[A collaboration post – all thoughts are my own.]
How many languages can you speak? Are you thinking to learn a language? Learning a language is fun because you can expand your field of work, travel abroad, and communicate better with new people. Some people consider learning a language at some point in their lives and many people can speak more than two languages. Actually, with so many helpful tools and resources, learning a language can be fun and easier than ever before.
I’m a visual person so I enjoy learning through pictures or video instead of a textbook. If you didn’t learn a new language at school, it’s never too late. In fact, the latest research shows that adults can learn a language just as easily as children can. If you’re planning to learn a language but are too busy with work, here are some fun language learning that might just be perfect for you.
Watch your favorites movies and TV series
You can do the things you enjoy after a hard day’s work, right? Watching movies or tv series is a great way to improve your language skills. You could start by watching one of your favorite TV series and practice a language at the same time with subtitles in your chosen language. See how many new things you’ll learn without even realizing it.
I subscribe to Netflix, HBO, and Disney – that’s a lot but I need this for self-care weekend. I spend 2-3 hours a day watching movies or TV series that either I know almost by heart or series intended for children like animation. This way, the vocabulary will not be too advanced for you and you won’t get lost in translation.
Set up your digital devices into your target language
Since I got my first digital devices in junior high school, I set them up using the English language. It’s another fun way to force myself to learn new words and terms at such young age. You could do this on your laptop, phone, or tablet, as well as on digital platforms you log into regularly. This includes your email account and social media accounts.
Another fun way that I’ve done for years is to start sharing your social media updates in your target language. I write down my caption in English and that’s so fun to engage with people who speak English too. So why not develop your foreign language writing skills along the way?
Listen to audio or music
You don’t necessarily want to be always looking at a screen while learning a language. I listen to podcasts about conspiracy theories or true crime mysteries while working on my translation projects, out for a walk, or driving in the car.
Audio can be more than language learning tracks. You could try listening to a podcast or downloading music in the language you are learning. I’m a fan of Celine Dion, Britney Spears, and Michael Jackson; I grew up listening to their songs. At first, it’s not easy to understand the lyrics, so noting down the new words will help me understand them better. Once you do this, you’ll remember the meaning of that word every time you listen to that song. I used to do the same to Britney songs when learning English, and it was quite the challenge.
Music is catchy and imagines how many new words and expressions you can learn by singing a song in another language. Not only does this help you recognize more words, but you’ll also start to enjoy the culture of native speakers.
Do something every day
As a content writer, I improve my English by creating a blog and writing this kind of article. I freshen up my knowledge by surfing the internet – it’s free for everyone. All you need to do is open your computer or phone and start googling around. You can find the pages that offer the material you are interested in and keep the language present in your mind.
Once the initial excitement of learning a new language has passed, it can be easy to let your learning habits slip. One of my daily routines is to read manhwa which has been translated from Korean to English. It is important to get into a routine of doing something for your language learning journey every day.
Date someone that speaks your target language
Find someone that speaks your target language, meet in a cafe or online, and spend half your time talking about topics that interest both of you. You could even start by texting each other if having a full conversation seems too daunting at first. With the rise of online dating, there are more ways than ever through people from different countries and find the one you’re looking for.
These fun ways to learn a language can be done without much effort or time. You can build up your routine and without you realizing it, you can speak or understand a basic foreign language in no time.
Which language do you want to learn in 2022? Let me know below.
I learned French and Latin at school – never thought the Latin would be much use until I came to live in Italy. Now I speak Italian and if I get stuck for a word sometimes the Latin word gives me a clue. Italian is hard to learn at first because they speak so fast so your tip about films is a good one as everything is a bit slower.
awesome! these are all very fun ways to learn a language. my personal fave is to set my devices to the target language. I’ve done that in spanish & german when I was learning. it was fun but also really hard as i sometimes got lost on my own device — but that’s how you learn 😉
These are some great suggestions. I’m not learning a language but I do like to watch foreign shows onNetflix. I also listen to a few foreign artists and I’ve picked up a few sentences and things from listening to their songs so much x