4 tips for learning a foreign language quickly

To learn a foreign language and speak it fluently, simply taking language courses is not enough. Studying (and mastering!) a foreign language requires effort, perseverance and patience. However, by intelligently concentrating your energies and slightly modifying your habits, you will be able to make the most of your class hours in order to achieve, much more quickly, the mastery of a foreign language.

Here are our tips to boost your learning in the classroom:

Use your vocabulary lists creatively

Being engrossed in your lessons might lead you to believe that you’ll never forget the new words you hear in them. Unfortunately, there are usually so many of them that it’s impossible to keep up by relying solely on your memory. Use writing. The act of writing down a word helps our minds retain it better and keeping word lists is a fantastic way to practice this. But do you know what’s even better? Use these lists, of course!

To optimize your vocabulary list, try to get used to categorizing new words and then linking them to their meanings; this practice allowing your brain to process each one of them. To get started, use one of these best “list-keeping” techniques – or combine them all!

Divide your page into three columns, representing: the word, its function (noun, verb, preposition, etc.) and its definition. As soon as you hear a new word, refresh your list. For example: “surgeon”, “common name”, “doctor performing operations”. Hide the columns when you revise in order to complicate the exercise.

Color code new words according to their usage, for example: function, theme (travel, work, food) or linguistic usage (slang term, formal/informal speech). Using colors will allow you to find related words quickly and test yourself

Avoid Your Native Buddies

While you may have joined classes with a friend or made friends with someone from your country, you will have to resist the temptation to work together in class if you want to learn. Why ? By working with someone who speaks your mother tongue, you won’t question yourself and, in difficult situations, you will simply be tempted to use your own language. On the other hand, be brave and reach out to someone new and different – ​​who you can’t verbally cheat! – will force you to work harder to understand your new language and be understood back when you use it. And honestly, isn’t that the main reason you’re in class?

Talk, talk, talk

Now, we’re not asking you to be like those students who interrupt the lesson, gossip endlessly, and pick up the lesson on their own. They are not generous in time with their classmates. However, by refusing to interact, you will not optimize your learning either. Remember that your teacher is there to help you: if you have questions, doubts or requests, express them! Formulating your problem aloud (especially in a foreign language) is excellent language practice, which often allows you to glimpse a solution even before it is given to you. When learning a new language, one does not progress by ruminating on one’s doubts, but by dispelling them. And who knows? Maybe another student in the class, who was wondering the same thing,

Be there regularly

You know the scenario. You sign up for a Mandarin, Turkish or Spanish course, as enthusiastic as a child on the first day of summer vacation. The first lessons went very well, but then “life” took over. The work intensifies. Friends come to visit you. You accidentally miss your alarm clock. And in the end, your newfound goal of learning a foreign language falls into disuse. Too many students are eager to learn in the beginning, then drop out after a week of classes. The fact is, while no one would have guessed it, the majority of students will not reach the end of their long-term study cycle. Make sure you don’t! How do you motivate yourself to attend class regularly?