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Language Learning Tips: 11 Polyglots Reveal the Secrets of their Success

by Michele
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language learning tips from 12 polyglots
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Speaking a foreign language is one of the most rewarding yet challenging tasks you can ever take on. That’s why you need these top tips from 11 experts!

Learning a new language can change your life. Heck! I ended up moving to the other side of the world in pursuit of my language learning goals. Seven years later, only a few of my friends are native English speakers which wouldn’t have been possible had I not learned another language. Learning a second language comes with some serious health benefits too!

Many people dream of achieving the seemingly impossible task of learning a language and put up barriers before they even begin. Common misconceptions range from ‘being too old’, ‘too busy’, or not having the ‘gene’ to learn another language.

WRONG! So wrong. But more on that later.

The world opens the minute you start conversing in other languages, exposing you to new cultures and people whom you may never have spoken to had you not learned another language.

One of my favourite quotes is by Nelson Mandela, who once said:

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.

I think this sums up perfectly why everyone should aim to learn languages.

When you’re able to not only communicate but also connect with people and in their language lifelong friendships are born and memorable holidays are made. 

Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty.

Theodore Roosevelt

…and learning a language is no exception.

Language learning comes with epic highs and breakthroughs like when a grammar rule finally clicks, or when you’re able to hold your first conversation, or when someone compliments you on how well you speak.

These highs are what you should be focusing on. They will keep you going and push you through the slumps when you feel like you’ve hit a plateau or are having an ‘off’ day where nothing makes sense.

No one is immune to these feelings and struggles, not even the top polyglots!

I recently attended the Polyglot Conference in Reykjavik which brings together linguists and language lovers from all over the globe.

I met many of my language heroes, most of whom I’ve followed online for years!

They are all masters of their craft and between them run highly successful blogs, seminars, language courses, and podcasts full of compelling material, lessons learned firsthand and learning tricks.

Off the back of one of the most inspiring conferences I’ve ever attended, I reached out to eleven polyglots and asked them to share their advice on four keys areas that learners struggle with the most.

The result?

A no-nonsense guide of actionable tips from those who have mastered language learning.

  • Want expert advice on how to get started learning your first foreign language?
  • Want to know how polyglots stay motivated?
  • Want to know what polyglots do when they hit a plateau with their progress?
  • Want to know what the experts say to those who ‘think’ they can’t learn a foreign language?

Stick around! Because you’re about to find out!

You’ll learn how to avoid major mistakes and pitfalls while getting a massive boost to your overall language learning skills.

Get your notebook ready. Cosy up and hear what the top polyglots say!


Language Learning Tips from Richard at Speaking Fluently

language learning tips Richard SimcottWhat’s your advice to those learning their first foreign language?

The most important thing is to clearly set out your reasons and needs for the language. Then look at your immediate goals. Many people don’t take this seriously and they find themselves before Everest. Tackle the foothills first and climb slowly but surely.

Getting down on paper what you plan to do helps to also look back on your achievements and keep you motivated during the learning process.

 

Once you have established your goals, look around at the different courses available and see which ones appeal to you most. It might be one or more that you can combine. Do the explanations seem appropriate? Do you like the layout? Is it a book you’d want to dip into for revision and reading? Scan through the book to make sure it is for you and that it covers the things you need for your initial goals.

When you start learning a new language, pay attention to the introduction to spelling, alphabet and pronunciation. To get into the rhythm of the language, it helps to at least go through these at least once in the beginning. It can be tempting to skip through it and jump straight into the first lesson. There is no reason why you can’t do both at the same time, if you feel the initial introductory bits are boring you too much. But still do them!

What’s your advice on keeping the language learning process fun so you don’t lose interest and quit?

Find things you like in your own language to learn about in your new language. Look for songs, seek out people interested in your hobbies in the new language too. If you are talking about and listening to things you find interesting, naturally, learning the language will be a side-effect of that interest.

