5 Ways to Develop Your Foreign Language Skills Right Now
Learning a foreign language need not be a lengthy and laborious process at all. If you’ve ever wanted to develop your foreign language skills but lack the motivation, there are plenty of things that you can do right now to get you thinking about it. Don’t worry about trawling the internet and the local papers looking for classes, just try a few of these things to get you ticking.
Hang Out With Your Foreign Friends More
If you have friends that are native speakers of a different language, then why don’t you give them a call and hang out? They’d love a chance to teach you a little bit and you can make it totally informal.
Try going for coffee or lunch and let them teach you how you’d ask for things in their language. Alternatively, you could plan a themed dinner and try to speak a different language the whole evening.
Take a Weekend Break to a Foreign Country
If you think you deserve a holiday, then why not book one last minute? With flights to many places available in Europe for ultra-low prices you could try spending a few days in the country that speaks your chosen language.
Going with friends or a loved one makes it all the more enjoyable too, and you could gain very valuable skills as a foundation for your new language. By the time you come home, you’re guaranteed to have learnt loads of useful phrases.
Watch Foreign Films
This may seem silly, but watching foreign films is a technique that has been used by many language schools. This gets you used to the sound of a foreign language and can also help you pick up certain words and phrases when used with subtitles.
There are so many great foreign films to choose from, and as you gradually get more competent you can even try them without the subtitles. This is also a great challenge to try with friends.
Try Some Audio CDs
If you are really serious you can burn some audio CDs onto your mp3 player and listen to them when you are doing your errands. This is a great way to learn at your own pace and provides you with a genuine and easy-to-follow structure for learning.
Everything from beginners’ phrases to tenses and verbs can be chosen, depending on your level of experience. The great thing about audio learning is that you can immerse yourself in your new language and still be able to get on with your daily routines. Foreign music is also brilliant for acclimatising yourself with another language. As with watching foreign films, this activity combines fun and learning to help you progress at a faster pace.
Check Out Some Social Media Sites
Online language groups exist on many different popular social media sights such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Here you can complete daily quizzes and challenges, gain feedback and stimulate discussions on whatever topic you desire with native speaking professionals.
There are also a lot of dedicated social media sites that provide chatrooms where you can try out your language skills and even exchange a little bit of advice. English is an important language to learn for many people, and there are loads of opportunities on websites such as iTalki to exchange language lessons.
Image courtesty of zinjixmaggir from Flickr
Author Bio | By day Amie is a foreign language trainer and by night she blogs and writes for a wide range of topics in the Business English Language. She enjoys watching movies, reading and most of all developing her foreign language skills.
Learning a foreign language need not be a lengthy and laborious process at all. If you’ve ever wanted to develop your foreign language skills but lack the motivation, there are plenty of things that you can do right now to get you thinking about it. Don’t worry about trawling the internet and the local papers looking for classes, just try a few of these things to get you ticking.
Hang Out With Your Foreign Friends More
If you have friends that are native speakers of a different language, then why don’t you give them a call and hang out? They’d love a chance to teach you a little bit and you can make it totally informal.
Try going for coffee or lunch and let them teach you how you’d ask for things in their language. Alternatively, you could plan a themed dinner and try to speak a different language the whole evening.
Take a Weekend Break to a Foreign Country
If you think you deserve a holiday, then why not book one last minute? With flights to many places available in Europe for ultra-low prices you could try spending a few days in the country that speaks your chosen language.
Going with friends or a loved one makes it all the more enjoyable too, and you could gain very valuable skills as a foundation for your new language. By the time you come home, you’re guaranteed to have learnt loads of useful phrases.
Watch Foreign Films
This may seem silly, but watching foreign films is a technique that has been used by many language schools. This gets you used to the sound of a foreign language and can also help you pick up certain words and phrases when used with subtitles.
There are so many great foreign films to choose from, and as you gradually get more competent you can even try them without the subtitles. This is also a great challenge to try with friends.
Try Some Audio CDs
If you are really serious you can burn some audio CDs onto your mp3 player and listen to them when you are doing your errands. This is a great way to learn at your own pace and provides you with a genuine and easy-to-follow structure for learning.
Everything from beginners’ phrases to tenses and verbs can be chosen, depending on your level of experience. The great thing about audio learning is that you can immerse yourself in your new language and still be able to get on with your daily routines. Foreign music is also brilliant for acclimatising yourself with another language. As with watching foreign films, this activity combines fun and learning to help you progress at a faster pace.
Check Out Some Social Media Sites
Online language groups exist on many different popular social media sights such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Here you can complete daily quizzes and challenges, gain feedback and stimulate discussions on whatever topic you desire with native speaking professionals.
There are also a lot of dedicated social media sites that provide chatrooms where you can try out your language skills and even exchange a little bit of advice. English is an important language to learn for many people, and there are loads of opportunities on websites such as iTalki to exchange language lessons.
Image courtesty of zinjixmaggir from Flickr
Author Bio | By day Amie is a foreign language trainer and by night she blogs and writes for a wide range of topics in the Business English Language. She enjoys watching movies, reading and most of all developing her foreign language skills.
