How to Learn a Second Language – Fast

Sep 4, 2011 by admin

Whether you’re doing it for fun or as a necessity, learning to speak a second language needn’t be difficult. It doesn’t matter if you think you have no aptitude for it, it is possible to learn another language, and do it quickly.

All you need to do is apply yourself, and follow a few basic steps. Before you know it you’ll be able to communicate in a language not native to you. Following are a few tips on how to learn a second language fast.

Immersion

The fastest way to learn anything is when it becomes absolutely necessary to do so.

Take the example of learning to swim. One school of thought is to simply throw someone into deep water and they’ll keep themselves afloat–because if they don’t, they will drown.

The same principle could apply to learning a second language–simply drop someone off in a foreign country without any outside help. They’ll have to learn to communicate or suffer the consequences.

That’s not a reasonable method of teaching a second language. However, the immersion method is still a good idea. Instead of dropping someone off in a foreign country, they could become immersed in the language by continuous study and application of that language.

A native speaker who communicates well and has a proven method of instruction would be best able to teach you this way. The more time you spend studying the language, the quicker you’ll pick it up.

Pick a Target

If you don’t have access to a native speaker of the language you’ve chosen, then there are other methods of learning a second language quickly. The first thing you should do is pick a target–how fluent do you want to be after a given period of time?

A lot will depend on how committed you are to learning a new language. If your goal is to become fluent in a second language, you’ll need to learn more than the common tourist questions and answers, such as “where is the hotel?” or “how do I get to the museum?” so teaching yourself a second language from a phrase book is probably out of the question.

Before you begin your quest to learn a second language, you need to define your goal.

Teach Yourself

It is possible to teach yourself a second language without the help of a tutor or teacher. Computer programs offer quick methods of picking up the basics of a language that you can listen to in your spare time.

Audio books will do the same thing. By sheer repetition, you will begin to pick up words and phrases that will allow you to engage in simple conversations. It all goes back to the immersion technique–the more time and effort you put into learning a language, the faster you’ll pick it up.

Formal Education

If you’re the type that doesn’t study well on your own, you should consider enrolling in a class at a community college or a university that offers a course in the language that you want to learn. Some people learn much better in a formal classroom environment than they do by listening to audio tapes or interactive computer programs.

A formal education in your chosen language will be beneficial, although some people consider taking years of classes out of the question because they want to learn much quicker.

Find a Tutor

Another proven method of learning a language fast is to find a tutor that can provide you with one-on-one instruction. For most people this will be the fastest way to learn a second language–if the tutor you’ve chosen is a good teacher.

Intense study in a closed environment with one other person who speaks the language fluently and knows how to get the nuances of that language across to you in a manner that lets you advance quickly will probably be the best way to learn a second language fast.

Read and Write

As part of the immersion method, you should get a hold of newspapers and magazines written in the language you’ve chosen and work your way through them. As you gain more knowledge in the language, you will be able to understand the written words better.

Practice writing in that language at the same time you’re learning to read it. If you take the time to combine all these methods, you should be able to learn a second language fast. It all boils down to how much time and effort you want to put into it.