Tips On Learning A New Language

Has romance, career, academics or a natural love bitten you to learn a new language? If yes, well that's great! - Learning a foreign or second language will be beneficial to you on several levels.

There are common mental blocks for learning languages, even for an enthusiastic student. The basic stumbling block is the perception that language is BORING and DIFFICULT - something only for Linguists. Languages vary in difficulty, but this perception of them is terribly wrong.

Language can be viewed in a logical sense, where sentence construction, pronunciation, enunciation and all the wealth of technicalities come into play. Complementary to this, language has a strong emotional essence where words and sentences (written and spoken) are symbols that express ideas, moods & emotions and experiences. Fundamentally, language is a vehicle for communication - expressing the heart and mind.  Consider a few tips to help you on your language adventure.

• Familiarize yourself with the native accent ~ Nothing beats hearing the authentic undiluted accent of native speakers. It will help you to learn to pronounce words well enough to be understood.
  
• Get a feel for the rhythm of the language ~ Every language has a particular rhythm that is unique. Even without understanding a word of a particular language, you can be able to catch the musical feel of a language. You can even hum it if you like. A dramatic language like Italian is an example of this.
  
• Learn the alphabet ~ A number of the commonly learned foreign languages have alphabets that are similar to English, because of a similar linguistic root. Practice speaking aloud each letter, and see each as special and distinct. These letters or characters are powerful building blocks.
  
• Build vocabulary ~ There are only a few hundred words that are mostly used in English language. In the same way, there are common words used in a particular language. Learn these words and focus on them first, then in a more advanced state you can do some more word building.
  
• Learn common phrases ~ Every culture has unique phrases that are not able to be translated perfectly. Learn common phrases to build your conversation skills.
  

• Immerse yourself culturally ~ Language is intertwined into culture, and understanding associated customs and behaviors with spoken words will be greatly helpful to you. For example, in Asian cultures playing down on your achievements and talents is considered to be attractive, which maybe seen as seen as weird in Western Cultures. Movies, music, books, art and other forms of human expression are good ways to understand the way of a people. Rosetta Stone Software is a great simulation for cultural immersion if you want something more interactive.
  
• Make friends with native speakers ~ The internet can be a powerful 'world-shrinker' where you can find friends and penpals who are enthusiastic language learners who would be more than willing to participate in language exchange. Video talk, instant messaging, telephone calls, snail mail and even penpal meetups are ways to increase your fluency in a language.
  
• Join a language group/club ~ Meet up with like-minded individuals who share your desire to learn a particular language. Language groups will encourage consistency and accountability, both of which are helpful for progress in learning.
  
• Write in the language ~ This is extremely beneficial especially when learning totally new characters such as in Japanese or Hebrew. Make it an experience by writing to your native friends or write a song of poem in that new language.
  
• Focus on understanding and being understood ~ Trying to say things right or to translate things perfectly into your language can be a big distraction. If you are just starting out, then be easy on yourself and be more concerned on communicating. You are better able to acquire an Expert or Purist status when you get the basics.

“Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language – natural communication – in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding.” Stephen Krashen