Let’s face it, most us interested in learning another language want to learn a language fast. As much fun as the learning process can be, for most folks the final goal is to actually know and be able to use the language.
Despite what the results of slow-moving high school and college language classes might imply, it is absolutely possible to get comfortably conversant in a language within three to six months. But in order to do that, there are things you need that most language classes can’t give you.
#1: Above Average Desire
To learn a language fast, you need as much exposure to the language as possible every day. Unless you’re constantly hungry for that language, though, you may not make the effort to get that exposure.
In the book Think and Grow Rich, the author Napolean Hill talks about what he calls a “burning desire” that he believes is essential for reaching big goals. It’s the kind of desire that keeps you thinking about your goal morning to night. If you’re not so hungry to learn that you try to squeeze a little study into every free moment, you’re not going to learn as fast as you could.
Think about a sociable immigrant kid thrown into a class with native-speaking kids. She’s probably going to grab every single opportunity she has to learn just so she can feel normal. That’s motivation.
No one’s suggesting skipping meals and staying up all night to fit in study time, but if you find yourself watching some random TV show instead of doing something, anything, with your target language, it’s a sign your motivation to learn isn’t where it could be.
So how to do get that much motivation? Stay in constant contact with what motivates you! Learning French because you want to volunteer in Burundi? Put up pictures of the country, keep up on the local news, and browse the Web for volunteer opportunities daily. Studying Japanese so you can read manga? Then keep those manga magazines out where you can see them.
Constantly remind yourself of what you’re missing out on because you don’t know the language yet and you probably won’t be so inclined to waste time. Otherwise, it’s “out of sight, out of mind.”
#2: Quality Study Material
While you might be able to learn just from conversation, it’s likely to take you longer and be a lot more frustrating. A dictionary of 40,000 entries or so helps you build vocabulary faster. A phrasebook will get you started forming full sentences to can use for communication instead of collecting individual “vocabulary words” you can’t do anything with. Those phrases also provide comprehensible, memorable examples of grammar in use, so you’re not left to memorize abstract grammar rules.
A course book or grammar reference book that lays everything out in a clear, organized way helps you grasp complex concepts without spending weeks trying to work them out for yourself. Beyond this, any authentic material (anything meant for native speakers) you can get your hands on also counts as study material.
#3: Interaction
If you’re studying a dead language you’ll only need to read, naturally this isn’t so important. The rest of us, however, need to get out and communicate in a language in order for all that vocabulary and those grammar rules to consolidates into actual language skills. Writing practice is fine, particularly if you’ll be needing to write a lot in your target language (business letters, etc.)
For gaining real fluency, though, nothing beats real-time, face-to-face communication. This is particularly true if your an auditory learner. Stuck for ways to get more interaction? Here are some ideas on how to get more foreign language speaking practice when you don’t have many native speakers around.
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