How to learn a new language: Practical tips for tangible progress

English may be the language of international communication, but if you ever travel abroad, you’ll be surprised to know local people prefer their native languages. In some countries, they’ll look down on tourists who can’t even say “please” or “thank you” in the local language. But that’s not the only reason to learn languages. There’s also a chance to get better career opportunities and expand your worldview, meet new friends, or move abroad to build a new life. 

If you’re ready to discover how to learn a new language, let our paper writing service experts share their experience and tips.

How to learn a new language: 8 first-hand tips

No online guide can teach you a foreign language in under 2,000 words, so we won’t pretend to try. Instead, we’ll share actionable tips that many members of our academic team have implemented to study French, Spanish, German, and other foreign languages.

Have a strong “why”

Before looking up how to learn a language, understand WHY you want to do it. This goal will be the main driver of your studies, it will keep you motivated in the long term, and it will affect the rest of the tips on this list. 

Your goal should be important to you and tangible. For example, instead of working towards “Perfect Spanish”, set the goal to “Speak with locals on my trip to Mexico”. You can also set academic goals, like passing the B2 exam in your target language. Still, it should align with your real-life aspirations, like applying to a university or a job abroad, where you’ll need to provide evidence of your language skills.

Remember to adjust your “WHY” as your language mastery increases. Once you reach the first milestone, think of the next objective and start working towards it. Otherwise, your language learning will stall, and you might start losing ground on what you’ve learned.

Give up perfect fluency

One of the critical tips for learning a new language that no one talks about is that you must be okay with not being perfect. When you start your lessons, you won’t understand 80% of what you read and hear, and the grammar rules will seem ridiculously incomprehensible (like subjunctive in Spanish). That’s perfectly normal, but your inner perfectionist will use any excuse to give up.

To power through this phase, be honest with yourself and admit that you won’t achieve fluency quickly (or probably never). Instead, commit to being good enough to hold a conversation when you go abroad. Setting small, achievable goals and noting your progress should help overcome this issue. For example, celebrate it when you first read a chapter without using a vocabulary or write a comment on TikTok or YouTube. Although these accomplishments may not seem like much, remember that most of your peers can’t boast the same. With time, you’ll get better and have more language milestones to celebrate.

Try every method to find what works for you

There’s no universally accepted best way to learn a new language. The scientists are still debating the mechanics of second language acquisition, and their teaching hypotheses range from classic instruction to full immersion.

Do not follow the first advice you find online blindly. Instead, try different methods and see what works for you. For example, if you’re a visual person, having illustrated flashcards or watching cartoons in a foreign language can be the best choice for you. Duolingo Spanish podcasts are an excellent tool for those who prefer audio learning, while books and newsletters work best for people who love reading. Flash cards, language apps, or chat platforms for international language exchange—try them all to find what works best for you. 

Have fun learning

The best way to learn a language is to ensure your study sessions are exciting and associated with positive emotions. After all, so many students give up on classes (including language and science lessons) because they are boring and headache-inducing.

To avoid falling into this trap, ensure learning a language doesn’t turn into a chore but remains a light and fun experience. Focus on things you enjoy or are passionate about. For example, read an interesting book in another language or watch makeup and hairstyling tutorials. It can be exciting to learn weird idioms to share with friends, or explore pick-up lines or swear words. The goal is to make learning so interesting that you will jump at a chance to continue your studies instead of punishing yourself with them.

Avoid “zero days”

There’s a reason Duolingo keeps pestering you to preserve your streak. One day of missed classes isn’t a big deal, but two start a trend, and three “zero days” in a row mean you’ll have to build a language learning habit from the ground up again.

To keep up your streak, set a couple of goals:

• Minimum viable habit is something you commit to doing every day, even when you don’t feel like it. This can range from watching a 5-minute YouTube video to completing a lesson on Memrise or another learning app. Some practice is better than zero practice.
• Cornerstone habit is a bigger commitment that is responsible for most of your progress. It doesn’t have to be daily, but taking a couple of hour-long classes every week or chatting with natives for thirty minutes every other day are both excellent examples of cornerstone habits.

