Knowing how to learn a language on your own opens you up to new opportunities when you travel. When you speak the native language, it demystifies communication and helps you navigate with ease. Plus, it deepens communication and understanding. So what’s the easiest way to learn a new language? We share 4 easy methods, below.
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CONTENTS: In this article, you will learn 4 different ways to learn a new language with ease, including:
- Is it Hard to Learn a New Language?
- Why Learn a New Language?
- How Long Will it Take to Learn a New Language?
- Common Phrases You Should Know in Every Language
- How to Learn a New Language on Your Own – 4 Ways
- Invest in Classroom Learning
- Use Online Resources
- Learning Through Podcasts and Audiobooks
- The Best Language Learning Apps
- Final Thoughts on Learning a Language
Now then, let’s get into the details about the best way to start learning a new language.
Is it Hard to Learn a New Language?
It is not hard to learn a new language, provided you have the right resources, motivation, and commitment to learning. Moreover, taking an IQ test can be a fantastic way to gauge your linguistic proficiency and cognitive abilities.
In fact, learning a new language is something many people want to do at some point in their life.
For some, it begins while we are children or studying abroad.
Still others start learning a new language as adults — or even later in life as they prepare to start a new life abroad.
Unfortunately for adults, learning a foreign language is easier when we are children. This is because the brain has higher plasticity, which makes it easier to assimilate new information.
But no one says that when you are an adult, you can’t learn something new. As they say, better late than never.
Why Learn a New Language?
The motivation and reasons for learning a new language varies. You’ll find there are many good reasons to learn a new language, in addition to those already mentioned. For instance:
- You might want to travel from Barcelona to Madrid by car, so being able to speak with the locals from areas that are not so touristy could be an essential skill.
- You have always wanted to learn a new language because you miss travel and have more time on your hands at home.
- If you’re just bored, learning langauge skills is a great new hobby.
- As a student abroad, you wouldn’t need to pay to write an essay in another language.
- You may even be trying to keep your mind “sharp” by learning new things.
Learning a foreign language is a great fit for all of these reasons!
Whatever your reason happens to be, it is fundamental to your entire learning process.
That’s because learning a new language is easier when fueled by your enthusiasm and motivation to begin something new.
When things get complicated, you might even want to give up.
That’s exactly the time to remind yourself why you want to learn a new language, and how great you will feel to have mastered it!
Speaking of time…
How Long Does it Take To Learn a New Language?
If you invest at least one hour a day learning a new language, it will take you from six months to two years to achieve basic fluency.
But other factors come into play when you want to learn a language on your own.
It also depends on how important it is to you to learn a new language, and how much time you have to invest in this pursuit.
It can be easier when you choose one of the 4 methods below to learn a new language.
In the end, how long it will take you to attain basic fluency in any language you decide to learn depends on you. You need to factor in your motivation and commitment to doing this – because that way, you can learn faster.
Before we talk about the 4 best methods to learn a new language, let’s review the bare minimums that are good to know.
Common Phrases You Should Know in Every Language
If you don’t have time to become fluent, these essential phrases will help with your basic communication whenever you travel. These some common phrases come in helpful in any situation:
- “Hello.”
- “Good Morning.”
- “Good Night.”
- “My name is…”
- “How are you?”
- “Help!”
- “Excuse me.”
- “I’m sorry.”
- “Which way is…”
- “How far is it?”
- “Where is the bathroom?”
- “How much is it?”
- “May I have…”
- “Please.”
- “Thank you.”
- “Yes.”
- “No.”
- “I don’t understand.”
- “Do you speak English?”
- “Good bye.”
You can easily find all of these online in most languages, which allows you to plan your learning process at your convenience. You can even make your own flashcards to practice, so these important phrases roll off your tongue with ease.
Now, assuming you want to speak a language more thoroughly, what are the 4 different methods that make it easy learn a language on your own?
Here they are.
How to Learn A New Language on Your Own – 4 Easy Ways
There are many ways you can learn a new language. Here are the four we recommend.
1. Take a Language Class to Learn A New Language
As learning a new language is a common long-term goal for many children, adolescents, adults, and elders, you’ll find many classes in which to enroll. Most of them are widely available online, and you can take them at your own pace.
