{"id":5801,"date":"2017-07-19T07:05:55","date_gmt":"2017-07-19T11:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/?p=5801"},"modified":"2020-10-01T12:26:01","modified_gmt":"2020-10-01T16:26:01","slug":"5-unusual-tips-to-learn-a-language-faster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/2017\/07\/19\/5-unusual-tips-to-learn-a-language-faster\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Unusual Tips to Learn a Language Faster"},"content":{"rendered":"

How can I learn a language fast?<\/strong> It\u2019s the one question I can\u2019t get away from. I see it asked on Quora, in tweets, Google suggested searches, blog comments, and beyond.<\/p>\n

Short answer: you can\u2019t. Learning a language takes time. But you can learn a language faster<\/em> with the right approach. Many sources will cite immersion as the fastest way to learn a language. But for the busy professional, immersion is often costly, disruptive, or unfeasible. You don\u2019t need to move to France or quit your day job to learn French.<\/p>\n

Learning a language faster really comes down to learning more efficiently and effectively. You can spend hours on end studying, but that doesn\u2019t guarantee you really understand what you\u2019re reading or hearing, nor that you\u2019ll remember it when your study bender is over. With the idea of efficiency and effectiveness in mind, here are a few unusual tips to improve your routine.<\/p>\n

\"learning<\/p>\n

Take breaks.<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not the advice you\u2019d expect when trying to do something as fast as possible. But, as it turns out, \u201cprolonged attention to a single task actually hinders performance<\/a>.\u201d If a stimulus doesn\u2019t change over time, the brain stops registering it and you to lose focus.<\/p>\n

We recommend studying in short, consistent bursts. Start with 30 minutes a day, every day<\/em>. Otherwise, you risk burning out or spending time studying when your brain is elsewhere. If you choose to study in longer blocks\u2014such as in a formal classroom setting\u2014take breaks<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t just take any old break, though. You can do better than a low efficiency break like eating chips and scrolling Instagram. Aim for high efficiency breaks<\/a> like a short walk or yoga routine. Breaks that get you moving will physically re-energize your body and refresh your mind.<\/p>\n

Backtrack.<\/h2>\n

When trying to accomplish something in record time, it usually doesn\u2019t make sense to backtrack or repeat yourself. But when it comes to learning a language\u2014au contraire. Charge forward in your studies, but don\u2019t forget to review what you\u2019ve learned. Otherwise, you haven\u2019t really learned it at all.<\/p>\n

Of course, you don\u2019t want to waste time reviewing things you know well, or missing those you don\u2019t. That\u2019s where spaced repetition comes in. It\u2019s a fancy way of describing the process of periodically reviewing words and phrases over time. If you\u2019re supremely organized, you can attempt to do it manually with flashcards<\/a>, or you can rely on a spaced repetition algorithm<\/a> like the one in Transparent Language Online. We keep track of what you\u2019ve learned, how much difficulty you had learning it, and spiral it back into your studies at spaced intervals to make sure it stays fresh!<\/p>\n

Exercise.<\/h2>\n

Nope, this is not a cutesy \u201cexercise your brain\u201d tip. I literally mean get sweaty. Doing cardio gets your heart pumping and your blood flowing. \u201cAll that extra blood bathes your brain cells in oxygen and glucose, which they need to function. The more they get, the better they perform<\/a>.\u201d A quick jog or a HITT workout can literally help you feel better (thanks, dopamine) and focus better (thank you too, norepinephrine).<\/p>\n

Sweating it out can also help you learn faster: \u201cafter just 30 minutes of doing an easy half-hour bike ride, subjects completed a cognitive test faster than they did before exercising… and just as accurately.\u201d If you\u2019re short on time, you can make this tip work double duty for you by learning while<\/em> you exercise. The stationary bike, treadmill, or stair machine is the perfect place to learn with an app, read a book, or listen to a podcast in the target language.<\/p>\n

Go it alone.<\/h2>\n

Of course<\/em> you\u2019ll need to interact with others to be conversant in a language. But if you\u2019re really trying to drill vocabulary, master those pesky irregular verb conjugations, or figure out when the heck you use the imperfect vs. the subjunctive\u2014try flying solo.<\/p>\n

Studying with friends or joining a conversation group is the best way to put your skills to use and build your confidence in a language. But it can also be a massive distraction. You\u2019ll only make as much progress as the least focused person in the group. When it comes to learning quickly, distractions are costly. According to one study<\/a>, it took an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds for workers to get back to the task at hand after an interruption. That\u2019s a lot <\/em>of wasted time.<\/p>\n

Create a safe solo space to study, free of distractions from other people\u2014physically or electronically. Silence your phone, stay away from Facebook. You know how it goes: you hear one email slide into your inbox and suddenly you\u2019re 20 minutes deep into the Outlook rabbit hole.<\/p>\n

Get feedback.<\/h2>\n

Sometimes, you shouldn\u2019t go it alone. Getting feedback on your pronunciation, word choice, and so on is crucial to making progress without backtracking. The longer you continue making mistakes without realizing it, the more ingrained they will become and the longer it will take to break those bad habits.<\/p>\n

This feedback can come from others or from self-assessment. Practice speaking with a native speaker who can correct your silly mistakes and explain why they\u2019re wrong. Take practice tests or language assessments to find out your problem areas\u2014you may think you know which prepositions to use when, but the sooner you confirm that, the better. Be open to feedback from any source and use it to propel yourself forward, not dwell on past mistakes.<\/p>\n

Teach someone else.<\/h2>\n

Teaching yourself is hard enough, but it can help you raise the stakes. You don\u2019t actually<\/em> have to teach anyone else, but pretend you do. Studies<\/a> have shown that \u201cexpecting to teach enhances learning and organization of knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along the same vein as reviewing what you\u2019ve learned, if you learn it to the point where you can teach it to someone else, you know<\/em> you\u2019ve learned it. Preparing a lesson plan of sorts also ensures you\u2019re not rushing through the material, missing important patterns or irregularities (of which there are many<\/em> in most languages). Stop and process a new grammar rule or tense; thinking about how you would explain it to others will help you internalize the material yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"learning

How can I learn a language fast? It\u2019s the one question I can\u2019t get away from. I see it asked on Quora, in tweets, Google suggested searches, blog comments, and beyond. Short answer: you can\u2019t. Learning a language takes time. But you can learn a language faster with the right approach. Many sources will cite…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[542801],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5801","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archived-posts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5801"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6885,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5801\/revisions\/6885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}