Language Learning Made Faster & Easier
Tips and Tricks for Your Language Journey
Table of Contents
Introduction
Vocabulary Acquisition
Memorizing Verbs
Reading and Vocabulary
Writing
Pronunciation
Idiomatic Expressions
Shadowing Technique
Language Buddies
Subtitles and Translation
Conclusion
Introduction
You hear it again and again as you are working to learn your target language: it is a marathon and not a sprint. This is excellent advice, of course. However, in order to avoid burning yourself out before you start to see real progress, you should remember that all progress is going to take time and effort. Your most significant growth will sneak up on you, surprising you when you try reading an article or striking up a conversation with a native speaker. At the same time, there are steps that you can take to put yourself in a better position to achieve growth more quickly and more efficiently.
Think about the way that you are acquiring new words. Do you read them from a list? Do you run through flashcards? You can ask yourself similar questions about your writing skills, your speaking skills, your command of slang and idioms, and the routines and habits that you develop to make learning a part of your daily life.
In this guide, we are going to walk through the nine areas that every language learner should always keep in mind. From here on out, consider all of your learning strategies and techniques in terms of these nine areas. Doing so, you will cut out many of the exercises that would only waste your time anyway, replacing them with proven, time-tested strategies and techniques that will not only get the information into your mind but also equip you to wield that information the way that a fluent speaker does.
Throughout the guide, feel free to take a break and let each of the topics sink in. This is not so much a book of commands, but a book of suggestions. Only you know the best environment and approaches for learning your target language. Over time, as you see what is working for you and what is not, adapt yourself accordingly.
Vocabulary Acquisition
Most people, when they are reflecting on language learning, think first and foremost about the words they are learning. This is a critical part of any language, of course, even if it is far from the only part that you need to worry about. As you are acquiring a vocabulary, you want two things to happen: to acquire more words and to acquire words more quickly.
At first, you will have to look up almost every single word. As you do, write it down on your list. Scan the text for any words that are unfamiliar to avoid unnecessary interruptions. This way, you will make your greatest strides through independent reading. We will go into that more in a later section, but for now it is enough to say that when you come across words that are new, either in your readings or elsewhere, forget about all of the little details. The pronunciation, the meaning, the context: all of this will become too much for you if you are constantly stopping to look things up, which is why you have done your scan-and-check beforehand. Once you have picked out all the unfamiliar words, trust that you can decipher each word from its place in the story and from memory. What could the word mean? Can you connect it to other words you have learned in relation to this one? This is reading comprehension, and, in the long term, if you do this enough times your reading skills will be so fluid that you will almost never have to use the dictionary again.
Another point to remember to speed up your vocabulary acquisition, is to navigate new words and ideas intelligently. This means that rather than going through one piece about physics today and one piece about animals tomorrow, stick with a single topic until you have mastered it. Your knowledge of certain terms will then feed into others, as you are working with similar topics all at once. Until you can speak about something that is important to you in your first language, keep working on that vocabulary, only shifting to another topic when you master all the words in that article, essay, etc.
Say that you care deeply about the environment. Study those vocabulary words. Similarly, if you are reading a story, and the story is part of a series, finish the series before you choose another book. As you are learning a new language, you will spend twice as much time trying to bounce from a book to the dictionary or even from a book to the internet. As opposed to writing things down as they stump you and then returning to them later, I recommend that you scan the text for unfamiliar words and research before you start reading.
Next, let’s talk about your memorization skills.
Memorizing Verbs
In particular, let’s talk about what you do to memorize the verbs in English. Since you will never speak a complete sentence without a verb, you need to get these parts of speech down completely. Think about the difference between the sentences “I threw the cup” and “I sold the cup.” These two situations are totally unalike, but without learning the verbs “to throw” and “to sell,” plus their conjugations, you would never know that.
To get started, look over the list of the 100 most common verbs in English (available on Google or any other search engine). You will progress to the most common 500 verbs soon enough. For now, you are going to create a flashcard for each of the verbs. Focus only on the infinitive form of each verb, so that you can at least recognize all of the verbs when you see them.
The conjugations will come later. The point is that when your goal is to maximize the number of verbs you are memorizing, you want to cut down the amount of information you have to cover. Work on one thing at a time, moving on to the next thing only when you are completely comfortable with what you have gone over already. Do you understand the meaning of the verb? The context when it’s appropriate? If you can answer those questions in the affirmative, then you may be ready to learn some of the smaller details.
Let’s talk more in-depth in the next section about reading as it relates to vocabulary.
Reading and Vocabulary
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is a classic of American literature. Although it is not quite as challenging as some older works, like those of Shakespeare or even the Modernists in more recent times, the vocabulary inside changed my life. That was the book that helped me learn English. I suggest that you pick one book and that you read it end to end. That way, every single word you learn will be connected to a single story, making it easy for you to remember its meaning. If you hope to get some vocabulary out of a new book, here are two steps that you need to follow.
