, often adopt the method of shadowing. The technique requires you to put on headphones, play a language, walk briskly in the great outdoors and repeat everything you hear aloud. This will prevent you from becoming obsessed by memorizing the language, as you will have to also focus on your body’s movements.

Read a Book in a Foreign Language

Challenge your knowledge by reading books in your chosen language. Start off by reading children’s books, so you can spot simple words with visual aids. You can then move onto more challenging books, newspapers or magazines as you start to understand a language. Eventually, it will become second nature to read a book in a different language.

Be Creative

Don’t be afraid to be a little creative when learning a new language, as it’s a great way to remember words and phrases. Write and record songs in a foreign language, so you can refer to the song if you need to remember a word or phrase. You could also write a poem, draw a comic strip or write a story.

Talk to Native Speakers

If possible, try to enjoy a conversation with a native speaker in your chosen language, who can help you learn different expressions, idioms and proverbs. They may also help you to overcome any challenges, and can iron out any bad habits you have developed when talking in a foreign language. Don’t be embarrassed about making mistakes, as they will appreciate you are taking the time to learn their mother tongue.

Practice Makes Perfect

Continual practice will ensure you master a language in your own time. It can take months, years or even decades to master a language successfully, and the best way to do so is by practicing as much as possible. Try to test your knowledge on a regular basis, watch movies and TV shows to understand pronunciation, sign up for a lesson or invest in language software. Commitment, time and perseverance will allow you to talk as fluently as a local.

With blended courses and other such forms of learning becoming increasingly common, professors and course developers have to think of new ways to enable students to interact. Too many course developers simply provide copies of slides that professors would use in class and hope for the best, but that simply isn’t good enough. Luckily, companies like Thomas Rollins Teaching, who have developed The Great Courses, know that this is not the way to go about it. Rather, they have learned how to design courses in such a way that they ensure students enjoy them at all times.

Triggering Engagement Through Digital Learning

According to Thomas Rollins Teaching, engagement is down to:

Triggering any knowledge students already have. If they can use their existing knowledge, the new course becomes more relevant, and this will make it more interesting as well.
Understanding the goals of the student. The Great Courses have all been developed following consultations with other students, trying to find out what they wanted to learn.
Following the goals of the student, rather than that of the organization. This is down to the founder of The Great Courses, who had to cram for a subject he was not interested in, and found video lectures to help him. As much as Thomas Rollins Teaching is a business, the goal is not to make money, but to provide people with high quality education.
Encouraging students to share their personal interests, and encouraging them to go above and beyond those. This is almost like a reward: if students are made to feel they are really good at learning, they will become more motivated to not just continue with the existing course, but take up new ones as well.
Asking students to share their knowledge with the rest of the class, thereby showing others that they are not by themselves. Not just that, online reviews on The Great Courses help interested students find out what it is all about before deciding whether or not to enroll.
Connecting with students and interacting with them in a meaningful way. This is done by making professors go through a stringent application process that ascertains that they are able to deliver the material in an interesting, engaging manner.
Showing students how to learn, so that they have clear expectations of both themselves and of what the course will be able to do for them.
Using real-life scenarios. Students always feel more connected if they can imagine using what they have learned in real life. This means things are more relevant and, thereby, more interesting.

For Thomas Rollins Teaching, the goal is to encourage people to embrace lifelong learning. Students of The Great Courses and The Great Courses Plus do so because of personal interests. However, they also become members of a community of learners, which supports itself in getting bigger and better. The company has existed for over a quarter of a century and has gone from strength to strength in that time.

How to Successfully Learn a New Language