Parlez-vous francais? No? But want to? You're in luck. Learning a second language can be tough, but there are lots of fun ways to incorporate language learning into your daily life. Whether you are hoping to take a trip to a foreign country, ace your test in foreign language class, or just learn how to speak something new, the techniques listed below can make the learning process both easier and more entertaining for you. Read below to find out 5 great lifelong learning methods; each will help you teach yourself that language you’ve always wanted to speak.
Watch Movies
Sometimes you just don’t feel like studying. You’d rather relax and kick back instead of do challenging work. Well, one great way to combine the two is by watching foreign language movies in order to help you improve your language skills. Watching a foreign language movie can help you familiarize yourself with the sound of the language – including specific slang words and idioms, conversational inflection, and the speed at which citizens speak. While you’re just starting out, watch movies with subtitles, and just try to pay attention to what the language sounds like. As you become more advanced, try turning the subtitles off and understanding what the character is saying in his native language.
Find a Language Practice Partner
People always say the best way to learn a second language is just to speak it. If you are looking to speak a different language, find someone who speaks it as their native language and spend time having language learning sessions and conversations with them. Advertise for a learning partner on a classifieds website like Craigslist.org or visit a local university with a great language department to see if they have any native speakers. You can teach your language partner your language while they teach you theirs – all the while making a new friend.
Read Newspapers
To help you learn to read and write the language you are trying to learn, a great resource is newspapers or publications from those countries. You can access writing from almost anywhere in the world now online. Find articles, and try to read them in their native language. Write down vocabulary words and phrases that interest you or that you don’t understand, then search online for their meaning. Reading the writing of native writers can expose you to grammar intricacies and show you phrases and idioms you didn’t know before.
Cook in the Language
Want to learn practical everyday vocabulary and phrases in your new language? Buy a cookbook! Making a recipe in a foreign language is a great way to pick up food words and practical cooking techniques. Look up words you don’t understand in a dictionary, and write them down for practice. Keep cooking recipes in the language, and eventually you will start to notice repeated steps and ingredients. Your food and kitchen knowledge will expand exponentially using a foreign cookbook – and you’ll get to eat some delicious meals while you’re at it.
Travel!
This one might be the most obvious (or the reason why you are trying to learn the language), but if you are really trying to pick up a new foreign language, travel to a place where the people speak it! Immerse yourself in the language and culture of the place. Try your best to communicate with locals, listen to what they say, read street signs, and watch television while you are there. Eventually, you will naturally be able to pick up more of the language than you even realize.