Remember that you can always get homework help, but you cannot pay someone to study a language for you. But the longer your streak becomes, the easier it will be to uphold.

Keep it simple

Many give up learning languages because it’s too expensive. But you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on tutors, private classes, or online courses. You don’t even need a smartphone or language learning apps. Instead, you need a book, pen, and pencil. 

For example, instead of relying on Anki to generate your flashcards, pick up a clean deck and write them down by hand. It may sound archaic and boring, but it won’t take as much time as you think, and you can make it fun. Instead of just writing a word in English on one side and its translation on the other, draw a fun picture on the front. It will develop a stronger association in your brain than passively tapping through the cards on the screen.

Besides, you can put the money you save towards a more important goal: buy a thesis, book a trip, or treat yourself to a night out in an Italian (French or Mexican) restaurant to practice your language skills.

Balance input and output

There are three theories on how to learn another language efficiently:

• Stephen Krashen's Input Hypothesis argues that by maximizing content consumption in your target language, you can develop all the necessary skills without formal instruction.

• Merrill Swain’s Output Hypothesis claims you need to start speaking and writing instead of passively consuming texts and audios.

• Michael Long’s Interaction Hypothesis prioritizes conversations and texting as a way to balance input and output.

Each has merit, but combining them usually produces the best results. For example, structured instruction is critical for understanding grammar principles, while maximizing your input through reading and listening helps expand your vocabulary. And once you have at least a few hundred words and basic grammar under your belt, you can switch to live interactions to beat the fear of making mistakes.

Build a new language into your life

Unfortunately, language learning is nothing like riding a bike. If you take a semester of French in college and never use it, in a year or two, you won’t remember anything beyond “Je m’appelle …” So, if you want your hard-earned knowledge to stay with you for a long time, you need to keep practicing even after reaching the desired proficiency level. 

Ideally, you want to vary the skills you target daily. For example, if you’re listening to podcasts on Monday, try reading on Tuesday, taking notes on Wednesday, and having chats with foreigners on Thursday. Rinse and repeat. This will ensure all four of your major skills remain sharp. Otherwise, you might be able to read and listen to the language, but lose your speaking confidence. Of course, you should tailor this ongoing practice to your objectives. For example, if you want to take a term abroad, you'll need to practice all four, but if you just want to chat with your foreign friends, you could mostly ignore writing and reading practice and focus on speaking and listening.

Is it worth learning a new language?

Considering the evolution of AI-powered instant translation tools, many students are questioning the need to learn another language. At the same time, we have no idea how valid and accurate those automatic translations are. But that’s not the only reason learning a language is a good idea. Here are just a few benefits you reap when you speak more than one language:

• Your career opportunities expand. For example, you can apply for positions abroad or take a job that requires frequent travel.
• Your world gets bigger. By learning another language, you inevitably discover other cultures and expand your knowledge and skills. You build new connections and learn to be more open-minded and tolerant, which is vital in the globalized world.
• Your communication skills get a boost. By learning to communicate with people through a limited vocabulary, you have to get creative with other tools at your disposal. It’s also a great way to beat social anxiety.
• Your cognitive skills stay sharp. Bilingual people are better at switching between tasks, and their attention span is typically longer. Besides, language learning can postpone the onset of cognitive decline.

Finally, learning languages is fun and exciting. Sure, it can be challenging, but half the fun is in setting goals and achieving them. The first time you speak to a foreigner in their language or leave a comment in Spanish or Italian, you’ll feel a dopamine boost no amount of scrolling through the feed will ever deliver.

Conclusion

Reading this or any other post will not tell you how to learn a new language. You only master a skill by doing it. For example, if you wish to do a PowerPoint presentation, you need to put the time and effort into it, and you’ll still likely fail on the first try. But after a few more attempts, you’ll notice the difference. That’s how learning a new language works, too. And like with planting trees, the best time to start doing it is today (if you didn’t twenty years ago). Put our tips to good use and don’t let today be your “zero day”!