5 Tried and True Language Learning Methods
They're all you need
In today’s Guiding You to Fluency post, I would like to share some tried and true methods to improve your proficiency in another language. I talk to 100+ people a week about language learning strategy and read even more messages than that from language learners who are discussing their approach. It always surprises me how many people don’t follow these tried & true methods.
If you literally just did these 5 things, you’d reach your desired level of fluency.
Method 1: Active Listening
Find any video at your level (not too hard, not too easy) in the language you are learning. Turn the subtitles on and watch the video. Pause to look up words and phrases you don’t know.
Method 2: Passive Listening
Find a video or podcast at your level and listen to it in the background. No need to pause or look up words. Just listen carefully and try to understand whatever you can.
Method 3: Daily Habit
The third is not a specific strategy, but a habit. Just make sure you study for 15-30 minutes a day. Obviously you can do more if you want, but 15-30 minutes a day goes a long way. I mean, I personally am spending 30 minutes a day now. That’s it.
Method 4: Conversation Practice
This can be done by using self-talk prompts to do at home or, even better, with a native speaker. Even just two 30-minute sessions a month is great. Hire a tutor if you don’t know any native speakers. Twice a month for 30-minutes is typically really affordable.
Method 5: Use a Workbook
Grab a workbook and work through it. As a general rule of thumb: no more than 2 days a week on grammar study. It’s not necessarily bad to do more (or frankly less; I don’t use workbooks much myself), but I know it helps people to provide a basic guideline. Of all 5 methods mentioned, this is one you can either do or not. Depends on you I suppose.
Bonus: Take Classes
This is optional, but I know it provides needed structure for some. Just remember that classes alone rarely lead all the way to one’s desired level of fluency.
Thanks for reading! See you in the next Guiding You to Fluency instalment.
Azren
Calgary Language Nerds owner
https://azrenthelanguagenerd.com