Language learning tips
This section contains a collection of advice, suggestions, tips and techniques for learning languages. Most are based on my own experiences, while some come from other people.Many of these tips, perhaps with some minor modifications, also apply to learning others skills, such as music.
Why should I learn a language?
There are many reasons to learn a foreign language, from working in another country to discovering your roots, through intellectual curiosity, romance, travel, and secret communication.Why should I learn a language?
Learning a foreign language takes time and dedication. The reasons below may help to convince you to take the plunge, if such persuasion is needed. Some reasons are practical, some aspirational, some intellectual and others sentimental, but whatever your reasons, having a clear idea of why you're learning a language can help to motivate you in your studies.Kolik jazyků znáš, tolikrát jsi člověkem.
You live a new life for every new language you speak.
If you know only one language, you live only once.
(Czech proverb)
Emigration
When you move to a different country or region, learning the local language will help you to communicate and integrate with the local community. Even if many of the locals speak your language, for example if your L1 is English and you move to the Netherlands, it's still worth your while learning the local language. Doing so will demonstrate your interest in and commitment to the new country.Family and friends
If your partner, in-laws, relatives or friends speak a different language, learning that language will help you to communicate with them. It will also give you a better understanding of their culture and way of thinking.Work
If your work involves regular contact with speakers of foreign languages, being able to talk to them in their own languages will help you to communicate with them. It may also help you to make sales and to negotiate and secure contracts. Knowledge of foreign languages may also increase your chances of finding a new job, getting a promotion or a transfer overseas, or of going on foreign business trips.Many English-speaking business people don't bother to learn other languages because they believe that most of the people they do business with in foreign countries can speak English, and if they don't speak English, interpreters can be used. The lack of foreign language knowledge puts the English speakers at a disadvantage. In meetings, for example, the people on the other side can discuss things amongst themselves in their own language without the English speakers understanding, and using interpreters slows everything down. In any socialising after the meetings, the locals will probably feel more comfortable using their own language rather than English.
Study or research
You may find that information about subjects you're interested in is published mainly in a foreign language. Learning that language will give you access to the material and enable you to communicate with fellow students and researchers in the field.Language is the archives of history.
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Travel
Many English speakers seem to believe that wherever you go on holiday you can get by speaking English, so there's no point in learning any other languages. If people don't understand you all you have to do is speak slowly and turn up the volume. You can more or less get away with this, as long as you stick to popular tourist resorts and hotels where you can usually find someone who speaks English. However, if you want to venture beyond such places, to get to know the locals, to read signs, menus, etc, knowing the local language is necessary.Americans who travel abroad for the first time are often shocked to discover that, despite all the progress that has been made in the last 30 years, many foreign people still speak in foreign languages.A basic ability in a foreign language will help you to 'get by', i.e. to order food and drink, find your way around, buy tickets, etc. If you have a more advanced knowledge of the language, you can have real conversations with the people you meet, which can be very interesting and will add a new dimension to your holiday.
(Dave Barry)
Die Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeuten die Grenzen meiner Welt.
The limits of my language are the limits of my universe.
(Ludwig Wittgenstein)
Studying abroad
If you plan to study at a foreign university, college or school, you'll need a good knowledge of the local language, unless the course you want to study is taught through the medium of your L1. Your institution will probably provide preparatory courses to improve your language skills and continuing support throughout your main course.Secret communication
If you and some of your relatives, friends or colleagues speak a language that few people understand, you can talk freely in public without fear of anyone eavesdropping, and/or you can keep any written material secret. Speakers of such Native American languages as Navajo, Choctaw and Cheyenne served as radio operators, know as Code Talkers, to keep communications secret during both World Wars. Welsh speakers played a similar role during the Bosnian War.Required course
You may be required to study a particular language at school, college or university.Getting in touch with your roots
If your family spoke a particular language in the past you might want to learn it and possibly teach it to your children. It could also be useful if you are research your family tree and some of the documents you find are written in a language foreign to you.Revitalising or reviving your language
If you speak an endangered language, or your parents or grandparents do/did, learning that language and passing it on to your children could help to revitalise or revive it.Culture
Maybe you're interested in the literature, poetry, films, TV programs, music or some other aspect of the culture of people who speak a particular language and want to learn their language in order to gain a better understanding of their culture.Most people in the world are multilingual, and everybody could be; no one is rigorously excluded from another's language community except through lack of time and effort. Different languages protect and nourish the growth of different cultures, where different pathways of human knowledge can be discovered. They certainly make life richer for those who know more than one of them.
