Tips for learning a new language

Tips+for+learning+a+new+language

Learning a new language for the first time can be difficult for a lot of people especially at an older age.  But if learning a new language is something that you truly want to do then know that there are many easy and efficient ways to learn that new language. Here are some of the best tips that I have used to learn English faster and easier for the last four years that I have spent learning America’s English. Just 4 short years ago I didn’t even know what the word ‘what’ even meant, and now I am writing this article for others to find the same successes I have. 

  • Translating App – This is just a simple but effective tip that will probably work for almost everyone. Even still today I use google translate to translate words or conversations that I don’t fully understand from my first language to English. With the translation app or website, you can translate whatever you want from one language to another, it won’t be perfectly accurate, but it does give you a rough idea of what’s been written or said.
  • Definition – Another common thing to do is search up the definition of something you don’t understand. Sometimes when you don’t understand just one word in a sentence, the whole sentence can be hard to understand, so it’s always good to know the definition or meaning of words. And there are many ways to learn definitions of words, it can be through a physical dictionary, internet website, or even a translation website.  There are also many apps for mobile devices. 
  • Ask – Another thing that might seem hard is asking someone either your friends, teachers, or family about what you don’t understand about a certain word, dialect, slang, or even a phrase. I do this a lot to a point that I feel like I’m annoying the people I asked. But it’s always easy to just ask about something you don’t know and they’re most likely will be understanding of your confusion.
  • Watching Video – This is just a thing that I do almost every day. I always watch movies, shows, or any videos as a hobby but I mainly watch videos with subtitles, that way I can read and understand the videos with a bit more clarity and makes the video more educational and entertaining. Not just that but with subtitles you can actually learn more with spelling and reading and when watching videos it feels like you are learning how to pronounce words, read, and spell. 
  • Reading – Reading might sound dull at first, but if you actually read a genre or medium that clicks with you, then you find it quite entertaining and addictive. There are so many things that I enjoy reading, but when it comes to reading a book I just feel sleepy. Instead of book reading, I often go to Webtoon and read, which is a free app filled of Korean manhwa, sometimes Japanese manga, and Western comics that all can be read for free. If you want recommending Webtoon comics, you can view this article for more information. I also read articles about artists I like, food recipes while I’m cooking, and many more interesting things to read. So basically the easy thing you can do to learn is just read it with something that you actually enjoy reading.
  • Enjoy it – I already said this but it is more helpful and easier if you learn a language using things that you enjoy. And with things that you enjoy doing, learning is now easy and it’s more fun that makes you want to learn it more because you like it. If you try to learn while not actually enjoying it or wanting to learn it then it’s not going to help improve or learn anything. So whether you like reading WEBTOON, playing games, watching YouTube or Twitch, or anything else you like, just use all those things to learn English and it’ll be more helpful.      

Again these are just simple common things that I have used that work for me. It is understandable if it doesn’t work for some, but it’s still good for me to just share what I did to improve my skills. The most important thing in learning a language is having the motivation and the will to learn it. If you don’t have the motivation or don’t want to learn then of course you are not gonna learn anything even with the easiest tips. Therefore, it is always great to have the motivation and take your time to learn the language.