Learning A Foreign Language Outside The Lessons.

Learning a foreign language is useful and exciting but it also takes time, and that is what many people don´t have. When learning a foreign language, two hours of lessons a week, or three are not enough but this is the time that most people have, and they are already doing an effort to make this time and continue learning. Here are some tips in order to continue learning a foreign language outside the lesson in your free:

Films. It is important to watch any kind of film in its original version. If you are a student of German as a foreign language, you could look for some German films and try to watch one or two per week. If your level is elementary, you should watch them with subtitles in your mother tongue. If your level is intermediate the subtitles should be in the foreign language you are learning, i. e. German. If your level is advanced, then; no subtitles are needed. This is a fun way of improving your language skills. Of course, this is extended to TV Shows or TV series.

Songs. Another important way of improving your language skills is listening to songs. Listening to music with lyrics in the foreign language you are learning will help you to develop better listening skills as well as make you be in touch with the culture of that specific region or country. If you don´t understand every single word of the lyrics, you can find them online and read them aloud while the song is playing. If you do so, you will also be practicing your pronunciation.

Books. Reading is an essential part of the language learning process, not only on when learning a foreign language, but also when you start learning your mother tongue. If at school they hadn't made us read, we wouldn´t have been able now to know half of the vocabulary we do. Reading is one of the most important activities for vocabulary learning. It is useful to keep a small notebook, which you can carry with you in your purse, your laptop bag or your pocket; in which you can write down every new word you have learnt and its meaning in your mother tongue. You will create your own dictionary and it will be very useful for the learning process. Of course, apart from reading books, you could also choose, newspapers, articles, journals, encyclopedias, comics, etc.

Crosswords and Puzzles. Playing this type of games using the foreign language you are learning will help you not only to learn new vocabulary but also to think that the process of learning a language is not something boring but something fun that actually helps you with your daily routine. There are plenty of games that are adaptable to different levels: crosswords, scrambled letters, word search puzzles, riddles, rebuses, etc.

These are four really simple ways of improving your language skills outside the lesson. These four examples are simple and entertaining and you can put them in practice in your free time. You can play the games or read any book/newspaper while going back home from work and while you listen to music, and you can watch the film any day you are home after work with your friends or family.