How have you learned your target language/languages?
I'm now curious about how other people have worked on their language studies. I've been studying English for approximately four years now. When I decided to study it in April, 2014, I had no idea how to say, how to pronounce, or what to say in English. Back then, natural English sounded like some kind of noise to me. I understand my English has improved a lot since then, but I'm still struggling with a real conversation. To leave your comment would be much appreciated.
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Comments · 3
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To become fluent a new language, you really need to incorporate a whole lot of different learning activities. This is because you need to improve in all of the different areas of language: reading, writing, understanding and speaking.
To improve reading, the best thing to do is to keep reading, but at an appropriate level. If the book is too difficult and there are many words you don't understand, you become discouraged easily. I recommend starting with a book that you've already read in your native language. Then you can focus on learning words from context, because you already know what's going on in the story
For writing, doing journal entries on iTalki is great. Just practice writing as much as possible and have a native speaker correct it. Don't worry too much about the little grammar mistakes. English grammar is notoriously difficult. Sometimes I even make mistakes as a native speaker.
Getting better at understanding is so much easier in the internet age. When I was learning my last language, I watched the news in that language every evening. I also found a funny tv show and watched it regularly. Try to work towards not using subtitles. Subtitles help in the start, but the goal is to be able to understand without them.
Finally, speaking... most learners wait a very long time before speaking. It makes sense, because it's nerve-racking to speak with a native speaker. But that's what iTalki is for! I would recommend finding someone to speak with as soon as possible. The more you practice, the quicker you're going to get better!
A final note, I would highly recommend spaced-repetition flashcard programs like Anki. This really speeds up the process of learning new words!
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Nicholas
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I have learned English since i was 7 years old gradually and still Learning it,through all these years i learned the letters, How to make a sentences, How to prounounce it, make a dialogue... Etc
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Thank you for leaving the nice comments, Amira and Nicholas. I appreciate it.
When I visited the US last year, many locals told me my English was so good. I was so glad to hear that.
However, my current English skills aren't enough to describe or explain something unlike Japanese.
I'd like to use the tips Nicholas showed us as a reference.
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