(Nicholas Ostler, Empires of the Word)
Religion
Missionaries and other religious types learn languages in order to spread their message. In fact, missionairies have played a major role in documenting languages and devising writing systems for many of them. Others learn the language(s) in which the scriptures/holy books of their religion were originally written to gain a better understanding of them. For example, Christians might learn Hebrew, Aramaic and Biblical Greek; Muslims might learn Classical Arabic, and Buddhists might learn Sanskrit.Food
Perhaps you enjoy the food and/or drink of a particular country or region and make regular trips there, or the recipe books you want to use are only available in a foreign languageLinguistic interest
Maybe you're interested in linguistic aspects of a particular language and decide to learn it in order to understand them better.Challenging yourself
Maybe you enjoy the challenge of learning foreign languages or of learning a particularly difficult language.Sounds/looks good to me
Perhaps you just like the sound of a particular language when it's spoken or sung. Or you find the written form of a language attractive. If you like singing, learning songs in other languages can be interesting, challenging and enjoyable.One language is never enough!
If like me you're a bit of a linguaphile / glossophile / linguaholic or whatever you call someone who is fascinated by languages and enjoys learning them, then one language is never enough.If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.
If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.
(Nelson Mandela)
Which language should I learn?
If you're not sure which language to study, here are some factors to consider:Availability
Are materials and other resources available for the language you want to learn? Are there classes in your area? For the popular languages, like French, Spanish and German, this shouldn't be a issue, but it may be difficult to find resources and/or classes for the lesser-studied languages.Usefulness
If you want to learn a language with a large number of speakers and which is spoken in many countries, the ones to choose in order of 'usefulness' are: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), German, Japanese, Portuguese and Hindi/Urdu.This list is based on the number of speakers, the number and population of countries where the languages are spoken, the number of major fields using the languages internationally, the economic power of countries using the languages, and their socio-literary prestige.
For a breakdown of these factors see:
http://www2.ignatius.edu/faculty/turner/languages.htm
The languages with the most speakers are:
- Mandarin Chinese (720 million)
- English (480 million)
- Spanish (320 million)
- Russian (285 million)
- French (265 million)
- Hindi/Urdu (250 million)
- Indonesian/Malay (230 million)
- Arabic (221 million)
- Portuguese (188 million)
- Bengali (185 million)
- Japanese (133 million)
- German (109 million)
Spanish is the most widely spoken language in the USA after English, with around 28 million speakers. The third most spoken language is Chinese - mainly Cantonese, with over 2 million speakers. Other languages with over a million speakers include French, German, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Italian.
For more details see: http://www.mla.org
Here's an illustration showing where the most spoken languages are spoken.
See a larger version of this image at:
http://www.pstranslation.co.uk/infog_languages.html
Difficulty
Each language presents you with a different set of challenges. Some languages have numerous verb conjugations, noun declensions and/or genders. Others might have irregular spelling systems, a variety of plural forms and/or uncommon phonemes or combinations of phonemes. Generally the more a language differs from your L1 or other languages you know, the harder it is to learn.For English speakers the least difficult languages are probably: Italian, Spanish, French, Dutch, Afrikaans, German, Portuguese, Romanian, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish.
The most difficult languages for English speakers, and indeed speakers of most other languages, are Arabic, Korean, Japanese and Chinese.
Language Learning Difficulty for English speakers
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Language_Learning_Difficulty_for_English_Speakers
Languages in demand by employers
If you want to learn a language in order to improve your employment/promotion prospects then choose one that is in demand by employers. The list below gives you an idea of which languages are in demand and is based on job ads posted on recruitment sites. You can find links to the recruitment sites on the Careers using languages page.Note: languages are shown more or less in order of popularity with employers.
Africa
English, French, Swahili, Arabic, PortugueseAmericas
English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, JapaneseAsia-Pacific
English, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Malay/Indonesian, Spanish, PortugueseWestern Europe
English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Finnish, Greek, Welsh, Russian, Japanese, Mandarin, Arabic
Books on how to learn languages
Language courses, dictionaries, etc.
Links
MLA Language Map Data Center - information based on census data about which languages are spoken in the USA: http://www.mla.org/map_data10 Best Languages to Learn Right Now (i.e. in 2010 in the USA)
http://www.toponlinecolleges.com/blog/2010/10-best-languages-to-learn-right-now/
BBC Voices - details of the languages spoken in the UK, with numbers of speakers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/multilingual/
What materials and tools do I need to study a language?
