subject: Learning a Foreign Language [print this page] The decision to study a foreign language may be one undertaken for many reasons. Perhaps you wish to visit a country in which it is spoken. Maybe you simply enjoy a challenge. Or perhaps it is required for some aspect of your job. Whatever the reason, the next step is to decide how to go about it. This article hopes to serve as a brief introduction to the idea of learning a foreign language and to give you some kind of idea of how to get started. Just what IS the best way of learning a foreign language?
If you have prior experience with languages, you will naturally have more of an idea of what is required. People who are learning their first foreign language might be slightly less sure. Whatever your situation, you should know that learning a language isn't something that can be undertaken lightly. It will require hundreds of hours of work - at the minimum - before you will be at a standard that can be considered basic fluency. Of course, some people might take to a language more quickly than others and indeed, some people seem to have a natural ability to pick up languages whereas others might find it more challenging.
The first step many people take is consulting the internet. Being as vast as it is, the internet can provide a huge number of language learning resources for a great deal of languages out there. You may struggle to find materials for more obscure languages but for the most part, there will be at least something. The internet may be a good first step and there are indeed a lot of good websites that will help you on your way, but most people find that at some point they will need to invest in a good language learning course, a dictionary of their chosen language and perhaps one or two other resources such as grammar books or software. The Teach Yourself series of courses are world-renown and a common first step for people looking to learn a language. They've been around for a long time and can therefore be relied upon to be accurate, of high quality and well worth the money. There are various similar language courses available and you should definitely spend the time browsing them, reading about the experiences of other people that have bought them and looking at the details. There is not necessarily any definitive course - the quality may vary, obviously, but the more well known publishers and language courses all generally rank as being worth the money.
What then of the other resources? Well, it's inevitable that having decided upon a course and begun it that you will eventually need to take a closer look at the intricacies of the language. This is where dedicated grammar books and other related materials come in. Although they may not be the most riveting read in the world, they are essential for getting to grips with all those weird and unusual features of languages that might not appear too often, but are noticeable when somebody gets them wrong. English has many of these - something it's native speakers take in their stride every day. Once grammar rules begin the sink in and you can actively use them in your learning of the language, your confidence should increase greatly.
People approach the learning of a language in a multitude of ways. A quick browse of the internet on language learning websites should show you that. There is no definitive way or method that works best. You need to find the right one for you. For example, a particular method of learning vocabulary might work well for somebody else but you might find it difficult and awkward. That's completely normal and everybody who attempts to learn a language will find that at some stage or another. Again, this is where research comes it - take the time to look into different resources and don't just restrict yourself to one site. Browse internet forums and ask people, branch out and explore.