Make your lessons personal to you. If you are reading a dialogue in your course book, think about how you would change the vocabulary to make it relevant to you and your situation.

Practise retelling the story in the book to your teacher or language partner and then tell them how your story on the same topic differs. Then ask them about their viewpoint. It’s good practice to ask questions and listen to other people speaking the language. Ask for any vocabulary you don’t know and get them to write it down.

What tips do you have when you hit a plateau with your progress?

Pushing past your comfort zone is important. You need to challenge yourself with topics and vocabulary that you don’t usually talk about so you see the language in your context.

It’s amazing how related words pop up all over the place and that makes them and expressions they are in more memorable.

Practise talking about current affairs with your language partner or teacher. After a while, you will see your abilities improve and suddenly you’re climbing back up the mountain!

What would you say to those who ‘think’ they don’t have what it takes to learn a foreign language?

You learnt your own language and you can learn another one. We all need to repeat a lot. We all forget a lot before we remember and actively use a new language. It’s normal. Even for experienced language learners.

Slowly and surely wins the race in language learning and you should always be happy when you make a mistake and notice it or have it pointed out. It means you are becoming conscious of the language and how to use it better. Learn from your mistakes and keep on going!

Learn more about Richard on his blog Speaking Fluently.


Language Learning Tips from Alex Rawlings

language learning tips Alex rawlingsWhat’s your advice to those learning their first foreign language?

Try to expose yourself to as much as you can. It doesn’t matter that you don’t understand anything (how could you anyway, it’s a foreign language!) just keep listening. You’re planting memory seeds here, adjusting your ear, and all sorts of things are going on below the surface. Listen to podcasts, listen to music, listen to books, and make a plan to study for 10-15 mins per day and stick to it. 

What’s your advice on keeping the language learning process fun so you don’t lose interest and quit?

There can be no excuse for being bored. Always make sure you’re learning to say things that you find interesting, learning about things that you like, and making the most of the greatest and most powerful language learning resource on the planet: your own personality.

If you’ve been learning for a while and find things are getting stale because you already know how to order something in a shop or how to form the past tense, try learning a vocabulary topic that’s totally different to what you’d learn normally.

I don’t like watching football very much at all, but I love learning all the vocabulary for halftime, penalty, referee and so on in a foreign language. Push your boundaries and mix things up!

What tips do you have when you hit a plateau with your progress?

If you keep everything fresh, focus on always learning new things, and continually expose yourself to different types of materials (films, songs, books, etc), there shouldn’t really be a plateau. If you’re hitting a plateau, it’s because something’s gone wrong. You’ve overestimated how interesting you find your teacher, or your language course is old-fashioned and irrelevant and you’re struggling to see the point of carrying on. There is no time for plateaus – learning a language is a lifelong pursuit and however much you learn, there’s always more to go. So, let’s get cracking!

What would you say to those who ‘think’ they don’t have what it takes to learn a foreign language?

I believe everyone is capable of learning a foreign language. If you’ve struggled to do that so far, it’s because you probably haven’t found a method, a rhythm, or a motivational factor that really works for you.

Off the shelf methods and techniques can only get you so far. Absorbing a new language into your brain is a deeply personal process, and so you have to do it in the way that suits you the best. I’ve met plenty of people who’ve said they couldn’t learn a language because they didn’t have time, they didn’t see the point, or they didn’t have access to the right materials, but I’ve never met anyone for whom all of those stars have aligned and they’ve still failed. You just need to find your own way to do it.

Learn more about Alex on his blog AlexRawlings.co.uk.

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Language Learning Tips from Lindsay at Lindsay Does Languages

language learning tipsWhat’s your advice to those learning their first foreign language?

You can totally start a language with no plan, very little resources, and just a drive of curiosity that leads you to it. However, if things start to get serious you’ll need some goals. Take some time to sit down and figure out what you’re actually after and most importantly, why.