Possibly the most useful tools there are for learning a language are writing implements, such as pens and pencils, and something to write on, such as paper or a notebook. You can use them not only to make notes and lists of vocabulary, phrases, etc, but also to practise writing in your L2.The range of other materials and tools available to help you with your language studies is huge. From language courses and dictionaries, to mp3 players and portable translators. All of them can help you in different ways, and your language learning goals will determine, to some extent, which ones are most useful to you.
Below is a guide to the types of some of the language learning materials and tools currently available.
Language courses | Dictionaries | Grammars | Phrasebooks | Flash cards | Audio books | Recording devices | Sound editors | Electronic translators
Language courses
Language courses come in a variety of guises, including traditional ones, all audio ones, CD-ROMs and online ones.Traditional courses
The traditional ones tend to consist of textbooks containing dialogues, exercises, notes on grammar, and maybe cultural information. Accompanying cassettes, CDs and/or mp3s are often available.Most such courses are intended for complete beginners or people with only minimal knowledge of the language. Intermediate and advanced-level courses are available for some of the more popular languages, such as French, German, Italian and Spanish.
Examples of this type of course include:
- Linguaphone
- available for 100 languages and include all audio courses, explorer courses for those who just want to learn the basics, and in-depth courses for more serious students.
- Teach Yourself
All audio courses
This type of course usually consists solely of cassettes or CDs, though some may also include a limited amount of printed material. All dialogues, exercises, instructions and explanations are recorded and the focus of these courses is teaching you to understand and speak the language.Examples of this type of course include:
- Pimsleur language courses - the best-known audio courses. They are very good at teaching you authentic pronunciation and a manageable amount of vocabulary. They also give you a good feel for the language you're learning. The Level 1 courses are suitable for complete beginners. More advanced courses are available for some languages.
Computer-aided learning
Various language courses are available on CD-ROMs and DVDs. Each course is different but they generally include dialogues, audio, exercises and tests. Some also include phrasebooks, dictionaries, videos, games and provide online and/or telephone support.Examples of these courses include:
- Teach Me! - include CD-Rom with vocabularly and grammar exercises, a series of graded stories and a talking dictionary. An accompanying booklet contains the text of all the stories, and an audio CD includes the vocabulary and the stories. Available for over 40 languages, including Bavarian, Breton, Cornish, Manx, Occitan, Quechua and Romansh.
- Transparent Language
- a range of language courses for many different languages. Their site also includes useful phrases, games, cultural information, articles, quizzes and proficiency tests.
- A selection of multi-language courses
The Bilingualizer
The Bilingualize helps language students read and enjoy texts written in their original language. It ads a discrete word-by-word translation under the original text for the comfort of the student: a great help to build up your vocabulary while reading what you like!Online courses
There are online language courses and lessons for just about every language you can think of. Many are free, while others require a one-off payment or a regular subscription.There is considerable variation in the quality and quantity of the material available in each online course. Some of the free courses are excellent, while others are perhaps somewhat lacking in organisation and/or accuracy.
Links to online courses for many languages
Dictionaries
Dictionaries come in a number of formats including bilingual, monolingual, illustrated, electronic and online. Bilingual dictionaries are perhaps the most useful ones for beginners and intermediate learners, while monolingual dictionaries, which are designed for native speakers, are also useful for advanced learners.Pocket dictionaries are good for quick reference and easy to carry around. Larger dictionaries are better if you want more definitions, examples of usage, and information about pronunciation, grammar and possibly etymology.
Electronic dictionaries are available as handheld units, or as software. Handheld ones are portable, easy and quick to search, and often provide other functions, such as, text-to-speech, voice recognition and speech synthesis organisers, address books. They tend to be rather expensive though. Software dictionaries offer many of the same functions, and can be used on computers, PDAs and mobile phones.
More information about electronic dictionaries
Dictionaries for many languages are available from: Amazon.com
,
Amazon.co.uk
and
Amazon.fr
Online dictionaries range from simple lists of words, to sophisticated bilingual and multilingual dictionaries.
