Learning a language is fun, boring, interesting, frustrating, and more. Many people say that learning a language never ends. Unfortunately, I fully agree with that statement. I still learn things about my native language all the time!
But who wants to start working on something that you will never finish? Well, it seems like millions and millions of people.
The free language learning app DuoLingo has been downloaded more than 600 million times. There are about 400 million people on the app for English language learning.
So when you are frustrated or bored with learning a new language, think about those millions of other people who are also trying hard. Youâre not alone!
Before diving into the specifics of how to learn a new language, it’s important to first understand your motivations for wanting to learn. Letâs take a look.
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Motivation
Letâs start with a major point. Why do you want to learn a language? And we need to think deeply about this because often the common reasons arenât big enough motivators.
There are a few basic categories of motivation. Letâs call them need, want, and hope.
Need
The most basic is ‘need‘. My company is sending me to a foreign country for work. Nobody there speaks my language. âI need to learn it!â
You need food, you need money, you need to work, you need to share basic information to survive.
âNeedâ is usually the strongest form of motivation. Do you need to learn English?
Want
âWantâ can be connected to strong emotions, too. You want to impress your family, friends, or coworkers. Or, maybe something simpler, like you want to fit in with others. You want people to see that youâre intelligent or successful.
Your ‘want’ to learn English can be motivated by negative emotions, too. âI donât want people to think Iâm stupid,â or âI donât want to disappoint my parents.â
Hope
‘Hope’ is more for long-term or less serious goals. âI hope to meet a partner in another country.â âI hope learning a language gets me a promotion.â
When youâre thinking about your motivation, try to be specific. Is learning a language just a hobby, or is it something more serious? Do you need it, want it, or just hope to use it?
How Long Does It Really Take to Learn a New Language?
As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, some people argue that you never finish learning a language. Thatâs the opposite of motivating!
I hope I donât hurt your will to learn, but it usually takes a very, very long time to learn a language. Think about children, it takes many years for them to start speaking intelligently.
It might not be until they are teenagers that you can talk to them about technical things, or they can lead discussions confidently. More than 10 years!
There are many statistics and research papers that explain how many hours it takes to learn different languages. Ignore all of it! There are too many variables.
What Affects Language Learning?
Some statistics say it takes 750 hours to learn proficient German. Firstly, what does âproficientâ mean? And what does 750 hours mean? Does watching 1 hour of a movie in a foreign language count as studying? How do we decide what “1 hour of language learning” means? Ignore the statistics!
How long it takes to learn a language also depends on your learning methods, your environment, your personality, and your native language.
If you plan to learn a language by only studying vocabulary and reading comics, you will probably need more time than a person who is learning a language through conversation.
A person who is shy or quiet usually needs more time to become fluent than a person who is outgoing.
Think about the environment; someone living in a country surrounded by the language will learn faster than a person who isnât.
As for your mother tongue, if youâre a German speaker, you can probably learn Swedish a lot faster than a Korean person can learn Swedish.
If your first language is Mandarin, you can begin reading and writing Japanese a lot faster than an English speaker can because of the similarity of writing characters.
Consider some of these points when making a study plan for yourself!
How Do I Learn a Language?
Thereâs no one correct way to learn a language. The most important thing is finding a method youâre comfortable with. If you hate looking at flashcards, donât look at flashcards! If you hate doing role plays with a teacher, donât do role plays!
I canât tell you whatâs best for you. However, I can offer you some different things to try.
Contrary to what many âlanguage expertsâ on YouTube say, I think learning a language is about balance. There are a lot of people who say, âjust talk, forget about books and writing.â Well, I promise that youâll learn much faster if you add some reading and writing to your language practice.
If you need English for a test, or a job where you have to write in English, only practicing conversation isn’t the best strategy. It’s best to practice a bit of everything and focus on the skills that are most important to you!
Writing
There are a lot of textbooks available! Especially for the popular languages. I know that doesnât sound exciting, but spend some time in a bookshop and see if there is one that you like. You might be surprised. I was!
Or, try writing a journal about what you did during the day or the week. It would be great if someone could correct it for you. Ask your teacher, friend, speaking partner, or someone online!
If you want to write something more serious, try answering the discussion questions that are in some of the simple news articles on my site. You can find them after the vocabulary and quiz sections.
Some people write a short diary or answer a question on Twitter and followers will correct the mistakes. A Tweet isnât so long, right?! You can find time for that. For English learners, try adding #twinglish or #learnEnglish so people can find you.
You can also write something and post it on iTalki. The community there will help with corrections.
I share more information about practicing writing in English in another post.
Reading
Again, check out the textbooks in a bookstore. If youâre learning the language of the country you live in, you can look for children’s books or books for teens.
For those with serious English language learning goals, read the news on my site!
You can also look for graded readers. These are popular stories that have been edited for different levels of English.
I have more detailed advice for practicing reading here.
Listening
There is a lot of content on YouTube and Instagram for language learners. For more advanced learners, TED talks on YouTube are popular.
Don’t forget about music or podcasts! It’s important that you enjoy what you’re doing so you can stay motivated.
Check out my post about improving listening skills for more information!
Speaking
Practicing speaking can be difficult if youâre not in a country that uses the language youâre learning. If youâre in a big city, you can look for language exchange groups or a speaking partner. I recommend meetup.com for this.
Another option is signing up for classes. Depending on the instructor and the number of students, speaking time might be minimal. Make sure youâre not wasting your time and money!
Personally, I use iTalki. I meet with my Japanese instructors online. You can find very affordable teachers or speaking partners. Itâs super easy to use. Check out the teachersâ profiles and find one you like!
You can also read my blog post about improving fluency for more ideas.
Is Learning a Language Worth It?
Definitely! Knowing another language can feel like a superpower. Talking to someone in another language is an amazing feeling. Being able to help people in a foreign language, translate something, or accommodate others in a language other than your own is priceless.
Just give yourself time. Language learning is filled with ups and downs. In the first week, youâll learn a lot. In the second week, you might feel like youâve learned nothing. The third month will feel good again. Then, maybe there are a couple of months when it seems impossible. Just keep going!
Good luck!