When you know why you want to learn that language, you’ll have more motivation to keep you going when it gets tough.

On top of that, don’t fall into the trap of getting overexcited and bogged down with three hours of study each day before it becomes impossible to maintain!

Instead, start small with something you can easily fit into your daily routine, such as using Memrise, Clozemaster or a podcast.

What’s your advice on keeping the language learning process fun so you don’t lose interest and quit?

Without overwhelming yourself with too many resources and methods, keep it fresh by mixing things up a bit.

By restricting yourself to one book, course, app,  or other things that promise amazing results, you’re limiting your exposure to other uses of the language in different contexts. Think about what you love in your native language and expand outwards from there. For example, are you listening to music from dawn till dusk? Find some music to enjoy in the language you’re learning. Spotify can be helpful here as well as tools that suggest similar artists such as Music Map once you’ve got one name to work with.

What tips do you have when you hit a plateau with your progress?

It’s going to happen. When you start, you’re learning from next to nothing, so every single word feels like a huge win. However, eventually that progress slows and it’s time to say hello to that plateau.

Documenting your language learning with short audio and video recordings is a great way to keep track of your progress as you go. So when you hit that plateau, you can look back at those early videos and realise just how much you’ve improved!

So, if we’re expecting it, one of the best things we can do is prepare for it from the get-go. Documenting your language learning with short audio and video recordings is a great way to keep track of your progress as you go. So when you hit that plateau, you can look back at those early videos and realise just how much you’ve improved! That will help to motivate you to keep going to see more improvements. Most of the time with plateaus, it’s that motivation to trudge through it that we need more than anything else.

What would you say to those who ‘think’ they don’t have what it takes to learn a foreign language?

Language learning can happen regardless of so many misconceptions (heck, there’s even a Wikipedia page on it!. You are smart enough, just because you didn’t do well with languages in school doesn’t mean you’re destined to fail now, you’ll never know if you don’t try. Time spent learning a language is never a waste of time. Try it and see where it leads, it might just surprise you…!

Check out Linsday’s new podcast and video documentary series.


Language Learning Tips from Gareth at How to Get Fluent

language learning tipsWhat’s your advice to those learning their first foreign language?

Find a teacher or exchange partner and book slots in advance to box yourself in. Try out some basic tourist phrases with them and don’t forget to work together early and often on pronunciation and, more importantly, intonation.

Master some key phrases that will help you to learn more through the language (“How do you say x in your language”; “What does y mean?” “Could you repeat that more slowly?” “Please don’t switch to English, I really want to speak your language”). Then you’re in business.

Think in terms not of grammar but of key patterns or chunks of language. A good textbook will present you with these. You need to master them early but expect the process to involve frustration and forgetting over and over again. As you learn the patterns you can then adapt them to ever more contexts as you expand your vocab, which is your main longer-term challenge.

What’s your advice on keeping the language learning process fun so you don’t lose interest and quit?

Aim for short and frequent study bouts and regular practice. Use as many materials as possible on topics of interest to you in real life.

Aim for short and frequent study bouts and regular practice. Use as many materials as possible on topics of interest to you in real life. If you’re talking a break, keep listening to music in your language or watch a video with subtitles. Seek out support and community from other learners and, ideally, native speakers. Here are 44 best movies on Disney Plus for learning languages

What tips do you have when you hit a plateau with your progress?

Remember, that it’s normal. The early highs wear off.

Getting good is a marathon, not a sprint. You need massive passive exposure to the spoken and written language as well to do as much speaking and writing as possible. The further you get, the slower progress may seem. Don’t be deceived, though.

If you’re still engaged, you’re probably still moving ahead more than you realise. Talk about new topics. Start writing if you’ve been mainly reading or read different things. If you’re going back to a language at intermediate level after a long break, take your game apart. Go back to basics and get corrective feedback to iron out those fossilised errors.