Step 1: Get a notebook and write down any word that you don’t recognize. The first definition in your notes should match the context of the book or story.
Step 2: Notice when you are coming across words you have written down before, and try not to look them up for at least 5 seconds so that you give your brain time to see if you can remember.
These steps may seem straightforward, but on that second step, you have to pay particular attention. What you should see is that instead of learning words as individual words, learning words while you are reading draws the connections between the words. This makes much more sense than trying to view each word in a vacuum, which is simply not how we process language.
As you are reading, something else to remember is to stop multitasking. Say that you want to work on your pronunciation as well as your vocabulary. That is fine, but while you are studying vocabulary, focus only on meaning. Then, when you are ready, pivot to an afternoon spent on pronunciation.
In the next section, we are going to make your language-learning process a little more active – through writing.
Writing
Some people will tell you that before you ever try to write in a new language, you need to master reading and speaking. This is one more myth about language education that does not match up with reality. In fact, there is never any time too early for you to practice your writing skills.
However, you have to decide when you are ready. It is unfair of any teacher or tutor to force you to write if you do not yet feel comfortable with your vocabulary or your grammar. No one – or at least, no one reasonable – will expect you to write complete sentences during your first week of class.
Generally, in order to become an outstanding writer, you first need to become an outstanding reader. You will instinctively use many of the skills and techniques other writers have used when you start to do your own writing. For that reason, even though it is wrong for someone to tell you to master English or any language you are learning before you try to write in it, your most substantial progress will come from reading, for at least several months and possibly for multiple years.
To prepare yourself to do some writing, whenever you decide you are ready to do so, find several pieces that are like the pieces you want to write. Then, analyze those pieces. If you are reading an essay about school uniforms or local water usage, follow along with the structure to figure out how the writer is accomplishing his or her goals in the piece.
Do you see the introduction?
Do you see the thesis statement?
Do you see the topic and supporting sentences in each paragraph?
Do you see the first, second, and third points?
Do you see the conclusion?
When you can read others’ writing with a discerning eye, your own writing will come more easily. Think about the content and the meaning of the writing before you go into spelling and grammar, which are details you can handle during editing.
Let’s talk about another detail, pronunciation, in the next section.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is often a sensitive topic for English language learners to discuss. Because it is always there, affecting people’s perception of each other, you may feel compelled to focus on pronunciation exclusively for a time. That would be a mistake, though. Before you put any substantial time into pronunciation, you should spend most of your time on the topics that we have covered already.
When you are focusing on pronunciation, however, there are some things that you can do to help yourself. Above all else, realize that pronunciation begins not on your lips, but in your ears. If you want to pronounce words correctly, train yourself to listen to the correct, native pronunciations. This way, you are not guessing what the pronunciation is, but hearing it and mimicking it as best as you can.
It is because we are not used to making certain sounds in English that pronunciation poses such difficulties. If your mouth has never been in the shape or position that the “sh” sound or the “r” sound requires, then you have to practice getting it into the proper shape or position. For native Spanish speakers in particular, some vowels will present unique challenges. Because the “u” in “cut” and the “a” in “cat” both sound close to the “a” in “carro,” you may have to spend more time differentiating between the two, in how you hear them and in how you say them.
To cut your learning curve in this area, listen to classic music in the new language you are studying. Singing voices will slow down the pronunciations so that you can hear them more clearly!
Some words are challenging even if you hear them properly, though. Let’s talk about those next.
Idiomatic Expressions
Much of the everyday language that people use is difficult on multiple levels because even once you have gotten the words down, native speakers may use the words in ways that don’t make sense if you translate the words literally. We call these “idiomatic expressions,” and to achieve true fluency in your first language, you need to master them as you would master any other vocabulary.
Do you know these idiomatic expressions?
“Liar, liar, pants on fire.”
“Raining cats and dogs.”
“At the end of my rope.”
To understand English, you have to understand that there are no real pants, no real animals, and no real ropes involved in any of these expressions. Instead, they mean “You’re lying,” “The rain is heavy,” and “I’m frustrated,” respectively. You cannot interpret these idiomatic expressions word-by-word. Instead, you have to memorize them as if they were single words themselves.
The best way to master idiomatic expressions is to use visual clues. Associate the idioms with ideas in pictures. This takes a lot of time, but your command of idioms is going to make or break your progression into fluency. Therefore, you should make time to familiarize yourself with at least a hundred or so idiomatic expressions. So dip your toe in (that one means “start out gradually”) and see what you soak up (this one means “learn passively”).
You are now well on your way to becoming a language-learning pro. Next, we will talk about a special strategy that you can use to keep moving toward that.
