Play the Game of Life
Ryan Petersen's Blog

1.) Ask yourself why you want to learn this language. Come up with a solid list of really compelling reasons to drive you forward. Will your new language enhance your career? Will it open new areas of the world for you to explore? Maybe you'll meet the man or woman of your dreams while speaking in this new language? How will it make you feel about yourself? Envision yourself conversing in another tongue and allow yourself to feel the confidence and joy that could bring to your life right now. Come up with enough reasons why you want to learn a new language and the how will resolve itself. Above all else, learning a new language takes courage and determination. You'll need to overcome the fear of discomfort, awkwardness and general embarrassment again and again to achieve your goal. These compelling reasons, combined with a cheerful and playful attitude, are the best way to summon this courage that you already possess. Refer back to your intial list often throughout the following steps.

2.) Read Barry Farber's book, How to Learn Any Language: Quickly, Easily, Inexpensively, Enjoyably and on Your Own, the text where I first found many of the techniques that follow. These ideas have helped me immensely as I've learned Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, French, and Italian. Farber has learned 26 languages, including Mandarin Chinese, all the romance languages and the infamously difficult Hungarian. He knows what he's talking about.

3.) Sign up for an introductory course to get a foundation in grammar and vocabulary. For any new word you learn, make up an outrageous story for why it has that meaning. The more illicit and explicit the story, the easier it will be to remember--and the more fun you'll have in the process. Rather than spending 2 minutes on each of 50 words, spend 20 minutes on one word and come up with a really imaginative story for why it thas the meaning that it does. Do this and you will never forget that word, I promise (although you will find that you quickly forget the stories, so that all is left is the word).

4.) Make flashcards with a few dozen words on each and carry at least 20 of these with you at all times. Use what Farber calls the 'hidden moments' of your life to study your new language: break out those flashcards when your riding the bus or walking down the street (though this is dangerous in China). Stuck in traffic? What a perfect chance to learn some new words instead of getting frustrated!! You'll be amazed how many opportunities you'll find to pull these cards out throughout the average day.

5.) Get an iPod or another kind of MP3 player and load it with a langauge learning audio program. The Pimsleur program is the best in the world and worth the high price. But if you can't afford it, go for one of the cheaper ones by all means.

6.) Identify a few Web sites with resources for the language you've chosen. Look for sites that have audio playback features to let you hear a word. Spend a few minutes (or longer if you like) on these sites several times per week. I've identified a few for Chinese on my homepage.

6.) Once you've developed a solid foundation in grammar, say after the 6th lesson, buy a newspaper or magazine in your new language and dive in. Read for content, don't try and look up every single word. This is often criticized by more traditional language teachers who think you first need an extremely strong foundation in grammar before you try more dificult things. They are wrong. Just make sure that you have fun and don't allow yourself to get frustrated when you don't understand things. Give yourself tremendous pleasure anytime you understand something challenging.

7.) Listen to a radio program or watch a tv show in your new language as often as you can. Again you've got the Internet at your disposal, so there is no excuse for not finding some fun audio or video content. Check out http://www.radio-locator.com/ to find audio programs from around the world. Don't be turned off by the fact that you don't understand anything at first. Focus on the few words you CAN understand and reinforce those. Get confident that the more you listen, the more you'll understand. Look up any words that you are able to distinguish but don't know the meaning of.

8.) Find somebody who speaks the language and practice. If you live in an American city, then there is almost certainly somebody within 5 miles of you RIGHT NOW who speaks your new language. Create a posting on craigslist.org for a language exchange or private tutor. Visit the Web pages of the embassy of a country that speaks your language, maybe they are organizing some activities you could attend to flex your new language skills. If its a more obscure language, ask your friends and family to keep an eye out for anybody who speaks the language you've chosen and get their contact info for you. Learning a language is a great way to make new friends, so get up your courage and go for it!!

9.) Visit a country that speaks your language and TALK TO EVERYBODY!! Don't be afraid, you'll be amazed at how flattered people are that you're trying. Remember, courage wins the day. Head down to the harbor and look for fisherman and sailors. These are two of the most patient types of people you will find anywhere, and they are generally bored senseless half the time. They're dying for someone interesting to talk to, and that someone is you!!

10.) Join a club in your new country. Sports are one of the easiest ways to make new friends. You're not any good at sports? Me neither! Who cares! You're doing it to make friends, not win medals. Find a team that is horrible and get involved! You don't have to join a sports team though, you can take up any hobby you like. In this age of globalized culture you are almost certain to find someone who shares one of your interests in just about any part of the world. Maybe you like cooking, so take a cooking class. I bet you can find inexpensive or free classes in dancing, painting and any other art form in every country in the world. Here's another good tip: make some business cards for yourself and go to a trade show in the foreign country. You'll find hundreds of companies dying to drum up business, so they'll be more than willing to talk to you, a potential "customer."

11.) Remember, if you remain committed to studying at least 20 minutes everyday, even if its just popping out your flashcards during your morning commute or on your lunch break, you will be able to learn ANY language in about 12 months.

12.) So have fun with it. Committ yourself to enjoying the process. Smile all the time when you are using your new language. Learn a few swear words to make things more interesting. Read a book of jokes and practice them the next time you meet somebody who speaks that language.

Labels: language