Trifter

Learning another language is fun, shows respect for another culture and can even improve your employability.

1. Choose your language (although you can always learn a bit from many of them)

 A common way to choose the language to learn is by difficulty. Each language has a different root and different features. For example Spanish and Italian are very closely linked, so if you already know one the other should be easier to learn. However, Mandarin Chinese can be seen as simple in that instead of “I am, he is, we are”, the grammar is “I am, he am, we am”, although there are 4 different tones for words to create different meanings. So it depends what you find most difficult. Another way of choosing is by selecting a place you wish to visit in the future, to give you a goal.

2. Decide your goals

How well do you wish to speak or read the language? Do you want to understand just enough to show respect to people you meet from other cultures by greeting them in their own way? Most people will be flattered by your effort, rather than expecting everyone to speak English. Maybe you want to be able to get by on a holiday or do you want to be fluent?  It is usually suggested it takes around 3 years to be fluent. However, if you just want to learn a small amount at a time to keep you from being bored, that’s completely up to you, although you may have to relearn areas if you don’t keep it up.

3. Find resources

How do you want to learn? Do you have the time to take a course at a local school or college? If you want to learn for free, that’s perfectly feasible.  You could get a group of friends together and start learning together to make it more fun.

Look in your local libraries for language resources, they can always order them in if they don’t have them. There are also a plethora of material accessible through the internet. I would suggest you double check that the site is reputable and will be teaching you the correct meanings. Imagine trying to say thank you for the coffee and ending up saying “I love your purple flamingo”.

Mix the focus of your study between reading, writing and listening. Try reading children’s books in the new language, or a book you know very well. Explore newspapers, magazines and comics if you can find them (look online). Give yourself topics to try to write about, or try to organise a pen-friend. Many language websites offer the chance to chat with native-speakers. Podcasts are very popular now and are available in almost any language. Look around and try a few, some are better and more suited to different styles of learning. Don’t forget to listen to music and watch films. These will also help you get a feel for the culture, not simply the language! Also, it may be less taxing to absorb it while watching a film you love. As well as films from the country, try watching your favourite films with the subtitles in a different language. You will notice the same words coming up for the same meanings. However, be aware that it may not be a 100% direct translation, however, it should bolster what you have learnt.

Good luck and have lots of fun learning new languages!