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Learning a new language expands your thinking, helps you make connections in your community, and provides new career opportunities. But learning a new language takes time and dedication, especially if you choose a language you’ve never spoken before.
So how do you learn a new language quickly? Is it possible to learn a language fast when you’re working full-time or when you’re in school studying another subject?
Follow these tips on how to learn a language fast and effectively—and how to have fun doing it!
Understand the structure of your first language
While learning a new language may not be the same for everyone, the universal first step is to make sure you know how your native language works. Understanding vocabulary and grammar patterns in your own language makes it much easier to understand a new one.
For example, if English is your first language, you should know:
- different verb tenses (past, present, and future, in simple, perfect, progressive, and perfect progressive tenses)
- the importance of word order in a sentence (Subject-Verb-Object)
- how to add prefixes and suffixes to Greek and Latin roots to change a word’s meaning
- phonetic basics, including long and short vowel sounds, double consonants, and silent letters
When you learn your new language, you can compare the way word meaning and sentence structure work between it and your native language. Consider taking a grammar refresher class to shore up your grammar knowledge.
Study the basics of your new language
Take some time to learn about the basics of a new language, either by doing your own research or by beginning Rosetta Stone Live Lessons. Depending on the language you’re learning, these concepts may be helpful to know beforehand:
- cognates: words that are nearly the same in two languages, such as “animals” in English and animales in Spanish
- loanwords: words that were borrowed by one language from another, such as “pizza” in English from Italian pizza
- conjugation: the way a language changes its verb structure to demonstrate in which time period the action is happening
- alphabet differences: whether or not you’ll need to learn a new alphabet to read and write in your new language
In addition, you should research the culture of the areas where your new language is spoken, particularly if that culture impacts the language. For example, Japanese and Korean have levels of formality built into their grammatical structure based on the person you’re speaking to.
Use different methods to memorize key words and phrases
Do you learn best through memorization? You’re not alone. Memorizing key words and phrases can shorten how long it takes to learn a new language. Some proven memorization techniques include:
- writing words and phrases on sticky notes and placing them around your home, so you see them all the time
- creating mnemonic devices (patterns or techniques to remember something)
- using flashcards or learning apps to review common words
- listening to kids’ music in your new language to put new words into context
Think of this process as if you were “collecting” words, and use them often in the beginning stages of your lessons. Once you start your collection, you’ll be surprised how quickly it grows!
Make learning a part of your everyday routine
You may have heard that it’s easier to learn a new language when you’re a child. While children do acquire language sounds more easily than adults, there’s no best age to learn a new language as long as you stay consistent in your lessons.
Keep up with your language study by:
- sharpening your study skills, including self-reflection and notetaking
- making language practice part of your daily routine
- avoiding multitasking when you’re working on your new language
Tools like the Rosetta Stone App make it easy to stay on top of daily practice. Mini-lessons, feedback from a speech recognition engine, and an on-the-go phrasebook are helpful ways to integrate language studies into every part of your day, even if you only have a few minutes at a time.
Learn with a friend
Some people like to learn a language by themselves, and some people do better when they’ve got a learning partner. If you’re ready to learn a new language, find a friend who’d like to learn with you—or someone who already knows a bit of the language you’re learning.
Once you’ve started your journey together, learning with a friend can help with:
- one-on-one study sessions when you get together
- quizzing each other on vocabulary or important phrases
- conversational skills that improve as you learn more
For even better results, get a whole group involved with your learning! Involve your family in group lessons or inspire your friend group to learn a new language, too.
Immerse yourself in the language
One of the top tips for how to learn a language fast is language immersion. When you immerse yourself in a language, you use that language to understand the world around you. Common ways to begin language immersion include:
- consuming media in your new language, including movies, music, and television
- shopping at grocery stores that sell foods from cultures that speak your language
- vacationing or living in an area where most people speak the new language
- having conversations with native speakers
Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method operates off this idea of immersive learning. You’ll get twice the instruction in half the time!
Hire a tutor to help with the most difficult parts
Some language learners benefit from one-on-one tutoring. If you’re able to find an expert in your new language who can give you a few pointers, schedule some time with them. You can also:
- use Rosetta Stone language tutoring program to address individual learning needs and styles
- visit your local university or community college and find a listing for language tutoring services
- use Rosetta Stone’s TruAccent speech recognition engine to ensure that you’re using the correct dialect, even before you speak to a tutor
If you’re using a specific curriculum, try to find a tutor who understands how the lessons connect to each other. That way, you’re learning in a progressive manner rather than jumping to different language skills.
Overcome the plateau
At some point, you may hit a plateau where your development slows or stops. The plateau can come because lessons have slowed down or daily practice has become weekly practice, or because you’ve become conversationally proficient but not yet fluent.
Push past this moment and reach language fluency by:
- trying something new, such as a more advanced language class or taking a trip to a country that speaks the language
- having more conversations with fellow students or native speakers
- implementing an everyday study routine with more challenging words and phrases
The language plateau is frustrating, but you can move past it with a push of effort. If all else fails, go back to basics and remind yourself why you wanted to learn this language in the first place.
Enjoy yourself
Learning a language feels like work if you’re not enjoying yourself. Make your practice fun, so you’ll want to keep studying! A few ideas to keep your journey engaging could be:
- watching your favorite movies with your new language in subtitles
- listening to music in the new language
- reading comic books or children’s books
- taking a trip to a country that speaks your new language
- tracking your progress with recordings or improved quiz scores
A learning journey shouldn’t feel like an extra chore throughout the day. Look forward to knowing your new language better tomorrow—and even better the day after that.
How to learn a language is up to you
The best way to learn a new language is the way that works for you. Whether that’s working alone, studying with a friend, or moving to a new country. How you learn a new language effectively is up to you and your preferences.
Ready to begin? Find out how Rosetta Stone works and how our versatile learning tools meet every learner where they are. Then lean into the process and feel proud of yourself every step of the way!