I meet many people who are surprised or impressed that I can speak four languages quite well. Not me at all, because I have made a lot of long-term efforts to speak and master them. In this article, I will give you my techniques to practice my foreign languages.
A language is learned over the long term
It often takes more than 5 years of learning and practice to speak it fluently without going to the country where the language is spoken. A language is practiced regularly and over the long term. I will give you some examples of how I practiced the English language when I was younger.
- I watched Japanese animated videos for several years that were subtitled in English. When I didn’t know a word, I took my dictionary, looked it up, and noted the meaning.
- Of course, I studied English at school like everyone else for at least 6 years.
- I went on a school trip to England which awakened in me the desire to learn and improve this language where I had difficulties making myself understood.
- I also corresponded with my cousins whom I had visited in my adolescence to catch up with them, which helped me a lot to use English regularly.
If you didn’t do all that when you were younger, it’s not necessarily very serious. I will then explain how I consolidated my English and learned to speak German.
Practice of foreign languages
When I was at school, I learned English and German but like everyone, I had never made the effort for each of these languages. Proof of this is that when I revived my German, I had not spoken or heard this language for 8 years, which is practically an eternity.
With method and willpower, here is how I practiced my Chinese, German, and English:
- I participated in polyglot meetings for several years (once a week) practicing basic German, I also talked with Chinese or Taiwanese people and for English I made English-speaking friends. I practiced the basics and had basic conversations hundreds and hundreds of times, which made me comfortable for more advanced discussions because I had gained confidence in my ability to speak regularly.
- I went several times to the United States (a total of 4 and a half months) and I lived more than a year in Australia where I met people from all over the world. The common language was English. I met many Germans and each time, I started in German then when it became too complicated, I continued in English.
- After these trips, I participated in several language stays in Germany (I went for 1 month in 1 and a half years) to perfect my knowledge and vocabulary which allowed me to reach a certain level and I do not intend to stop there. I also went to Vienna but that is anecdotal.
- I watched American series for several years with English subtitles at first then without subtitles when I was more comfortable.
Learning a new language is about creating new habits and regular practice is necessary. It takes a lot of time, patience, and also not being afraid to make mistakes.
The essential thing is to make yourself understood and the foreigners you will speak with will be rather surprised to see the effort you make to speak their language. This is the case with Germans when I speak to them in German; most of them have learned French for at least 5 years but cannot say much, so when I speak to them in German, which is a less spoken language, they are impressed.
And you? Who speaks several languages, what were your difficulties in learning a new language?