Links to online dictionaries for many languages
Grammars
Grammars are useful reference tools and provide detailed information about grammar and usage. Some include exercises to help you practise the various aspects of grammar. Some language learners like to know exactly how the grammar of their L2 works and find grammars very useful. Others prefer to absorb the grammar through immersion without studying it formally.Grammars for many languages are available from: Amazon.com
,
Amazon.co.uk and
Amazon.fr
Phrasebooks
When visiting foreign parts, a phrasebook can come in very handy. Phrasebooks that come with recordings of phrases are particularly useful, as working out how to pronounce them from the written pronunciation hints is not easy.Phrasebooks for many languages are available from: Amazon.com
,
Amazon.co.uk and
Amazon.fr
Flash cards
Flash cards are a useful tool for learning vocabulary and grammar, if you look at them regularly. I found them particularly useful when learning Chinese characters. They might have a character, word, phrase or sentence on one side, and a translation, definition and/or notes on the other side. You can make them yourself, buy readymade sets of cards, or use flash card programs such as Anki, Mnemosyne and Supermemo.Flash card programs are available from:
http://ichi2.net/anki/
http://mnemosyne-proj.sourceforge.net/
http://www.supermemo.com/
http://www.flashcardexchange.com
Audio books
Listening to audio books in a language you're learning is a great way to improve your listening comprehension and vocabulary. If you can read printed versions of the books at the same time, even better. You could also use foreign audio books to learn a new skill or to learn about a subject that interests you through the medium of your L2.Listen to more than 25,000 audio books programs. Choose from popular and informative categories. Join now and receive free MP3 player.
Recording devices
A recording device of some kind is a very useful tool to the language learner. You can use it to record conversations, radio programmes, songs, classes and lectures. Such recordings can help you to improve your listening comprehension. You can also make recordings of your own attempts to speak your L2, analysis of which can help you to improve your pronunciation and intonation. They also provide a snapshot of your speaking abilities, which you could use a later date to assess how much progress you've made.Recording devices come in the form of tape recorders, mini-disc recorders, mp3 players with voice recording facilities, and dictation machines. The most convenient are those which can be connected to your computer so that you can transfer the recordings, edit them and/or copy them to another device.
Some recorders require an external microphone, another useful tool for language learners, while others have built-in microphones. The quality of recordings is generally better with external microphones.
It is also possible to make recordings on your computer using software such as Audacity (see below), or sites such as Odeo.
Sound editors
Once you've made recordings, you might need to edit them. Various programs that enable you to do so are available.I use Audacity to make and edit recordings on my computer. It's free, fairly easy to use and has a range of functions, including changing the volume, speed or tempo of sound files, cutting out silences and background noise, adding fade-ins and fade-outs, and multi-track recording. You can also use it to listen audio files, or parts of them.
Audacity of available from: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Other free sound editors
http://www.moor-software.com/0.php?lang=English&page=blast.php
http://biphome.spray.se/baxtrom/soliton.htm
http://www.cockos.com/reaper/
http://www.nonags.com/nonags/auedit.html
http://www.wavosaur.com
http://www.code-it.com/KISS_free_wave_editor.htm
Electronic translators
Electronic translators are available as handheld units, or as software. Handheld ones are portable, easy and quick to search, and often provide other functions, such as text-to-speech, voice recognition, speech synthesis, organisers and address books. They tend to be rather expensive though. Software dictionaries offer many of the same functions, and can be used on computers, PDAs and mobile phones.How can I find time to study a language?
"I'd like to learn a language, but don't really have the time." Does that statement sound at all familiar? If so then read on.Carpe momentum - seizing the moment
During a typical day, there are usually times when you could fit in a bit of language study. Even if you only study for five or ten minutes at a time, it all adds up in the end. In fact it can be beneficial to spread your studies over a number short periods, rather than doing it all in one or two big chunks. The more often you practice and review material, the better you'll remember it and be able to use it.Multitasking
If you commute to work or school/college/university every day, perhaps you could use that time for study. Other times you could use for study/practice include while preparing meals, washing dishes, doing house work, gardening, jogging, queueing, during your lunch break or at the gym.The type of study or practice will depend on what else you're doing. In some cases you could listen to a lesson or two, or to other material such as songs, audio books, radio programmes, etc. In others you could practice reading and/or writing in your L2, or even practice speaking. If you want to practice your speaking in a public, perhaps you could pretend to talk on your mobile phone so that other people don't suspect your sanity and think you're talking to yourself.
Spanish, Italian and Chinese.
is a great flash card program that you can download
for free to study words and phrases in several languages (with audio,
of course). The language courses written for the Foreign Service Institute
are in the public domain and most of the texts and audio files can be
downloaded for free at the