Are you one of those people who think that you need to be a born linguist to learn a language well? Think again! Very often, those who manage to learn a language quickly succeed because they have found an effective method. If you too want to succeed in learning a language effectively, here are some tips to “hack” your learning and progress at full speed.
1. Create a learning routine
A little riddle: what do languages and sport have in common?
Answer: consistency!
Indeed, as with sports, the more regular you are in your learning, the faster you will progress.
To achieve this, you will therefore need to create your own routine. Studying your target language a little bit every day will be more effective than revising it for 2 hours every fortnight. You can start with daily sessions of 20 minutes, for example. Take the opportunity to:
- listen to a podcast;
- reread your course materials;
- take a little quiz on your 1to1PROGRESS platform;
- or revise your vocabulary.
The important thing is to succeed in establishing a habit that will allow you to maintain daily contact with your target language.
2. “Study” while sleeping
Study while sleeping!? What a strange idea!
And yet, it could give a serious boost to your language learning.
Rereading what you’ve learnt during the day, at bedtime, is a great way to learn a language more effectively. Thus, during your sleep, your brain will be able to process the information received during the wakefulness phase more efficiently and to memorize it in the long run.
3. Focus on spaced repetition
What is spaced repetition? This is a language learning method based on memorizing information over a longer or shorter period of time.
The principle is simple: you learn a word and you revise it at certain due dates until it is perfectly memorized.
To help you, you can use a free software like Anki that allows you to create “flash cards”. You write down the words to learn on your cards and, thanks to its algorithm, the software will program the revisions for each word on its own.
Example:
Your 1to1PROGRESS trainer taught you 8 important new words during your last class. You will therefore create 8 flash cards. The software will make you revise the words one after another. If you make a mistake, you will get to revise the flash card another time shortly after. If you are correct, it will reappear later. This way, you revise the words you have more difficulties with more often until you have fully memorized them.
4. Learn a language efficiently thanks to a native trainer
As you can imagine, there is nothing better to learn a language efficiently than to benefit from the advice of a native trainer.
Trainers at 1to1PROGRESS are perfectly familiar with the teaching methods for adults and will guide you through each step of your language learning project. Since they are native in the language they teach, they know all of its subtleties… as well as the pitfalls to avoid!
In other words, a good trainer adapts to both, your needs and the difficulties of the language, to help you learn it much more efficiently. It would be a shame to deprive yourself of such an asset, wouldn’t it?
5. Have fun learning a foreign language
Many people don’t manage to learn a language easily because they are hindered by an approach that is too “academic”. But you are no longer in school. You now have the possibility to choose your way of approaching the language according to your wishes and expectations.
Why not take the opportunity to learn a language in a more fun way? YouTube videos, TV series, music, language games… There are thousands of ways to learn a foreign language more efficiently without feeling like you’re learning.
However, for these language activities to be effective, they must not remain passive. When you watch a movie in English, for example, have something with you to take notes. And, when you spot interesting words or idioms to remember, write them down!
You can also have fun recreating certain scenes by imitating the actors. Accent, tone, articulation: don’t hesitate to exaggerate everything, even if it means being a little caricatured, to improve your pronunciation.
3 points to remember to learn a language efficiently
- Increase opportunities to practise the language (learning routine, spaced revision, fun language activities) to boost your learning.
- Follow your trainer’s advice to avoid the pitfalls of your target language and learn it more efficiently.
- Software, apps, language platform: find the tools that best suit you to study better between your language lessons.