Shadowing Technique
You have probably noticed interpreters translating from one language to another on TV. How do they keep up the way that they do? It is impressive! There is a secret to their skill, though; it’s called the shadowing technique. This is the first step in their training, even if they already speak multiple languages fluidly. If you only take away one thing from this book, let it be this.
When you use the shadowing technique, you are simply repeating the exact phrases or words that someone else is saying. You do no interpreting and no analysis. Instead, you are repeating exactly what the other person says, without any concern for the meaning, at least for now, while you are doing this exercise. While you read the first phrase during this exercise, do not translate it in your mind. You are not ready for that – yet! Focus on one thing at a time. This way, you will get used to processing each word or phrase without pausing to think or consider pronunciation, spelling, and other details. There will be a time when you can put all the pieces together. At the beginning, though, our purpose is to exercise your mouth muscles, listening skills, and speaking speed.
Once you feel comfortable shadowing in the original language, move to the second phase. Create a list of recorded words you want to memorize. If possible, take them all from the same story or topic. Leave a gap of 3-5 seconds. Then, say the translation of that word or phrase. If you don’t know the meaning of a word, say it in your original language and then move to the next word. Don’t let this frustrate you! Often, real-life situations, such as a speaking test, will emphasize your performance under pressure. It is much better to miss one word or phrase than to get flustered and fall behind on everything. Just keep moving forward.
This technique, although it may be uncomfortable for you at first, will empower you to memorize more words and to retain the words you memorize more consistently. You are, in addition to all of that, increasing the speed at which you can process language. Your mastery of syntax will improve because, by and large, you are working with your new language on a subconscious level, performing a task that moves too quickly for your conscious mind.
For an endless source of content to shadow, visit YouTube. Get some videos in your native language, and then follow the tips mentioned above. Also, feel free to create your own. There is perhaps no technique that rivals this one in terms of effectiveness. The next technique we are going to cover, however, does come close.
Language Buddies
It is baffling how many people try to learn a language totally on their own. After all, language exists so that we can communicate with each other. If you are not currently working with a language buddy, doing so will dramatically enhance your ability to learn and grow.
In an ideal situation, you will get to practice with a native speaker. This is not always possible, unfortunately. The next best situation is to practice with people who are even a little more advanced than you are. If someone started learning English a month before you did, and their vocabulary is slightly larger than yours, then you will both benefit from studying together. Teaching reinforces what we have learned.
Language buddies should hold you accountable. They will provide you with tips and hints about English, but more crucially, they will keep you working and studying so that you are making constant progress. Your language buddies should not judge you, and they should not make you feel insecure about your skills. Remain open to new language buddies but remember to set standards and then stick with them.
Does this person speak too quickly?
Is this person struggling more than I am?
In some situations, roles may flip back and forth between language buddies, as you learn and develop at different rates. Remember that collaboration will always get you both much further than competition.
Before we finish up, there is one more topic for us to discuss: subtitles and translation.
Subtitles and Translation
Subtitles (translations) and closed captioning (transcripts in the same language) are often controversial. Language learners do not always agree about their value or their efficacy. It is true that because of time stamps and subtitle-audio track syncing issues, they may create more problems than they solve.
For that reason, I would advise all language learners, especially those who are at least at an intermediate level, to turn off the subtitles and try to hear the words and phrases. This will be more difficult, but the drawbacks of subtitles are too significant to ignore – jokes that don’t translate, time mismatches, incorrect or inconsistent translations due to multiple translators translating things differently working on one project. If you are serious about learning English, it is best to take on all of the biggest challenges up front and do away with any crutches, which subtitles are.
What I recommend instead is to leave the closed captioning on but only at the very beginning. Once you reach intermediate level, turn the captions off.
The story is confusing.
You don’t know what anyone is talking about.
Welcome to language learning! Accept the struggle for now, to set yourself up for some gradual success. In time, you will be grateful that you have passed on the subtitles, because you can enjoy movies and TV shows in your target language the same way that you do in your native language.
Conclusion
By now, you should have some idea of the direction that your language-learning strategy is going to take. There may still be certain topics – like idiomatic expressions or writing – that intimidate you. That is fine! You should at no time feel down or insufficient because language learning seems difficult for you.
The truth is that, for almost all of us, learning a new language is one of the hardest possible undertakings. Unless you have learned three or four languages in the past, learning a new language will feel daunting to you.
Where do you begin? When do you ask for help? How do you check on your own progress?
Applying the strategies, tips, and techniques in this guide, you can become a more confident student. You can, going forward, feel steady in your ability to acquire new words and to imitate your favorite writers. As well, you can let go of your concern with pronunciation because you understand that when the time comes, you will know to let your ear do most of the heavy lifting.
Before long, the shadowing technique and a fast-paced conversation with a native will seem much more doable for you. Other language learners will be approaching you to ask if they can become your language buddies. The music, the movies, the books: an entire cultural world is opening up to you every time you improve your fluency.
