Most schools offer Spanish and French as language class options, but what if you want to learn Chinese? Don’t let a lack of immediate resources stop you.
This is how to jump into a new language on your own, for free.
1. Start with the Basics
The alphabet of the language you’re trying to learn is the first concrete steppingstone to fluency. You learn to spell words, you learn to form words. YouTube is a great resource for this. Search up ‘[desired language] alphabet for beginners’ or something along those lines. Any (usually popular) channel should give you all you need in terms of learning the alphabet and how to pronounce each letter, as well as how to form words.
Now for your grammar struggles, go to kids’ cartoons. It sounds silly but Russian Peppa or any type of cartoon meant to teach children grammar and how to form basic sentences will help you do the same. The breakdown of words and slower, clear speaking will let the language sink into your brain and stick hopefully forever.
2. Phrases
Understand how to say things like ‘Hello, how are you?’ and the questions’ response. This is the gateway to being able to have conversations with people and understanding what they are saying. Apps and websites such as “Duolingo”, “Lingualift”, and “italki” can help you with your basic phrases and sentences.
Although these resources do level you up to tougher lessons and more intense practice, they sometimes don’t do the best job in doing so accurately. Being a level 20 feeling like a level 5 will do you no good. When having trouble with retaining information from them, go back to YouTube.
YouTube is a free website with no extra fees at any point in your journey to becoming fluent, unlike other resources that may charge you eventually.
3. Talk it Out
Speak to others!!! You will not feel fluent or even comfortable in speaking or knowing your language unless you throw away your embarrassment and talk out loud to someone in it. Your mistakes only strengthen your fluency as you fix them and patch them up. The day you mess up in conversation is the day you will forever remember how to fix that mistake and never make it again. Just remember, judgement from others only comes from their jealousy.
4. Immersion!
Throw yourself in the fire for lack of better comparison. The quicker you learn why words are said the way they are said, learn different dialects, eat the food, and find out the way a whole different society functions, you will not only want to become fluent faster, you will become fluent faster! The more you learn about the culture the better you will get at the language.
Visit local food trucks or places that you know predominantly speak the language you are learning and talk to them. Order in the language, tell them you are learning and I guarantee they will be happy to help you practice.
Wanting to learn more than offered to you at school is nothing but a sign of ambition and passion. It is a road to success and many more opportunities. Think of how many more people you will include in situations a language barrier would have stopped them, think of how much more you yourself are capable of now that your brain has more to hold and explore.
