How to start learning a new language
For newbies
Recap
This is the second instalment in my pilot project, Guiding You to Fluency. In it, I provide clear step-by-step instructions to go from zero all the way to whatever fluency goals you may have. The Guiding You to Fluency project is nested inside a bigger vision to help 100,000 people per year reach their fluency goals.
Last time…
I shared advice on how to pick a language to learn. If you did not read it, you may do so here. Without further ado, let’s get into today’s blog post.
How to start
After you choose a language you want to learn, how do you get started? Should you download an app? Sign up for classes? Something else entirely? There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong answer to this. I can, however, tell you the kind of conversation I tend to have with people to figure out an ideal approach.
First of all…
In a 1-1 environment I ask any previous experiences with learning a language the person has had. What I’m looking for is how they felt about any attempts they made in the past. For example, today I spoke with someone who hated group classes she took a few years ago. That indicates to me that a group class is likely best to avoid.
General rule of thumb: do what worked in the past.
And, of course, avoid what didn’t. Now, frequently absolute beginners have not done anything before to learn a language. In this case, I will go immediately to their fluency goals. A detailed understanding of one’s goals, whether it be simply to have fun or pass an exam by a certain deadline, heavily influences how to best proceed.
A detailed understanding of goals
A great place to start is with a general idea of what your goal is. Common”general” goals are:
I want to be conversational
I want to feel comfortable
I want to be able to get by
I want to be fully fluent
I want to express myself more naturally
I want to just have fun and enjoy the journey
Once we have a general goal…
It’s important to boil it down a little bit further and make it more specific. When really aiming for personal satisfaction that you successfully reached your fluency goal, going a little deeper helps.
Let’s say someone wants to be conversational.
I may narrow things down further by asking questions such as:
How would you know you are conversational?
What does conversational mean to you?
Once I have a clearer idea of what someone’s finish line looks like, the fun begins: charting a course to fluency. That’s what we’ll get into next time 😊
Your next steps
Choose a general goal (e.g., become conversational, reach full fluency, get a grasp of the basics, etc). Next, write out how you would know you have achieved that goal.
Step 2 is often better done with professional guidance, unless someone is truly very introspective. If you want additional assistance, book a slot in my calendar here.