#teaching learning
You decided to learn a new language? That’s great! But you don’t really know how to start? That’s totally normal, especially if you never learned another language before. But here are some tips how to get started. :)
1. Read about your language. Before you actually start studying your target language you should google it. At least the Wikipedia entry. That takes about 15 minutes but will help you a lot during your study process. It makes it easier to know how your language “works” before starting it. Is it similar or very different to the language you know? How’s the basic grammar? Do they use the same letters? Does it use genders? What’s special about your target language? Do you speak the language just how you read it? So you won’t be confused while studying Spanish when the word “hablo” suddenly changes to “hablas” because you read before that they conjugate verbs in Spanish. That way you will understand it faster.
2. Break sentences or even words down. Maybe there is a pattern. For example in German we call a sloth “Faultier”. If you break it down you have “faul” (lazy) and “Tier” (animal). So while you learned the word for sloth you also learned the word for “lazy” and “animal”. In this case you can learn that we Germans don’t really have endless long words, we just like to put words together that already exist to describe something new. And suddenly “Studentenkrankenversicherungsmeldeverordnung” doesn’t look like a word straight from hell anymore because it’s just “StudentsHealthInsuranceReportRegulation”. And you know it because you broke other words down and discovered that Germans just put words together.
3. Learn the most common words. The most common 100 English words make up about half of all written English.
4. If you don’t know a word in your native language, you don’t need it in your target language. For example “Grommet”. I heard the German words for it but never used it or will use it. So why would I need to know it in English? Unfortunately schools don’t care about that.
5. Try sticky notes.
6. Make a plan what you want to learn.
7. Search for good resources like textbooks/Apps/websites/videos/etc. That’s also a way to get started. I prefer getting a textbook for beginners and combine it with tip number 9.
8. Find a teacher. I’m not really a fan of learning a language sitting in a classroom because you won’t talk much. But if you want someone leading you while you do your first steps in your target language, you should definitely check out italki.
9. Find a language exchange partner. Think about what you normally would chat about, search for the vocabs and use them! You will instantly practice them, learn the words you need to know and have fun while learning your first words in your target language.
10. Get help from the Studyblr or Langblr community! :)
