Insider Tips From Language Experts

Learning a foreign language can be an arduous, time-consuming journey that demands commitment and perseverance – but it can also be loads of fun!

There are numerous misconceptions surrounding language learning that may create unrealistic expectations and cause frustration, according to Mendez Santos. She identified four in particular.

Language success requires being street smart rather than book smart.

1. Get to Know the Culture

Knowing about other cultures helps us become more open-minded and respectful people. Learning about other cultures through reading books or listening to podcasts, attending events or visiting cultural areas such as Little Italy or Chinatown will also increase understanding.

If you are interviewing for a job, ask questions about its culture. For instance, inquire into how much importance collaboration has. This can help determine whether it matches up with your working style and whether this position will enable you to flourish within it.

An essential question when researching companies is to learn their culture regarding work-life balance. This will give you an indication of the degree to which the organization values family time, personal freedom and other aspects that are crucial for you in finding work/life equilibrium.

Doing research about any culture requires more than simply asking about its daily lives, though. You’ll discover much by talking to its residents and asking about favorite dishes, traditions, and details of its lifestyle. Listening to and watching movies from that region’s music and film scenes can also give an invaluable glimpse of its heritage – not forgetting free online resources like podcasts and television shows that provide insight.

2. Get to Know the People

Some people can easily connect with new people; it only takes them 10 minutes of conversation for them to feel as if they know each other for years. Others, however, may struggle with forming deeper connections – becoming stuck on small talk or compiling an endless list of questions for someone they’re getting to know better.

To avoid unsettling conversations and sensitive topics from being broached too early, avoid asking questions that put people on edge or bring up topics they are uncomfortable discussing too soon. If the dialogue goes down an uncomfortable path – for instance stiffened shoulders or crossed arms being held across their body- it may be beneficial to gently steer it back onto lighter topics.

3. Get to Know Yourself

To maximize your language learning experience, it’s essential that you become acquainted with yourself and your capabilities. This means identifying personality traits, interests, values, ways of processing emotions and goals/aspirations. While this process may be lengthy and time-consuming, it will ultimately foster self-awareness and open doors to greater language learning success.

Start by asking yourself some basic questions about who you are, then use your answers to identify your core values – qualities like integrity and honesty, loyalty and respect, creativity or courage. Knowing your core values is critical as they serve as guides when making decisions or taking actions; they may even help when experiencing new situations outside your comfort zone.

Take an honest inventory of your habits as well. If you find that procrastination or falling back into old patterns is something that keeps happening to you, perhaps making changes is necessary. Set a daily agenda and be disciplined about following it – include activities you love into it to make sticking to new routines easier!

Be sure to continue discovering yourself as you get older. Your ideas and beliefs may evolve over time, so take time out to consider any shifts and how they impact your life.

4. Get to Know the Language

Learning a foreign language may benefit you for personal, economic or professional reasons. Being bilingual/multilingual opens doors for greater international communication as well as employment opportunities. Unfortunately, though there are disadvantages associated with studying a new language – including cost and time commitment concerns. Before committing yourself to learning another tongue it’s essential that you fully consider all its potential advantages and disadvantages before making any definitive decisions about learning it.

Without being passionate about language learning, staying motivated may prove challenging. Understanding why you are learning the language will also be critical – otherwise it will quickly become boring and you won’t make progress as quickly.

Another thing to keep in mind when learning a foreign language is your desired vocabulary level. If your goal is to speak widely spoken languages like Mandarin Chinese or Russian, set yourself the goal of being able to have basic conversations and express yourself easily in everyday situations.

One great way to test out a foreign language is watching authentic videos such as movie trailers, music videos and vlogs. FluentU’s library of authentic videos provides an easy way to familiarize yourself with its sounds, words and grammar – click or hover any word to get its definition, usage in sentences and any related clips!