It’s safe to say I am equally obsessed with languages as I am with traveling. We can google “the fastest way to learn a new language” all we want but in reality, we need a clear study plan we can actually follow. The most common roadblock we probably all have in common is “having the time” to sit down and actually study.
“Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.”
– Rita Mae Brown
Learning a new language from scratch is going to take dedication and patience. If you have both qualities, then results will be a sure thing. The amount of work you put into your lessons will directly correlate to your fluency level. Ready to make learning a new language one of your top priorities? Utilize these 6 quick tips to help learn a language in the shortest amount of time!
The Fastest Way to Learn a New Language
Tip 1: Set Realistic Goals
First things first, be honest with yourself about how much time you can dedicate to learning a new language. A good starting place is practicing 30 minutes a day. Here are some realistic language goal examples:
- Short term goal: learn 100 new vocabulary words a week.
- Long term goal: book a trip to the respective language-speaking country about 6 months in advance. This gives you a good chunk of time to study conversational phrases.
As a traveler, my personal language goal is to make new friends in the native language of their country and to easily converse day to day interactions with strangers.
Tip 2: Keep a vocabulary journal & flash cards
Get yourself a composition notebook to write down all of your new vocabulary words and phrases. Did you know that the top 100 words of a spoken language can make up to 50% of its entirety? And that the top 1000 words make up almost 90%!
Writing down and making flashcards of the top 100 words of your desired language will put you ahead of the game. Take these flashcards on the go and set aside time to run through them at least once a day.
Tip 3: Utilize Books & Podcasts
The more books you have on the subject the better. My recommendation is the “Say It Right” book series. The Spanish and French versions have improved my pronunciation immensely. They are also small books and easy to carry around!
There are countless language podcasts out there. So on your commute to work, you can listen and practice speaking. A 20-minute commute can give you 40 minutes a day round-trip for your daily language lesson.
Try this: Next time you clean your house, set a timer for 1 hour. Play your language podcast and clean simultaneously. Voila! Clean house and one language lesson complete.
Tip 4: Find a Language Partner
Whether it’s a friend, family member, or classmate, schedule an hour a week with them to practice speaking your desired language. It helps to bribe them with coffee or food too. This is a great way to be held accountable and practice speaking the language in a comfortable setting, no matter how bad your pronunciation is. Remember, everyone was a beginner once. You will get there!
Tip 5: Take a 6 Week Online or In-Person Class
This method is a guaranteed way to hold yourself accountable for studying, and possibly the most effective. Look up your local community college and other immersion classes in your neighborhood. Some Universities offer instructor-led online courses for around $100 USD.
Tip 6: Download Language Apps
My favorite language app is Duolingo. This app is a great way to learn sentence structure while killing time on your phone. (You can add me as a friend on the app: Erika373335). However, don’t rely on this app alone to learn a new language. This tip works best when incorporated with the others.
Final words
All in all, diversifying your learning methods is going to be the fastest way to learn a new language. These 6 tips have helped me become semi-fluent in several languages so far. I would love to know what languages you are practicing with these tips, let me know in the comments below!
I am not sponsored by any companies in this post. All opinions and suggestions are my own.