What would you say to those who ‘think’ they don’t have what it takes to learn a foreign language?

I’d say they’re wrong! The latest science is on our side. The adult brain, we increasingly understand, adapts remarkably to new challenges. Plus, multilingualism is the worldwide norm.

It’s true that some people have a better “ear” for languages, a better memory, or are more outgoing. Yet we all have our own strengths to bring to the task.

The main variable is not talent, it’s commitment and a willingness to keep going. To do that, you need to have clear reasons for learning, build a routine over the medium to long term and find a way into a community of speakers.

Get more of Gareth’s tips by visiting his blog howtogetfluent.com


Language Learning Tips from Kris at Actual Fluency

language learning tipsWhat’s your advice to those learning their first foreign language?

The most important thing you need to do when starting to learn a language is to properly set your expectations and goals for the language. A conservative approach is usually better because it allows you to grow into your new habit of learning, instead of having to cut back and feel like a failure because you set your initial targets too high.

A guided textbook can be very useful to begin with, like the Language Hacking Series for French, Spanish, Italian and German or alternatively, series provided by the big publishers: Colloquial, Teach Yourself, Assimil and so on. Try to do a chapter a day (or less!)

I’d combine this with some kind of audio resource like Pimsleur, which is useful for learning on the go or during downtime like when travelling or doing chores. You can look for your target language in the podcast directory, or find premium versions like Coffee Break, LanguagePod101 or Rocket Languages. (To try Pimsleur for FREE, click here.)

Finally, I would highly recommend a tutor. The best site for individual tutoring lessons is italki, where you’ll be able to find community tutors for just a few bucks per lesson. You can’t beat this value.


Author’s note: To supplement my own language learning I personally use italki multiple times every week. This is where I get 1-to-1 support and speaking practice with a qualified teacher or community tutor. You can read my full italki review here and book your first italki lesson here.


What’s your advice on keeping the language learning process fun so you don’t lose interest and quit?

The key to success in language learning, as I’ve discovered, is therefore not which book or website to learn from, but using materials and methods that you personally respond to and enjoy doing.

There are many ways to improve motivation and stay on track, but I believe the core fundamentals are:

Have realistic expectations. Take it one step at a time and don’t try to be overly ambitious. Setting yourself ridiculous targets is a sure-fire way to suffer burnout and potentially give up learning the language.

Visualise and set goals that describe how you feel when you’ve achieved your goals of language learning. Imagine yourself speaking your dream language, effortlessly, to a group of native speakers in the capital city where the language is spoken.

Accountability is hugely important because it raises the cost of failure dramatically. If you only have to disappoint yourself it’s much easier to give up, but if you have a friend or a family member whom you’ve told your goals you’re much more likely to stick with them.

By tracking your efforts with what you can actually control, like: lessons, pages, chapters, flashcards, or episodes you get biochemical feedback from your progress. If you don’t track anything meaningful it can have a very negative effect, where you feel like you’re not progressing and so you get discouraged and finally give up.

Need more motivation? Check out Kris’s Language Motivation Mastery course.

What tips do you have when you hit a plateau with your progress?

Progress in a language slows down or even plateaus for a period of time, this is perfectly normal. For this time it’s even more important than before to get some help from a tutor or teacher. They can help you point out consistent mistakes or improvements that you can make to get out of the slump.

A lot of the time the plateau is purely psychological which is why tracking what can be tracked is so important.

What would you say to those who ‘think’ they don’t have what it takes to learn a foreign language?

If you don’t believe you can learn a language you won’t learn it. That’s how powerful the mind is.

I’d recommend listening to stories from prolific polyglots (perhaps on the Actual Fluency Podcast) where completely normal people share their stories of learning multiple languages.

If you don’t believe you can learn a language you won’t learn it. That’s how powerful the mind is.

Humans are incredibly adept at learning languages at all ages. Our brains are extraordinary and if you want to learn a foreign language you definitely can.

