According to estimates, about half of the world’s population is bilingual. As of 2023, English remains the most widely spoken worldwide, followed by Chinese Mandarin, Hindi, Spanish, and French.
Whether planning to relocate or visit another country, learning a foreign language can be exciting, but it’s also fraught with challenges. Confusing grammar rules can get in the way of acquiring new vocabulary. Lack of time and opportunities for practicing can dampen your motivation and hinder your progress.
To successfully overcome these common challenges, you must embrace a strategic approach to language learning. Here are some of the easiest methods to sharpen your skills.
Set Realistic Goals
As with any other endeavor, setting Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) goals is crucial in learning a second language. Vaguely describing your objectives makes the learning process less systematic. It’s also harder to measure your progress.
For example, instead of aiming to “learn Japanese,” you can set your goal to “obtain professional working proficiency in the Japanese language by 18 months.” From there, you can target 10 to 15 words every week or discuss a given topic for at least five minutes every month. Keep a notebook or use an app to monitor your progress.
Seek the Right Resources and Help
Some people think that taking courses is enough. In reality, though, language learners need all the help they can get. Utilizing a mix of online and offline resources is necessary, whether an individual has zero knowledge or wants to improve their language skills.
Online Language Apps
Numerous platforms exist to help beginners and intermediate learners. You can use any of them to get started. The key is to start small. For instance, you can start by understanding a few words before moving on to simple greetings and short questions. Once you’ve gained confidence, use language exchange apps that connect you with native speakers.
The good thing about these tools is that you can easily incorporate them into your daily routine. However, for those seeking formal instruction and certification, enrolling in a language school is the best option.
Language Schools
These institutions have experienced teachers offering well-structured and tailored instructions based on your goals. They may be more expensive than downloading apps. Still, they’re guaranteed to help you become more proficient in the shortest possible time. Face-to-face classes also offer more immersive experiences for learners.
Do your homework before choosing a school. Seek referrals from family members and friends or explore Taiyo’s Japanese learning program to choose between group and individual classes. You can also sign up for free online sessions before enrolling.
Find the learning methods that resonate with you. For example, once you get home from your language classes, watch TV shows and videos with subtitles in your target language. Listening to music or podcasts as an auditory learner can have the same impact. Either way, you’ll be surprised how much you can grasp just by following along.
Practice Regularly
Constant practice through speaking and writing with a native speaker is crucial in language learning. Doing so lets you apply what you learned or track your progress. Incorporate the new language into your daily routine using these strategies:
Multitask
Listen to audiobooks, podcasts, and online lessons while doing chores, folding the laundry or exercising at the gym. Spend break times to review new vocabulary. You can also do this before going to sleep. Go for frequent, sporadic sessions rather than intense sessions that can wear you out.
Find Som
eone with Whom You Can Communicate
Besides your language teacher, seek fellow language learners or online communities dedicated to your target language. Otherwise, find someone to whom you can talk or write. Knowing you’re not alone in this journey provides a safe place to practice. Share your ideas freely, don’t be too self-conscious, and be open to corrections.
Cover All Language Skills
Beyond writing and speaking, your language skills also cover reading and listening. Most language learners make the mistake of focusing only on the skills they find useful. However, enhancing your verbal skills means mastering comprehension and contextual cues—which can only be improved if you know how to read and listen. Developing proficiency in these fields is one of the biggest challenges of language learners, so it’s important to practice each skill equally.
While having someone to practice it with is crucial, you can still enhance your skills even if you’re alone. Change your phone’s language settings alongside the accounts you often use to boost your training. Think in your second language by describing what you’re seeing or doing. A Japanese learning English as a second language can imagine traveling to the US and speaking with the locals there. The more training your brain receives, the more comfortable and natural your second language becomes.
Stay Motivated
Acquiring a new skill can sometimes be challenging, especially if it’s as intensive as language learning. Once you lose interest in what you’re doing, it’ll be harder to achieve your goals and easier to give up when issues arise. Here are some tips to keep your spirits high:
Revisit your “Why”
Remind yourself why you embarked on this journey. Is it to travel and explore new cultures? Having a clear purpose will keep you fired up even in challenging times. For example, if you’re planning to seek better employment opportunities abroad, remember that 35% of hiring managers have offered a job, promotion, or raise to employees who can speak another language.
Set Rewards
Review your weekly and monthly objectives to see whether they’re achievable. Set realistic goals, and don’t be too hard on yourself. The 10- to 15-word example we referred to earlier may be too much if you’re trying to learn more complex languages, like Chinese Mandarin or Arabic. So, adjust it according to your capacities. Most importantly, celebrate your wins, no matter how small they may be.
Embrace Mistakes and Learn from Them
Consider yourself as a toddler babbling unintelligibly before learning how to converse flawlessly. Mistakes are inevitable, and you should learn from them. Every slip-up isn’t necessarily a failure but a learning opportunity. Instead of getting discouraged, correct yourself and move on. Focus on the message you’re trying to convey, not achieving grammatical perfection in the beginning.
Wrapping Up
Language learning is a journey—one that gives you reasons to celebrate and get frustrated. However, the rewards are well worth it. Learning a foreign language gives you a sense of empowerment and allows you to see the world through a different lens. So, embrace the challenges, take heed of the tips above, celebrate small wins, and have fun as you become more proficient in your target language.
Members of the Laguna Beach Independent Newspaper (the Indy) were not involved in the creation of this content.
