How to learn foreign languages
Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2025 8:45 am
For many of us, a foreign language is an unattainable height that we just can’t conquer. We dream of mastering the language in a couple of months and get upset when the knowledge we gain is only enough to introduce ourselves and book a hotel room. Or we study a foreign language for decades, but it’s as if we’re marking time. We know all the grammar by heart, but we can’t “get going.” We read Hemingway in the original , but we can’t understand Sherlock without dubbing.
A foreign language is not a set of words and rules, memorizing which will guarantee you communication without barriers. Only daily practice of reading, writing, pronunciation and listening comprehension will help you to speak.
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It is impossible to learn a language in a couple of months. You need to live the language: argue, get angry, love, think in this language for many years. So prepare yourself for a long marathon: it will take years to learn to communicate freely with foreigners.
Formulate a goal
Think about how you plan a long trip: you don't try to cover everything in a day, but mark intermediate points on a map. The same is true with language.
A correctly formulated goal helps to tune in to long-term work. Not just to learn a foreign language, but to master it at a certain level. Even better: connect intermediate goals with your hobbies or professional activities.
Let's say you want to take a course in classical mechanics by Walter Lewin from MIT, but your English only allows you to understand 10% of what you hear. Or you dream of going to see Hamlet performed by Benedict Cumberbatch, but so far you can only translate "to be or not to be".
To understand where to start and what skills to practice, you need to determine where you are now and where you want to go. This can be found out using the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Beginner level A1. You can describe yourself, your family and hobbies in simple terms. You can understand your interlocutor only if he or she speaks slowly and clearly. You can translate short texts with pictures: road signs, signs, brief explanations.
Elementary level A2. Can communicate on familiar and everyday topics. Understand the gist of a TV report in a foreign language, read and understand simple letters.
Intermediate level B1. Can maintain a conversation on topics related buy macedonia telemarketing data to study, work and leisure. When travelling, can explain yourself in most situations. Watch foreign films in the original, but guess the plot from the pictures on the screen. Can read a short instruction or an advertising brochure and write a letter on a familiar topic.
Intermediate-advanced level B2. Your speech is fluent and spontaneous, you can maintain a conversation on abstract topics. You freely watch foreign programs, films, series. You can write a letter on an unfamiliar topic.
Advanced level C1. You can speak fluently and read between the lines, understanding the hidden meaning. You can easily communicate on scientific and professional topics. You can understand unadapted films with a lot of slang and idioms. You can freely correspond in a foreign language.
C2 proficiency. Understand almost everything you hear and see. Can speak on any topic without preparation.
In order to understand what Walter Lewin or Benedict Cumberbatch are talking about, you need to jump from the elementary level to the intermediate-advanced. The goal is clear, now you need to figure out how to achieve it.
A foreign language is not a set of words and rules, memorizing which will guarantee you communication without barriers. Only daily practice of reading, writing, pronunciation and listening comprehension will help you to speak.
We also recommend: How a young PhD candidate can move to Canada
It is impossible to learn a language in a couple of months. You need to live the language: argue, get angry, love, think in this language for many years. So prepare yourself for a long marathon: it will take years to learn to communicate freely with foreigners.
Formulate a goal
Think about how you plan a long trip: you don't try to cover everything in a day, but mark intermediate points on a map. The same is true with language.
A correctly formulated goal helps to tune in to long-term work. Not just to learn a foreign language, but to master it at a certain level. Even better: connect intermediate goals with your hobbies or professional activities.
Let's say you want to take a course in classical mechanics by Walter Lewin from MIT, but your English only allows you to understand 10% of what you hear. Or you dream of going to see Hamlet performed by Benedict Cumberbatch, but so far you can only translate "to be or not to be".
To understand where to start and what skills to practice, you need to determine where you are now and where you want to go. This can be found out using the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Beginner level A1. You can describe yourself, your family and hobbies in simple terms. You can understand your interlocutor only if he or she speaks slowly and clearly. You can translate short texts with pictures: road signs, signs, brief explanations.
Elementary level A2. Can communicate on familiar and everyday topics. Understand the gist of a TV report in a foreign language, read and understand simple letters.
Intermediate level B1. Can maintain a conversation on topics related buy macedonia telemarketing data to study, work and leisure. When travelling, can explain yourself in most situations. Watch foreign films in the original, but guess the plot from the pictures on the screen. Can read a short instruction or an advertising brochure and write a letter on a familiar topic.
Intermediate-advanced level B2. Your speech is fluent and spontaneous, you can maintain a conversation on abstract topics. You freely watch foreign programs, films, series. You can write a letter on an unfamiliar topic.
Advanced level C1. You can speak fluently and read between the lines, understanding the hidden meaning. You can easily communicate on scientific and professional topics. You can understand unadapted films with a lot of slang and idioms. You can freely correspond in a foreign language.
C2 proficiency. Understand almost everything you hear and see. Can speak on any topic without preparation.
In order to understand what Walter Lewin or Benedict Cumberbatch are talking about, you need to jump from the elementary level to the intermediate-advanced. The goal is clear, now you need to figure out how to achieve it.