Advice For Learning A Language

Appreciate the learning experience and remember how far you've come I'm not sure there is a subject where learning is so evident and quantifiable as in languages. Every new word or item of vocabulary is a new item of learning. It is easy to see and count exactly how much you have learnt, to monitor and track your progress and set targets. This is good for your self confidence - you will be able to see you've learnt a lot in just a short space of time.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes - try things and play with the language I have a student (age 5) who likes to try things, knowing full well that they are probably wrong, e.g. le trouser for trousers. Although seemingly rather silly, this still shows knowledge of French and conveys that she means to say a noun. People want to understand so they will make efforts to understand you. Just do what you can to help make that possible. In some instances, just saying le and the English word will actually be correct!

Repeat as much of what you hear as you can Don't worry if you can't repeat an entire sentence or passage. Just repeat what you can remember; this may just be the first or last word or two. This is how we learn language as babies and children. My five year old student will just repeat things back to me when she's heard them enough times. It's then that I can explain to her what it is she's said. And, because she has already absorbed the pronunciation of the word or phrase, there is less for her to remember.