How To Become A Better Language Learner

Good actions repeated over time become positive habits. If you’re looking to become a better language learner, then taking good actions is a great first step to get there. Make enough of those positive changes and you’ll develop positive habits. That’s why even the smallest adjustments can mean a lot to your learning, especially in the long run.

Looking for suggestions on positive actions and changes you can make as a language learner? Here’s a list of suggestions.

1. Don’t rely on a dictionary. Whether you’re reading in the foreign language, watching a foreign movie or listening to a recorded speech, resist the urge to open a dictionary for every word that you don’t immediately identify. Instead, make an effort to guess the meanings of words from both the context presented in the material and your knowledge of the language thus far. Doing this will allow you to gain a better grasp of the language as you make mental connections between the different elements of the language.

2. Make mistakes. A lot of language learners (and people, in general) are afraid to make mistakes. Instead of practicing when an opportunity presents itself, they clam up and tell themselves “I’lldo it next time.” Problem is, being afraid easily becomes a repeating pattern the more you give it room. The solution is simple: just use the language and make mistakes early. Will you be embarrassed? Probably. Will people laugh at you? Sometimes. Will you feel horrible? I wouldn’t say never. Go through those a couple of times, though, and you’ll realize they don’t even matter. Embrace mistakes — they’re one of a language learner’s best allies.

3. Be more assertive. Recognize and seize opportunities to use the target language. There are plenty of them, especially if you are in a country where the language is widely spoken. In some cases, people will talk to you in English if they notice you’re struggling with their language. Stick to the target vernacular, though — you need your practice and they’ll let you get it.

4. Track your progress. Figure out a way of tracking your development in the language. Some language programs will have facilities integrated for this, using predesigned tests to give you a score on your current skill level. Make sure to use that. Having a way to track and measure your progress will allow you to keep tabs on how you’re actually doing. That way, you’ll know exactly when to keep doing the same things or when to go a different direction in your training.

5. Set weekly targets. Every Monday, make a short list of things you want to accomplish by the end of the week. These weekly goals have made the most difference for me because:

• They are immediate (just 7 days and time’s up), so you have to work towards them now
• They are easy to plan for (by Monday, you usually have a good idea of where you can go by Sunday, so most goals you set are very reasonable — unlike what you might set for two or three months down the line)

Just make sure to limit your expectations with the goals you set. Aim too high and you can be setting yourself up for failure.

6. Start journaling. Keeping a journal of your language learning progress may sound like such a corny thing to do. If you haven’t done them before, it kind of feels like you’re jotting down diary entries, but there are fewer things that can really help you observe your development in the area than a language learning journal. Seriously, though, give it a try — it could literally change the way you train.

A journal won’t just serve as a record of all the material you’ve studied in your language learning efforts, you can also use them to record your experiences in the language. That way, you can compare the different things you do and the results you gain from them, allowing you to evaluate the program and study all the changes you can make.

7. Say “Yes” more. When your language training material (software, book, etc.) makes a suggestion about activities to do, don’t just ignore or shrug them off. Try saying “Yes” more and actually doing them. Sure, some of them will sound lame. Most of those activities, though, are suggested for good reason — they really will help round out whatever new items you picked up from the lessons.

8. Think in the target language. Until you think in the target language, you’re merely translating from one language to another every time you use it. This is one of those big changes that you’ll have to do one small step at a time. Every instance you use the language, make a conscious effort to think in it. The more you do it, the more it will become second nature. This won’t happen overnight, so best start as early as you can.

9. When you communicate, don’t restrict yourself to the target language. If you’re struggling to be understood when using the language, then use gestures and other aids to get yourself understood. Heck, use words in English is that’s what you need to do. Compensating for your lack of current ability will only help your confidence to use the language.

10. Use mnemonics for memorizing vocabulary. Making use of mnemonic techniques can greatly enhance the amount of vocabulary you are able to memorize within the same timeframe as conventional memory methods. There are plenty of them available. We suggest using ones that have been successfully adapted by language learners before, such as the Town Mnemonic and similar techniques. You can even use free software for these, as well as free web-based services like Memrise.

Last Word

This list is not exhaustive or definitive by any means, so don’t limit the changes you make in your language acquisition efforts within them. Instead, use them as a guide to point you in the right direction. If you come up with your own ideas, try them and see how they work out.