Did you study a foreign language in school? Spanish, French, Italian? Did you enjoy yourself? Or was it an experience that you’d rather forget?
You have to answer these last two questions honestly because they reveal a lot about how you will do the second time around.
There are many people who can’t learn a foreign language in a classroom. I was one of them. I studied French in high school, dropped it in college and then decided to study Spanish once I graduated. No formal teaching, no homework assignments, no calls home for bad grades.
Now I’m a Spanish teacher, married to a Spaniard and raising our children bilingually. And it all happened outside the class.
If you’re one of these people and have no desire to return to the classroom, then you have to make the most of your studies on your own.
It’s not easy at first. Studying a foreign language requires discipline and an awareness of important tips and tricks that can reduce the frustration and disappointment.
Here are three that are at the top of my list:
1) Understand how to learn – This may seem like a simple point but it’s worth its wait in gold. Understand that things take time. Patience is probably more valuable than your conjugations.
Too many people quit studying foreign languages after becoming discouraged with their progress. If you feel that you should progress everyday, you’re mistaken. If you feel you should make great strides each week, you’re mistaken.
You will learn slowly but surely at first and then there will come a point when you’re learning will accelerate. No one knows when. Just be patient and know that good things are happening in the depths of your brain.
2) A little studying each day is better than a lot of studying for a few days. – This is self-explanatory. You are much better off putting in 5 minutes a day when you really don’t feel like it than waiting a week and then studying for 2 hours.
The 5 minutes everyday can be anything you like. You could listen to a song in the foreign language, read the comics in the language, learn curse words in the language. As long as you’re connecting with the language in some way, you will benefit.
3) Find many ways to study. – By this I mean, listening one day, reading another, and so on. The trick to studying a foreign language on your own is to have many ways to both learn and entertain yourself. This way, you’ll always have at least one thing you can do each day to keep your momentum going.
If you know your learning style then do the majority of your learning using that style. After all, it’s the one that comes naturally to you.
In closing, knowing how to study a foreign language on your own is the most difficult part of the adventure. Discipline and desire are needed throughout. If you think you have what it takes, get to it. I did and I’m as fluent as can be. And loving it!
Posts Tagged ‘learning!’
3 Tips For Learning A Foreign Language At Home
January 5th, 2010Spanish Learning Software – Quick Review! Learn How You Can Easily Study Another Language
January 5th, 2010Spanish learning software is one of the new ’self-teaching’ language learning courses, which is based on advanced interactive technology. Spanish is considered as one of the most spoken languages on the planet, what naturally attracts many people to speak and understand it. Searching for new ideas that will help you to learn Spanish quickly and easily? Read this article.
Spanish learning software is considered as one of the most effective Spanish learning methods. What is the reason for the growing popularity of this technology? It is mainly about teaching Spanish interactively by using advanced multimedia lesson plans.
When we examine the different educational methods used by this technology we can find that it provides the following: correct pronunciation practice, multimedia based lesson plans, and audio lessons.
Let’s quickly summarize the main advantages and benefits:
- Learning Spanish enables you to communicate with over 400 million people worldwide.
- Designed to be easy for both children and adults.
- Good solution for busy people who don’t have time for evening courses.
There are probably many other benefits provided by these computer-based programs, simply because many important countries use Spanish as their main language.
Spanish is considered quit easy to learn and thanks to these tools, learning Spanish becomes easier than ever, offering us an opportunity to learn one of the most spoken languages on the planet.
Spanish learning software solutions are especially effective for those who look for fast language learning methods. In our dynamic world, where almost 400 million people speak Spanish, it is undoubtedly important for us to learn and understand this language, the people who speak it, and their culture.
Spanish Language Software – Learning a Language Interactively! Quick Guide on How You Can Easily Learn Another Langauge
January 4th, 2010Spanish language software isn’t just about acquiring a new language, but a great opportunity to learn about other cultures. Spanish is becoming more and more important with regards to business as well as traveling. Read the following article in order to learn more about how you can easily learn Spanish.
Introduction
Spanish language software is a great Spanish teaching tool for anyone, especially because it enables you to hear how to pronounce words and entire sentences correctly. Memorizing images and voices is significantly easier and effective than trying to memorize text, which is why this Spanish learning technology makes an intensive use of interactive multimedia.
Fast Spanish learning techniques are included in most of today’s computer-based Spanish courses: fast interactive multimedia lessons, audio lessons, and native Spanish narration.
Quick benefits and advantages
This Spanish learning technology provides several important advantages we should be aware of:
- Enables us to learn Spanish practically anywhere: at home, while on the road, etc.
- Fun & enjoyable language learning method.
- Most of these solutions provide auto progress-tracking on our improvement.
We could easily find many other advantages provided by these computer-based programs, simply because Spanish became as one of top-four most spoken languages.
Among European languages Spanish language is considered quite easy and thanks to these solutions, learning process is simplified, providing us an opportunity to easily acquire this popular and beautiful language.
Conclusion
Spanish language software is a new technology that can undoubtedly help most us acquire basic-intermediate Spanish speaking skills. Language teaching technology is considered quite complex to develop – that explains why there aren’t so many professional solutions available.