Get more tips from Kris by visiting his site Actual Fluency. 


Language Learning Tips from Seonaid at Perfect English Grammar

language learning tipsWhat’s your advice to those learning their first foreign language?

I think it’s a good idea to use something fairly structured for your first foreign language. I’d recommend a book like Teach Yourself or Assimil, as well as an app like Memrise.

I would also try to get some speaking in fairly early, maybe on italki, as well as some reading with audio – especially if you’re not learning a new alphabet.

There are lots of good books of easy stories for learners, Olly Richards and Alex Rawlings have some for different languages, and for German, Andre Klein has a great series.

I also think establishing a good routine, for example, reading a book for 30 minutes when you wake up or use Memrise at lunchtime, is really very useful.

What’s your advice on keeping the language learning process fun/interesting so you don’t lose interest and quit?

I think I certainly underestimated at the beginning just how much memorisation is necessary and how long it takes to learn a language, so I try to remember that when I feel a bit discouraged.

I think a great thing is to try to meet speakers of your target language – there is often something on Meetup.com, for example. I also like to book some lessons on italki well in advance, so then I have to study!

What tips do you have when you hit a plateau with your progress?

For me, what works here is to remember that you need to do hard things to progress. So, thirty minutes working on understanding a difficult article will push you further than three hours of the radio playing in the background.

I try to do short bursts of the hard stuff. Also, I do like signing up for exams in the target language. I find that gives me a good push to improve.

What would you say to those who ‘think’ they don’t have what it takes to learn a foreign language?

I think, especially in the English speaking world, we have this idea that learning a language is some kind of magic or something you need to be really talented to do. But it’s just not true. In many parts of the world, almost everyone speaks more than one language. There’s no reason why we can’t too!

Improve your English with Seonaid by visiting her at site Perfect English Grammar

Language learning Tips - inspirations language learning quote


Language Tips from Conor at Language Tsar

language learning tipsWhat’s your advice to those learning their first foreign language?

I normally start with the Michel Thomas or Pimsleur courses as they make it intuitive to build simple sentences in the language, which are essential for your first conversations.  (Get your FREE 7-day trial with Pimsleur here and see for yourself!)

Also, I research the background and basics of the language, to see if there is any overlap with English or any other languages that I speak. This helps me accelerate my progress in the early stages of the new language.

What’s your advice on keeping the language learning process fun so you don’t lose interest and quit?

Establish your motivation for learning a new language when starting. Make it as precise as possible. This will ensure that you understand why you are embarking on this particular language journey and increase the chances that you will follow through on it.

If you feel like learning the language has become a struggle then you can refer back to your motivation and refocus on your goal. This helps me from quitting prematurely.

What tips do you have when you hit a plateau with your progress?

Mix it up! Challenge yourself in the language consistently and push yourself outside of your comfort zone. It might not be obvious to you that you are making progress but in a few months, you will appreciate how far you’ve progressed.

What would you say to those who ‘think’ they don’t have what it takes to learn a foreign language?

I only spoke English at 21 years olds, and now I speak more than 10 languages!

Moreover, my worst results in my final high school exams were languages. Everyone can learn languages and become a polyglot with the right motivation and application. These are the keys to language success not ‘natural talent’.


Language Learning Tips from Simon at Omniglot.com

language learning tipsWhat’s your advice to those learning their first foreign language?

You could start with learning some useful everyday phrases. You can find these in phrasebooks, and on websites like Omniglot.com.

There are many courses, classes, apps and websites that can help you learn the most popular languages, like French, Spanish and Chinese, but fewer for lesser-known languages. You could try out a number of courses until you find one that suits you. Ask friends and family if they have any they’re willing to lend you. You can also borrow them from libraries, and try them out online.

When you have found a course or class that you like, try to study regularly. It’s better to study for 20 or 30 minutes a day, rather than an hour or two once a week.

