Ahsan Gardezi
Want to put a rush on this whole “learning a new language” thing? Whatever your reason for learning a new language, you can probably agree it’d be ideal to learn it fast. Here’s how to learn a new language quick!
Also Read: How To Organize Yourself To Enhance Productivity
Learning a new language doesn’t need to be a slow or tedious process. Nothing can replace the hard work and effort it requires.
You can absolutely learn a new foreign language quick if you follow the right strategy and dedicate to the process. Here’s what you may look forward to:
- Learning new grammar
- Memorizing new vocabulary
- Practicing your spoken in a foreign language
- Personal Growth
If you decide to learn new languages, you’re bound to go through each of the above-mentioned monotones of linguistic prowess. Let’s cover some important points that make the learning process an entertaining prospect!
Your Goals | How To Learn A New Language Quick
The first step to learning a new language fast is to set goals for what you want to achieve. When you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. If you don’t set goals, how can you know what you want to achieve and measure whether you have achieved it?
When faced with the idea of learning a new language, most of us feel overwhelmed. There are so many words to learn and so many different ways to study. Setting goals narrows your focus so you can stop worrying about the details and get down to business.
Use these guidelines to get the most from your goals:
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Focus on specific, tangible outcomes.
Set detailed goals, and focus on what you plan to learn rather than how much time you plan to study. An example of a good goal might be, “This week I’m going to learn 30 Spanish vocabulary words related to shopping.”
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Set short-term goals.
It’s good to have an ultimate goal—the thing you eventually hope to achieve. But long-term goals are too overwhelming to motivate you on an everyday basis. Break down your ultimate goal into smaller bits, and set smaller goals for each week or month.
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Challenge yourself (but not too much).
Goals work best when they make you push yourself. But if they’re too daunting, they can actually discourage you. A good way to get around this is to set goals with a range of outcomes. For example, you might say, “I want to learn 30-50 new vocabulary words this week.” The lower number in this range helps you feel the goal is achievable, while the higher number allows you to push yourself.
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Write down your goals.
Writing down goals helps you commit to them. Post your goals in a prominent place, like your bathroom mirror or the home screen of your smartphone.
Concept of six ability in human brain. Graph with colorful chart on blackboard
Learning The Right Words | Avoiding Over-Reliance On Dictionaries
Languages are made up of a shocking number of words. English, for example, has between 600,000 and 1 million words.
Luckily, you don’t need to learn anywhere near that many words to be proficient in a language. Consider this: the top 100 words make up about 50 percent of English language texts, and the top 1,000 words make up about 90 percent!
Check out these lists of the top 1,000 words in these languages:
By focusing on learning these words first, you can eliminate wasted time and increase the amount of information you understand very quickly.
Smart Curriculum | How To Learn A New Language Quick
When learning your words, you’ll learn faster by using the very best study techniques.
For example, one of the best ways to learn vocabulary words is to use flashcards. Flashcards help you focus on individual words and allow you to test yourself, which helps you memorize new information.
When you learn with flashcards, follow these tips to learn fast:
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Try out electronic flashcards.
Paper flashcards work just fine, but electronic flashcard programs like Anki provide some great benefits. By using electronic flashcards, you can easily carry large stacks on your smartphone or tablet, and you can take advantage of flashcards that other people have created and made public.
These programs also automatically change the order of cards and use spaced repetition to gradually increase the amount of time between repetitions of a flashcard. Both of these techniques help you learn faster and better.
To maximize your use of SRS programs and electronic flashcards, check out polyglot Olly Richards’ Conversations course, which is designed to help you set up workable, step-by-step systems for learning your target language. You can also get more targeted help with the Uncovered courses, which introduces the basics of specific languages including Spanish, French, German and Italian.
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Make sure to guess the meaning of a word before turning over the card.
Flashcards work best when you use them to test your memory, so don’t be too quick to flip the cards over. Even if you don’t know a word, make a guess.
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Learn the translations first, then learn to produce the new words.
It’s easier to learn the translation of a foreign word than it is to learn to say the foreign word when you see its English equivalent. Start by looking at the side of the flashcard with a foreign word on it, and memorize what the English translation is. Later, turn the cards over and use them to practice producing the foreign words when you see their English equivalents.
Use Language All Day | Everyday
As a beginner, it can seem overwhelming to try to use the language all day, but it’s not as difficult as it seems.
When you start to feel tired, switch from active learning to passive learning by doing what you would normally do in your native language in your target language. Try watching a video or TV show, or streaming radio broadcasts in your target language.
Seek out real-life practice:
- Become accustomed to the cadence (rhythm) of the language.
- Learn to detect and interpret common words.
- Learn to grasp general meaning through context.
- Motivate yourself!
Furthermore:
- Join a conversation club. Many cities and schools have conversation clubs where language students meet regularly to practice having informal discussions in their target language.
- Visit businesses where people speak primarily your target language. Perhaps there’s a Mexican restaurant nearby where you can enjoy delicious food and practice your Spanish with the waiters or owners, or perhaps you can practice your Chinese at a grocery store that sells food to the local Chinese community.
Tip: Learn a bit about the culture where your new language is most commonly used as a national language.
Test Yourself | How Are You Progressing?
Knowing that you plan to take a test is a great way to motivate yourself to learn faster.
Try to regularly test yourself in little ways. If you’re learning from a textbook, take practice tests or complete the exercises at the end of each chapter. You can also play online games or take online tests. Online practice tests can be found in almost any language, including French, Spanish, Japanese and German.
Some languages also have a standardized test specific to that language, such as the JLPT for Japanese or the HSK for Chinese. Ask teachers or professionals who know the language what tests they recommend.
Quick Note: Learning a new language isn’t simple as most articles show. Be ready to dedicate at least a year to this; proficiency of any skill takes time to materialize! So hang in there.
Well, there you have it guys! This was all about how to learn a new language quick! I added the exclamation to make it sound interested, but what do you think?
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment in the section provided below.
Good luck!
