Tricks to Learning a Language Effectively and Efficiently

Learning a foreign language is an incredibly enriching and rewarding experience. Being able to speak and read another language opens up doors to experiencing another culture, and to seeing things from another perspective, which is most likely quite different from your own perspective.

While many people dream of learning another language, it remains an elusive goal for most. How many times have you heard, “I took French in high school, but I don’t remember a thing.” Most people are convinced that they can’t learn a language, so they have a hard time bringing themselves to make a sustained effort. This is a shame because they are missing out on one of life’s wonderful experiences.

In fact, anyone can learn a foreign language. Some believe that with enough time and practice, we can learn anything. Unfortunately, with the multitude of demands that modern life puts on us, time is definitely a constraint. Here is where some tricks to help shape our frame of mind and behavior can help.

If there is one thing that multilingual people have learned, it is how to learn a language more efficiently. With each new language learned, multilinguals are constantly improving upon their techniques. Applying those techniques to the next language enables one to get up to speed more quickly. In my own experience, that is exactly what happened as I learned French, Spanish, German, Japanese and then Mandarin Chinese. While it is ultimately up to the individual to be disciplined and craft a program that works for them, there are certain “tricks” that cut across learning styles and will accelerate your progress.

Multisensory Learning

Multisensory learning quite simply means that the more senses you use to experience a new word or expression in a new language, the more likely you are to retain that word or expression. For example, reading about Spanish vocabulary associated with soccer is good. Listening to audio demonstrating pronunciation of that vocabulary while reading it, is better. Repeating the vocabulary out loud, while listening and reading, is better still. Going out and playing soccer with a group of native Spanish speakers right after studying, would be the best (if not always practical) way to absorb the new vocabulary. The Internet is of great help here with a wealth of multimedia resources at our fingertips. Movies with audio and subtitles in the desired language are very helpful (especially if you’re already familiar with the storyline, as this gives you a framework on which you can “hang” pieces of situational dialogue). Try to find material that aligns well with your interests. Language learning also comes more easily when you are entertained and having fun.

Imitation

They say that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. Imitation is also one of the best ways to sear those new words and expressions into your memory banks. When you hear a new word or expression, repeat it to yourself out loud or under your breath. Try it out, roll it around on your tongue - make it... yours. Do your best to reproduce the sounds that don’t come naturally to you. When watching a movie or listening to a podcast, for short periods, try to repeat everything that is being said, even if you don’t understand and feel like you can’t keep up. This improves your articulation and you’ll gradually start to be able to isolate and identify familiar words and pieces of dialog. These short bursts of imitation also increase your stamina for listening attentiveness and comprehension. As you progress, even try to exaggerate the accent of the speaker. Though imitation may feel corny or uncomfortable to you when you first try it, you get better at it. I can’t overstate the importance of imitation in learning a language. It will accelerate your comprehension and later on it will help you achieve (or approximate) the articulation, intonation and cadence of a native speaker.

Frequency/Repetition

As far as foreign-language acquisition is concerned, it’s all about the frequency of exposure. Multiple short exposures (5-10 minutes each) per day are vastly more effective than hunkering down and hitting the books for 2 straight hours. Our attention and capacity to absorb language are sharpest during the first 10 minutes of any session. So in the interest of using time optimally, it is best to mix it up by attending to something else, and then come back for another short burst later (discipline and being organized are also instrumental here). As your language-learning stamina grows, you can increase the duration of your exposures, but especially in the beginning, it is best to keep them short. The complement of frequency is of course repetition. Any type of training where muscle memory is involved requires repetition. Not repetition in the sense of writing endless conjugations on a chalkboard, but repeatedly using and reviewing vocabulary, expressions and entire sentences that you have made part of your growing arsenal in your foreign language.

Index Cards

Speaking of making new words, expressions and entire sentences part of your foreign-language arsenal, this next trick helps you do exactly that - and it is decidedly low-tech. Index cards. Good old 3” x 5” index cards. For most new words/expressions you encounter, it takes several exposures in order for them to become part of your personal lexicon. Always have a few blank index cards with you, and whenever you come across a new word/expression that seems useful, write it on the front, with the definition in your primary language on the back. Always keep your stack of vocabulary index cards with you. Pull them out on the bus, subway, in the elevator, waiting in line - pretty much anywhere and anytime you have a few idle moments. Remember, multiple short exposures are best. Check out the word on the front, and try to recall the translation on the back before looking. As you keep reviewing your vocabulary stack, when you have successfully recalled a particular word/expression 3 times, it’s time to “graduate” that card from that stack to, say an old shoebox. Again, keep your vocabulary stack with you at all times (to take advantage of those idle moments), and limit it to about 30 cards. Rotate new vocabulary in as you graduate cards to the shoebox. You’ll be amazed how quickly the shoebox fills up! Index cards are a very effective trick to put frequency/repetition into practice and to vastly and quickly grow your stock of working vocabulary.

Comic Strips

Comic strips are great. After all, who doesn’t like comics? Comic strips from the countries of the language one is learning are a window into cultural nuances and into what qualifies as humorous in that culture. However, even comics in your primary language are an excellent tool around which you can build lessons. The storylines and the visual artwork in the panels are conducive to the retention of situation-specific vocabulary (multisensory). For example, when I was learning Mandarin Chinese, I used the comic strip “Herman” by Jim Unger. The comics were mostly single-panel with some dialogue, and consisted of memorable satirical and dark humor in a variety of situations and settings. A single-panel comic told an entire story. In my Mandarin lessons, I would ask my language partner how to say a few things, and then I struggled through trying to explain in Mandarin the story told by the comic. When I was confident that they understood, I asked them to then explain the same story back to me in Mandarin, but as if they were telling the story to a native Mandarin speaker. I recorded these last few minutes of my language partner explaining the comic in their own natural voice, speed and intonation. I would then compile these last bits of each lesson, and end up with a recording of a whole series of explanations of different individual Herman comic stories that I was familiar with. I could subsequently listen to this short compilation over and over (frequency/repetition), visualize the panels being described (multisensory) and try to imitate these natural-language descriptions (imitation). To this day, when I speak Mandarin, there are certain phrases and situational vocabulary that I associate with those Herman comics.

Interaction with a Native Speaker

While the use of comic strips is a useful trick, the other necessary element that goes hand in hand with it is interaction with a native speaker. Interaction with a native speaker is where “the rubber meets the road”. Interaction forces you to quickly access the vocabulary and expressions you have amassed in your foreign-language arsenal in order to convey a message. It will be a tough slog at first, but this is not (or shouldn’t be) about speaking perfectly. Nobody expects a non-native speaker of their language to speak perfectly. It is about making effective enough use of those tools in your language arsenal to get your point across. “Total immersion” in a country where a foreign language is spoken is not an option for most of us. But luckily, access to native speakers is easier now than ever before, thanks to online communication applications such as Skype and Zoom, and online language coaches, such as myself. Interaction with a native speaker is an essential part of a language-learning program that really ties all of your other efforts and learnings together.

Be Bold!

Learning a foreign language takes gumption. You have to put yourself out there, and you’ll sometimes feel awkward or uncomfortable. However, generally native speakers of the language you’re learning will appreciate the effort, and will often be eager to help out or give you pointers. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes! Learning a language is definitely a “two steps forward, one step back” process. You have to be bold and keep chipping away. Success will breed success, and if you keep at it, you will soon experience the joy and satisfaction that come from learning a foreign language. 

So if you are considering learning a foreign language, go for it! Best of luck on your foreign-language journey. Remember to use the above tricks - they will help you learn your new language effectively and efficiently.