Try to find opportunities to practice listening, speaking reading and writing as often as possible. You can find conversation partners and tutors online, and offline. The more you use the language, the more you’ll remember and the more progress you’ll make.

What’s your advice on keeping the language learning process fun so you don’t lose interest and quit?

It helps to incorporate the language into your everyday life. For example, if you like watching sports, you could try watching some sports in the language you’re learning. Or if you like cooking, you could watch foreign cooking shows and not only practice listening to the language, but also learn to cook new dishes. You could use the language to tweet, blog, or write poems, stories or songs.

What tips do you have when you hit a plateau with your progress?

If you feel like you’re not making much progress with your language learning, try taking a break and do something else.

If you’re learning French, for example, you could try learning another harder language like Japanese, then when you go back to French it won’t feel so hard. Alternatively, look for something fun to do in the language like watching films or TV shows, playing games, reading books, singing songs, etc. If you keep chipping away at it, eventually you will get past the plateau.

What would you say to those who ‘think’ they don’t have what it takes to learn a foreign language?

Everybody picks up their native language(s) without too much trouble, so you can learn another language.

You may believe that you don’t have the talent or knack for it, or that your memory is poor, or you’re too old, or you don’t have time, but if you really want to learn a language, you will find ways around these obstacles.

Talent is not essential. Memory can be improved with practice. You’re never too old to learn something new, and you can find time, even in a very busy life – 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there.

Get more tips from Simon at Omniglot.com


Related: 10 Proven Memory Hacks: How to Remember New Vocabulary Faster


Language learning Tips - inspirations language learning quote


Language Learning Tip  from Raffaele at Rafters Languages

language learning tipsWhat’s your advice to those learning their first foreign language?

The hardest thing about learning the first foreign language is that you don’t know what your favourite method is. You have to play around with different resources and methods until you find what works for you.

The key is switching back and forth. Always study material that is just a tiny bit above your current level, and not too hard.

My recommendation is to start with easier courses like the first few lessons on 50 Languages and Duolingo, (both are free!), and when things get a bit too hard, switch to more complete courses like Assimil, Teach Yourself, Hugo in 3 months, or Glossika and start again.

The key is switching back and forth. Always study material that is just a tiny bit above your current level, and not too hard.

Frustration is your enemy and a motivation-killer, while novelty and success are your friends and motivation-boosters.

What’s your advice on keeping the language learning process fun so you don’t lose interest and quit?

You only learn if you are really interested in what you do, so make a sustainable plan and keep things relevant to you!

Dedicate 15-45 minutes every day to language learning and if you feel like things are getting boring, take what you normally like to do in your spare time, and start doing it in your target language. If you like to learn passively, then read or watch your favourite shows, but in your target language!

If you like to have a more active role, then contact natives or tutors on italki and start having real conversations with them.

 

What tips do you have when you hit a plateau with your progress?

While having a language learning routine is key, it’s also very important to realise when you are not progressing as quickly as before.

Hitting a plateau is normal, but it probably means you have squeezed everything out of your current method, and what has worked so far is losing its efficiency. If you feel stuck, then just move on! Try to diversify things and attack your target language from a different angle: you will feel that with novelty comes newfound progress.

What would you say to those who ‘think’ they don’t have what it takes to learn a foreign language?

Everybody has it, and the proof is that everybody learns a language as a kid. And the great news is that adults can learn so much quicker than kids!

What it actually takes is using a combination of motivation, the right method that suits your learning style, a short and long term plan, and time to turn language learning into a sustainable daily habit. Combine these elements efficiently and you will actually enjoy the process of learning a language!


Language Learning Tips from Lukas at The Polyglot Life

language learning tipsWhat’s your advice to those learning their first foreign language?

If you’re just getting started, I believe you should focus most of your attention on passive exposure such as listening and reading to familiarise yourself with the language. From here, progress to regular study sessions to convert all that exposure to actual knowledge that you can use yourself while speaking and writing, which comes later.

