Learning is an art that has been practiced right from the evolution of man. At infancy, we learned how to eat, drink, dance and a bunch of others. And, while some people claim to have gotten the whole process all figured out, learning is actually a dynamic concept.
It varies depending on the element in question. For instance, the process of studying for a PhD defense exam is vastly different from the studying for a catering school exam, or the process of studying for a high school exam, with that of a marine/navy exams.
Why is this so? The variations in the scope of learning are very wide, so if the elements in comparison aren’t in the same class, the learning process is bound to differ. A learning process that works for party A might not work for party B. Reasons being that even though in some cases, two parties share the same interest, the way our brains assimilate things are quite different.
I’m sure you must have known by now that there are some people that can’t assimilate whatever they are reading (learning process) without listening to music. While this may seem weird, nevertheless, it is true. Such persons do have brains that are wired towards a rhythmical approach of assimilation. This is the reason why we earlier stated that, learning is dynamic.
Now, we learn a plethora of things like craft, how to inculcate a habit, language, cook, drive and the rest. But for the purpose of this article, we will be laying much emphasis on language and how we can make its learning process a cozier one.
So, what is the easiest way to learn a new language? If you’d really love to find out, then I’d suggest that you meticulously read through this work, as in-depth analysis will be made to enlighten you on how to learn a new language without much ado.
The Principles
Before you kick off into our adventurous realm of learning a new language, there are some maxims you should be aware of. These principles are what will guide you throughout the whole learning process, and failure to adhere to them might cost you the opportunity of learning that new language that you so longed for.
Now, we often complain of how difficult learning languages is, but fail to realize that this only happens when we do overlook the governing principles of learning a new language. So what are these principles?
Be All In
We, humans, are fond of being lukewarm especially when it comes to learning a new language. The truth is, in learning any language, you’re either in or out. There is no “oh I love the way this word sounds, but I don’t like the way it’s been spelled.” No please!
In your course of learning a new language, you have to love everything about the language, if you’re even going to stand a chance of succeeding in it. No matter the state of the language, just condition your mind into believing that you love it. Once this is done, then you can proceed to the next principle.
Focus
This is where some fail in their course of learning new languages. If you want to learn Spanish, please focus on learning on only Spanish at that moment. It is wrong to learn two languages at a time as it might conflict in your brain when trying to differentiate between one and the other.
Be Passionate
The last but not the least is passion. Language is a jealous element and believe me, if you aren’t passionate towards her, she will always find a way of getting back at you, sometimes in front of your friends when trying to speak in that particular language. Thus before venturing into learning a new language, make sure you develop a strong passion for it. Just as Les Brown would say, let passion be your fuel!
Frustration is Natural
Linguists all over the world like Edward Sapir, Roman Jakobson, and Ferdinand de Saussure made us to understand that the process of learning a new language is a frustrating path. So you need to know this beforehand, so that once you’re faced with it, you must have been mentally prepared.
The art of wiring your brain towards the adoption of a new language, is one of the most daunting tasks for our brains. So when you feel frustrated in the course of learning, just know that it is part and parcel of learning any new language.
Uniqueness
First things first, don’t let anyone try to discourage you of any approach that you adopt in learning a new language. Do what works for you, be unique in your approach because what works for Sam may not work for Adam. This has thrown many into a state of confusion because they were misled by various opinions as to which method is perfect and which is not.
Jot Things Down
At least for the most of us, our brains assimilate points faster when we read them from notes or our journals. This is important because in some cases, you might need to write some words down for future references. We are just humans, and so there is no way you will be able to take in everything you hear. Except you have super powers!
The Power of Repetition
This is one of the oldest but easiest way to learn a new language. Now, our body is conditioned to adapt to anything. So if you constantly repeat a certain phrase or word more than 10 times a day, believe me, that particular phrase will become a part of your sentence structure. As a matter of fact, every trained linguist will always advise their students to adopt this method first.
Be Easy on Yourself
No matter your level of intellect, you can never learn a new language in just a month. No, that’s impossible! And no matter how brilliant you are, you are bound to make mistakes when trying to converse with the new language, especially during the inception part. So if you find yourself entangled in the aura of mistakes repetition, just know that it is completely normal, and neither does it have anything to do with your IQ.
Interactions with the Natives
For instance, there is a difference between an American with a native American. The former could be an immigrant that got nationalized either by birth or marriage, while the latter is actually an American that was born and raised there, with a true American descent.
So let’s say you wanted to learn French, to make things easier for you, just get to a French-speaking country and start interacting with people from time to time, or get yourself a friend who is a native French man. By so doing you’ll be able to learn the language faster.
You Need a Dictionary
Before you utter a word, courtesy demands that you know the meaning of the word. If you speak words that you don’t know the meaning, then you’re close to lunacy. So, to learn a new language quicker, do yourself the favor of getting a dictionary, believe me, it saves lives!
Read Extensively
From time to time, buy magazines or articles written in that language and try to see if you could read them. If you can’t, let the dictionary or your native language friend be your guide. This way your mind will gradually key into the study of this language.
Write
Once you are done going through the publications from the above points, it’s high time you applied practicability. Now get yourself a pen and paper, try to construct a full line sentence. You will fail at first, but that shouldn’t deter you from trying again.
Keep trying until you get it right, irrespective of the number of times you try. This method will help you master the art of the language, by so doing, improve your vocabulary in it.
So in conclusion, what can we say is the easiest way to learn a new language? The answer is quite simple. If apt efforts are being exerted into keeping the above discussed techniques, except another world war occurs, learning a new language will be as easy as a piece of cake.
The reason why people often find it hard is because, they usually undermine the principles of learning a new language. Once the principles are strictly followed, and these methods are applied, no matter the language, the sky will certainly be your starting point.
So, go back to that language that you thought was too hard for you to learn, practice it day and night, converse with it, make friends with natives of that language, and most importantly be easy on yourself. At the end, you’ll be happy you did, as there is no special feeling that beats the feeling of learning a new language!