When I tell people that I speak Spanish, it can be entertaining at times how surprised they become. People from where I am from believe that speaking a second language is an extremely impossible task and it is treated at times like the only way to become fluent is to cut off one of your feet and sacrifice your only son to the Language gods (which of course is false). Many people dream of speaking different languages, but the entire goal can seem intimidating. For me, I never thought this, because I found fun ways to learn, I'm actually listening to a Portuguese podcast as I'm writing this! If you are struggling greatly and cannot get your new language into your head, bear no fear. Here is a list of my favorite tips that I have learned to learn a new language. The best part is that you can use these for any language that you desire.
1. Make mistakes
Crazy, right? We tend to feel horrible when we do not get everything perfect in our new language, but perfection is never key. If you think about it, do you speak perfect English? Is every single thing you say always perfect in grammar? Let's be honest, no. When we make mistakes in the new language and realize it, our brains will immediately remember the correct tense in the future. For instance, I was talking to a person from Venezuela and asked if I could have a straw. Later on, I learned that I said if I could have a giant poop. Now I know!
2. Listen to music in the language
It's a win win. You're getting your much needed groove fest, and getting an education. There has been scientific studies saying that singing in a language that you are learning can boost fluency. Remember in Kindergarten when you learned the ABC's song? (Admit it, you still use it) That is because the melody is in your memory. It worked when you are a kid, and it can equally work now. At night, I chill out in my room listening to some Carlos Gardel Tango, then at the gym, I'm getting pumped up to some Nicky Jam Reggaeton. It's called education, look it up.
3. Immersion and language partners
Immersion is known to be the best way to speak a new language fluently. Many people say things like "Oh, I took Spanish for 5 years, but I don't remember anything" That is because you do not use it every day. Being immersed means being inside of the culture where the language is spoken, and speaking that language only, say auf wiedersehen to English. If you have the ability to travel, great! Take advantage! When you are in the country, try your best to only speak that language and not English, your fluency will sky rocket. If you can't travel, no worries, you can still be immersed at home. With the internet, you can find thousands of ways to meet people who can help you with your new tongue. There are incredible apps and websites like Italki and HelloTalk (my favorite). ITalki is a paid service where you can talk to a native speaking teacher and for 30 minutes to 1 hour, they are your personal tutor online! HelloTalk is incredible, you can text, audio record, and make free phone calls to people from around the world! You get help with your French, and Jacques gets help with his English, another win win!
4. Learn about the dialects
This tip is more important depending on the language . If you do not understand dialects, it makes it harder to understand people in conversation. Have you ever spoke to a person from Australia or Lousianna and you catch yourself saying "What?!" The same goes for language learning. For instance, if you were greeted by a Spanish speaker from Mexico, they might say "Oye, ¿Qué onda?" (Hey, What's up) But, a person in Argentina might say, "Che, ¿Qué pasa?" It means the same exact thing, just different vocabulary. Listen to native speakers from different countries, and you'll see your fluency go up. The importance of this tip depends on the language, if you're studying languages like French, German, Hebrew, and Japanese, where the dialects are somewhat easy to understand and are similar, don't worry. But, if you're studying languages like Italian, Arabic, and Chinese, this can be vital and intensively helpful!
Don't stress and have fun! Learning a language is an incredible experience that everyone should try! I'll end off with my favorite quote.
"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart." - Nelson Mandela
