Can Apps Make You Fluent?

__> Can Apps make you fluent?

Out, in the virtual world, there are a plethora of apps promising that you will learn a language within months. Daily usage seemingly guaranteeing fluency.

I have tried a couple of these in my desire to learn Spanish. Religiously, on my daily journey to work, I practised for 30 minutes. I use public transport, it was a no brainer. Though, I am sure other passengers found my repetition of multiple Spanish words and phrases a little disturbing.

What s my verdict? I now know lots of nouns for everyday objects in Spanish. However, stringing them together into a meaningful sentence has proven elusive. No app corrects my accent or emphasis. I have yet to hear anyone from Spain with a Mancunian intonation. Therefore, yes apps have a purpose but they will not solve language learning. That requires work, effort and practice.

Which language is the hardest to learn?

For many of us, any language is hard to learn, with the exception of our native tongue. For some, even that seems difficult. Then there are the lucky few who naturally acquire any language that they come into contact with.

Is there really such a thing as a hard language? Many of my Spanish students struggle with English: why? Because the rules seem to be there to be broken! Pronunciation bares little similarity to spelling with random letters added to the start and end of words with no evident purpose. Then there are the multiple words all with a very similar meaning. But also quite different.

Take love for example. You can adore, worship, like, treasure, cherish something but each word has a slightly different significance. As you learn English, storing all these words, knowing all their meanings is tough.

So which language is the hardest to learn? Mandarin? Arabic? Russian? There are so many factors involved. Ultimately, language learning becomes frustrating and hard when you need or want it and you do not seem to be making progress.

Recipe for success

What can you do to up your fluency? There is no perfect recipe. Like every great recipe, the results are down to taste and what works for you.

Here, are some of the ingredients that you might want to use:

Classes. There are lots of classes both online and in centres. Not sure that you want to go back to school?

Private tuition might be the answer. Just a specialist and you. This will help ensure your accuracy. Vital for examinations

Intercambio: Lots of social media groups exist and meet up to practice languages. These can be great social occasions especially if you want to simply acquire conversation skills.

Apps and books. Great for theory. Less so for practical

Foreign language TV. Watch the news (BBC is great for Standard English). Or the Soaps (awesome for regional accents). You have visuals to accompany words. I became an addict of a particularly bad German soap: but it helped. Sports commentaries and radio too.

If you want it, you need to work for it!

Finally, it is all about effort. As a private tutor, I will be delighted to help you to learn. It is more than just my job: it is my passion. However, once a session has ended, the learning hasn t. Everything that we do needs to be supplemented with practice.

The simple truth is that language learning requires work. However, the benefits and pleasure from the ability to communicate in another language are immeasurable.