Speeding Up Language Learning

Donald “Don” Pferdehirt, a resident of Spring, TX, serves as the president of the consulting firm ChemOps Insights, LLC. Donald Lee Pferdehirt likes to learn new languages during his free time. Learners like Don Pferdehirt can pick up a new language faster using the following tips.

Incorporate lessons into everyday life
Keeping lessons relevant in day-to-day life helps accelerate the process. Talking to others, whether a partner who's also picking up the language or fluent speakers, can ground the process in the real world. While learning goes fastest when the student is entirely immersed in the language, even going to a public place where it is spoken can speed things up.

Make it fun and avoid focusing on perfection
Proficiency can also improve when people avoid taking the learning process too seriously. Activities like writing comic strips and recording songs can keep them engaged. Similarly, a willingness to make mistakes, rather than getting everything right immediately, makes the experience less stressful and more efficient.

Listen to native speakers
In languages which use different phonemes from one's native tongue, listening to others speak and even watching them can help. Some unusual sounds can be easier to pick up and use once one sees the process of making them with the lips, teeth, tongue, and throat. Those without access to a native speaker can try viewing films and television as a supplement.