For me, the best way to get started is by diving straight into easy dialogues by seeing and hearing the language in use, observing, and then learning vocabulary and grammar from what I’ve seen and heard in these dialogues.

No cramming word lists, and not too much focus on grammar. Oh, and I’m a big Assimil fanboy, because, well, they help you do exactly what I’ve just described!

What’s your advice on keeping the language learning process fun so you don’t lose interest and quit?

The easy answer? Put yourself in new situations in which you can actually use your target language and use a variety of resources.

After working with many language learners, I’ve discovered that most people give up because they try to use too many resources and get overwhelmed because they got bored.

Choice overload is real!

Find a balance between variety and consistency and if you’re not the ‘balance type’, then go for consistency. First, finish that course or textbook you bought and only then spice it up with some fun new materials!

What tips do you have when you hit a plateau with your progress?

Listen and read as much as possible!

Most language learners who feel like they’re treading water are actually talking about their speaking and writing skills. The reason why they’re not progressing is because they’re not getting enough input!

Remember, at a beginner level every second word you read or hear is new to you and every sentence is full of new grammatical constructions. So, even a one-minute podcast will keep you busy and help you make progress.

If you’re at an intermediate level, that’s not the case anymore, and you’ll need a lot more input to find the same amount of new vocabulary. So, get massive reading and listening input, make sure you do some regular studying to convert that exposure into active knowledge, and your speaking and writing will improve. Guaranteed.

What would you say to those who ‘think’ they don’t have what it takes to learn a foreign language?

Successfully learning a foreign language is much more about using the right methods and strategies (probably not the ones your teacher used in high school), and about consistency than it is about pure talent.

Grab a textbook, make it a habit to study a bit every day, find a way to make your target language inevitable in your life, and you WILL improve.

Follow Lukas at thepolyglotlife.com

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Language learning tips from Ladan at Travel Wisdom Podcast

language learning tipsWhat’s your advice to those learning their first foreign language?

The most important thing with learning your first language is knowing that it is simple, but not easy. Just do what you need to do in a steady way every day or week and you will see progress!

What’s your advice on keeping the language learning process fun so you don’t lose interest and quit?

I like using apps on the phone to learn languages. That way it’s fun, engaging, and I get instant feedback. My favourite apps are Duolingo, Memrise, and now started a new one called Mondly. Click here to get 95% off Mondly using my exclusive reader discount.

What tips do you have when you hit a plateau with your progress?

As you get better you will feel like you are progressing less and less. Learning one word when you only know a hundred adds much more to your vocabulary compared to when you already know a thousand words!

Find somebody who remembers how you spoke before hitting the plateau and they will be able to tell you how much progress you’ve made which was invisible to you.

What would you say to those who ‘think’ they don’t have what it takes to learn a foreign language?

Everyone has already learned a language so we all have the same inbuilt mechanisms to learn another one. The secret was that as a child you had 20,000 hours of ‘tutoring’.

As an adult, try 500 hours of dedicated study into your language learning and only then can you judge if you are talented or not!

Listen to Ladan’s podcasts at TravelWisdomPodcast.com

Final thoughts

A big thank you to all the amazing polyglots who helped bring this post together. I hope you found some new inspiration to continue on your language learning journey. Need more support? Check out my guide for on how to stay motivated to learn a language.

And if you’re daring enough, I might even see you at the next Polyglot conference.


Want to know more about learning languages? Start here!


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language learning tips from 11 polyglots


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2 comments

Ermy December 9, 2017 - 12:50

I love that you took the time to write about all these polyglots.They really are great folks and you have also my favourite (Alex rawlings and Lindsay does languages). Lots of good advice in one post!!! Thanks !!

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Michele December 11, 2017 - 15:39

Thanks Ermy! I’m happy to hear you’ve enjoyed the post and all the tips :)

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