However, you might also consider face-to-face courses where you learn a foreign language with a teacher. This might not seem like you’re learning a language “on your own,” but trust me, you will be doing a lot of work outside the classroom. By and large, you will be learning a new language on your own, but with teacher support.
Both online and in-person classroom learning options help you learn a new language because the teachers are either native speakers, or proficient language speakers.
So you can rest assured that the sources of your information are accurate and experienced.
This is also an especially nice option to go with if you struggle with finding your motivation to continue learning a new language.
Taking a class will force you to reserve some weekly time dedicated to learn a new language, take part in classes, or do homework and practice new words. Accountability works wonders for some people.
These classes can sometimes be expensive, so make sure you do thorough research and choose the best option for you.
If you are short on cash during these times, you’ll find some more affordable and free options, below.
2. Tapping Online Resources for Language Learning
The world has recently shifted so that many businesses and companies have become online businesses.
The good news is that now more than ever, you can find a wide variety of online resources for learning a new language. Moreover, the majority of these resources are created by high authority sources in this domain.
In addition to taking courses online, here are some favorite online language resources.
BBC Languages
You can access BBC Languages for free and get insight into how to learn a new language, as well as which language you should choose.
On top of this, their website is full of resources that help you learn the basics.
For example, when you travel to another country, you may want to know more than how to greet people, to ask where the toilet is, or understand the menu. To truly understand and experience a culture, language is key.
Google Translate
Another helpful and free online language tool is Google Translate. You simply type in the phrase in your native language and indicate the language into which you’d like it translated. Bonus: You can even click the little microphone to hear it pronounced correctly.
Even if you don’t learn all the words and phrases you’d hoped, this is a good tool to have on hand for a quick lookup when you’re traveling to bridge any communication gaps.
3. Listening to Podcasts or Audiotapes
One of the easiest ways to learn a new language on your own is by listening to it. A good example are children who live in a multilingual family. But you can learn this way, too!
In the beginning, it may be difficult to understand and grasp the subtle meaning some speakers might try to convey.
But as you listen more, you will learn more words.
Of course, only listening to podcasts or audiotapes in the language you are learning now is not enough. You also need to practice the writing and speaking parts of it.
But audiotapes can help you exercise the listening part, making you able to understand what you hear. They will also help you recognize errors in your own pronunciation.
Plus, resources like podcasts and autotapes are so convenient. You can listen while you are:
- In the car
- On a walk or jog
- En route to a destination
- Washing the dishes
- Or, whenever you have some downtime to listen.
It may not seem much, but in fact, it is.
While you might not be able to write an essay after you listen to a podcast, you will expand your vocabulary for sure.
Besides audiotapes and podcasts, listening to music or watching movies in a foreign language will also help you learn more words by this kind of language immersion.
4. Use Language Learning Apps
As technology is continuously developing, it creates new opportunities for learners.
And learning a new language is becoming easier, more user-friendly, and faster than ever with the apps now available on the market.
The most popular and well-known app is Duolingo, which has a very intuitive interface.
Moreover, it has exercises that put your speaking, writing, listening, and grammar to the test.
You can even simulate a texting conversation in your language of choice. In some exercises, you speak into the app and it even checks your pronunciation! It’s almost like having a tiny language tutor.
With Duolingo, you will learn a new language step by step. The complexity of the lessons increases as you learn more grammar rules and vocabulary.
You can download Duolingo as a mobile app or to your desktop for free. Choose from 19 distinct languages, and then all you need is to gather your motivation and install the app.
And if you want to make learning even easier, it’s worth paying a small fee for Duoling’s premium package. Duolingo Plus provides:
- An ad-free experience
- The ability to download lessons for offline use
- Additional mastery quizzes
- Progress tracking
- And more.
If you want to learn a language fast and you think Duolingo Plus might be for you, click here to download the free app and then you can upgrade later.
Final Thoughts on Learning a New Language
Now you know these four great ways you can learn a new language on your own. Remember, to learn a new language, you need to find and channel your motivation, determination, and perseverance towards achieving this goal.
And if you find sometimes you do not feel like it – what you need to do is keep going. With daily practice, one day – Voila! You’re speaking fluently!
Author Bio
Eliza Sadler is a professional journalist who also works as a freelancer at bestessay.com. She loves to create original works that meet high standards.