You’ve been trying to learn a foreign language for years, but still not fluent? Or, are you traveling somewhere that requires you to learn a new language quickly? The following tricks can help you, so don’t give up, SoHip!
1. Start with an optimistic attitude and a positive outlook
Starting something is probably the hard part. However, the next stage will be more difficult if our minds stay stuck on difficult things. Something becomes easy or difficult depending on your attitude and perspective.
To start learning a language, don’t ever think “this will be difficult” or “I can’t”. Anyone can learn any language, as long as it starts with an optimistic attitude. The key is, don’t start by looking for parts that are difficult to learn, but start by looking for parts that are easy to learn. Look for reasons why the language is easy to learn . So you will feel confident with yourself.
2. Forget paramasastra ( grammar) and start by talking ( conversation )
Yes, you didn’t read that wrong. The main goal of this article is to make you fluent in SPEAKING foreign languages. So, forget paramasastra or grammar in the early stages of learning a language.
Focus first on learning words and phrases that are more or less important and common. Then, try to have a simple conversation with your friend. The interesting thing about speaking a foreign language is that other people won’t really care if your grammar is correct or not, as long as they can understand what you’re saying. This method is called immersive technique . Speak without fear of being wrong, the name is also learning.
3. Take advantage of Google to improve paramastra and word spelling
Nowadays, you no longer need to have trouble checking whether the paramastra and spelling you are using are correct. With Google, you can do it in seconds. To determine which is the correct grammar and spelling of a sentence/word, all you have to do is compare the number of search results on Google. The one with more results is usually the one that is more precise. It’s easy, isn’t it?
4. Use Google Image as an online dictionary
Looking up the meaning of words through a conventional dictionary will not help you remember new vocabulary quickly. The second drawback is that conventional dictionaries are not always precise in translating foreign words into our language. Instead of using a conventional dictionary, you can use Google Images to describe the word you are looking for. By using pictures, remembering foreign vocabulary will become much easier.
5. Be active in foreign language discussion forums
Let’s say you’ve been learning vocabulary and grammar and listening to audio recordings passively for years, so your writing and listening skills are pretty good. However, your ability will be in vain if you never practice the foreign language in chats or discussions.
Chatting or discussing is the most important aspect of learning a foreign language because it is practical, not theoretical. By getting used to chatting or discussing, your language skills will be much smoother. You will avoid stuttering, and it will be easier to express your thoughts using this foreign language. It would be even better if there were native speakers participating in the discussion forum, so that your ears can get used to native speaker access.
If you are a bit shy about speaking in discussion forums, you can also learn to chat with native speakers via video calls such as Skype or Google Hangouts.
6. Measure your progress in hours
How many years have you been studying foreign languages?
The misconception about measuring how long it takes you to learn a foreign language is that we always measure it in days, months or even years. It feels like you. Even though if you’re honest, actually you only devote a few hours a day or maybe a few hours a week to learn the foreign language.
For example: if you tutor English 2 x 2 hours a week, in a year you will only use 200 effective hours learning a foreign language. This figure is actually equivalent to 8 days. So, actually you don’t study for years, but only a few days.
Try to start measuring your foreign language learning time in hours. With that, you can estimate the development of your language skills more efficiently.
So, how many hours have you spent to become fluent in a foreign language?
