Best Ways to learn a Foreign language
As we stated before, the best way to learn a language is to have complete immersion—live in the country that the language is spoken or go on a language study holiday and attend language classes in the country of choice. However this is often impractical and so a different approach must be taken, but one which keeps as closely as possible to the advantages that living amongst native speakers gives us.
The majority of people now want to learn a language in their own home in their own time. Most people do not like the regularity of standard lessons in a classroom and opt for the self-study courses. There are many types of self-study course and each one may offer something different to the learning experience. The ideal scenario for learning is a mixture of learning styles and products.
Read our reviews to find which products suit your learning style and your wallet the best.
The ideal mix of learning products and essentials is listed below.
1. Audio course
2. Software
3. Textbook
4. Flashcards
5. Reader - native language text
6. dictionary - traditional or electronic
lets look at these in more detail.
Audio course
An audio course is usually a set of CD/DVDs or downloaded mp3 files that can be played as audio files wherever you may be. They usually use repetition of sentences (repeated aloud) to help students remember vocabulary and practise forming the sounds with a standard to check against. Audio courses are probably the next best thing to sitting down with a local native speaker for a drink and a chat. You hear real conversations and get to participate. Audio courses usually concentrate on verbal communication and ignore the writing or reading of a language.
See our rated Language Audio Courses
Computer Software
Computer software can be a very useful tool for the language learner. Obviously it is not as portable or as convenient as an audio course but it has the advantage of being able to include all aspects of a language course. A software program can give you vocabulary checks, sentence building, audio prompts, tests, writing tutorials, and reading courses all rolled into one package. They can also use their technology and your microphone to check your pronunciation of vocabulary. All this makes software programs sound the ideal choice for a language learner, and they are very powerful tools indeed, making perfect partners with the audio course for a comprehensive learning environment. See our rated Software Language Courses
Audio and software courses however, can be extremely expensive and most people will have to make a choice between them. If I were forced to make a choice between an audio course and a software course I would take the audio. I have to agree that computer software courses are more complete and more all-round—they cover speaking, writing and reading— but I think most people will learn to speak much faster with an audio course and can learn the rest through textbooks and other media. Speaking, I would imagine, is the most important and desired aspect for most early learners—it is certainly the part that gives the most pleasure—and therefore i would suggest the audio course before the software, but to be honest, the two together make a formidable team.
Textbook
This is probably not so important to begin with but will certainly become a necessity as your language skills increase. A textbook is full of information and worked examples and questions to be solved and is most useful for understanding the grammar of a language. Most people will hate the idea of textbooks as they associate them with school, but they can often be enormously helpful with sentence structure and understanding concepts that the audi and software courses just will not address. Textbooks can be found in most big book stores or on the internet—new or second hand.
Flashcards
Flashcards can be very important for learning new vocabulary to a language as they help you refresh the word wherever you are at any time. So what exactly are flashcards? Well basically a flashcard is a small piece of card with a word written on it with its translation in the target language. Sure sometimes it can have a picture on it—which incidentally helps learning immensely—but it is still a simple thing with a fancy name. Many people carry a small pack of flashcards with them at all times. If ever they find themselves with a spare two minutes they will pull out the pack and refresh a couple of words. This refreshing is very important if a word is to stick in the brain for any length of time and it doesn't have to take up any part of your day with flashcards—just fill in the gaps.
Flashcards can be made at home with pocket sized card or printed from products ready made (Rocket languages include printable flashcard sets). If you want to make flashcards yourself but don't want to go through cutting out card then you can make them on your computer. Vtrain is a software package that allows you to make your own flashcards with either your own words or downloaded lists (Also see our vocabulary learners page).
There are also solely web based flashcard programs that are obviously less portable like BYKI, they shouldn't really be counted as flashcards but they can be very useful tools for learning vocabulary. See our language flashcard page
Reader
A novel or a basic childrens book (depending on your level) to read and increase both your vocabulary retention and grammar understanding. Very useful after a time of learning and can be found all over the internet.
Dictionary
Every language learner needs a dictionary, whether it be to look up that random word you just thought of or translate something from a reader, the ease of reference that a dictionary brings is unbeatable. Most students are quite happy with the standard bound paper dictionary (sometimes known as a book) but many these days are going for the electronic dictionary. The main reason for this is the added extras that an electronic version brings: Spoken translation (ideal for hearing pronunciation), quick search, vocal search, translation of sentences and much much more. Also of course, an electronic dictionary can often hold more than one language, and unlimited vocabulary.
Translators
If you have an electronic dictionary then this will take care of most of the translation requirements that you might have. The most modern dictionaries can deal with whole sentences even when read aloud. If, however, you need to translate a whole passage of work, or an entire e-mail, then a dictionary may not be your most efficient bet. For this you may want to look into the world of translators. Translators range from free online cut-and-paste programs to premium, professional language translation software. See our Language Translation Software page for more details.
Now you know how to learn a foreign language, take a look at the courses that can get you started on your bilingual life. Language Courses