Five Easy Tips To Learn a Foreign Language

A short blog today, but one packed to the brim with value.

It outlines five actionable steps for you to implement in your own language learning.

You can use the following five tips to learn another language at little to no cost:.

Ready?

Read on. 

1) Change phone settings to the target language

These subtle adjustments will subliminally help.

My iPhone 'Reminders' are now 'Recordatorios'.

If you've ever received an email from me sent from my phone, it finishes 'Enviado desde mi iPhone'.

Go figure.

2) Download news apps in the target language

And then scan them when you want to look for the news.

Read for the gist of the article, not word for word.

Read articles and watch videos that interest you, as you will be more motivated to do so, pay greater attention, and derive deeper linguistic understanding. 

3) Listen to podcasts in the target language

Aside from self-development, podcasts can be very handy as short little bursts of a foreign language in our ears.

You can listen to them while you commute, work out, cook, clean, drive, whenever.

Research the best ones for the language you wish, and experiment as to what best suits your skill level and interests.

For Spanish, I love the Duolingo podcasts, as well as the 'Unlimited Spanish Podcast', but there are tonnes for pretty much every language.

Olly Richards' 'I Will Teach You A Language' podcast is also worth a mention, more for language learning principles.

4) Label household items in the target language

As I raise my head right now, above my desk I can see 'la estanteria' written in my scrawly handwriting on a label stuck on my bookshelves.

By repeatedly seeing these labels every time you open your cupboard (la alacena), eat at your table (la mesa), or crash on your bed (la cama), you will over time learn a range of highly useful vocab. 

Heads up - foreign language household labelling is also a good test of the patience of your family, partner, or housemates...

5) Read books in the target language

I don't mean a seven-hundred page translation of Dickens.

Keep it simple.

Read children's books, or books you've already read in English (so you already know the gist of them - reading all seven Harry Potter novels in Spanish was an excellent test for me). 

It's all about immersion.

Immerse and submerge your brain in the language you want to learn.

So there you go. Five simple but highly effective language learning tips. 

Want to know why you should put them into action? 

Read this article outlining the numerous benefits of foreign language learning.