Thanks. I've learned the hard way that group classes are less than ideal. I'm improving my Finnish and my strategy it to learn structure on my own using videos and books (no apps) and to participate in informal conversation cafes.
Thanks for reading! I can totally relate, I feel like I sat in way too many group classes... Videos are one of the most effective ways to learn, especially when you can see people's expressions and how their mouths are moving. I also think the conversation cafes could be very motivating to keep going!
This was so good. Thank you! I'm refining how I'm studying Korean and I'm eager to start another language. This was really helpful with helping me narrow my focus.
Thanks for sharing your language learning journey. I thought of learning Korean but that might be too ambitious. Instead, I am pivoting to learning Tagalog given it is close to two languages I am fluent in.
You shared a few languages resources. One question, did you use a dictionary in improving your language proficiency?
Hey, thanks for reading! Tagalog sounds like a good choice, especially if it's close to your languages! You can always take on Korean when you have more time/resources for a challenge!
RE your question, on a day-to-day basis I just use the internet look up words or a dictionary on my computer.
When I learn actively, I use a dictionary app (usually free but sometimes paid).
However, with tools like LinQ you don't really need a dictionary.
I didn't find reading the dictionary that helpful to me as I think we learn best in context while enjoying our favourite content! The only time I read a dictionary was the Idioms Dictionary in English when I wanted to make sure I covered all the idioms, or at least all the common ones.
Very well written, this is the kind of acquired knowledge and experience that most folks cannot articulate as clearly and as systematically as you have done, thank you!
Thank you for sharing all the useful resources, I've been learning, Mandarin, French and Spanish on Duolingo, but I'll be using the advice and tools you shared to get even better and definitely adding goals for my language learning.
Nice article. Did you approach learning a new language that doesn’t have many similarities to the ones you already know (like Japanese) any differently? I tried to learn Chinese some time ago, but it was difficult to get past the initial stage.
From personal experience, I also think AI models can now provide additional support for language learning. They can offer personalized feedback on the mistakes you make and see some patterns you might not notice. I used them a lot when I was recently preparing for the A2 Dutch exam.
I am definitely approaching Japanese very differently because I'm used to speaking very quickly with languages like Polish, French, Spanish. With Japanese I find it's very hard for me to speak because I don't really know any words apart from the ones that I'm learning very slowly, and I find the grammar quite hard-going. However, I'm not putting too much pressure on myself because my goal is just to be able to use it when I travel in maybe like a year and a half or so, so I'm not really in a rush.
As to your experience with Chinese, I totally get it. When I learned Mandarin Chinese, I also found it challenging! I think for the first three years I couldn't even speak properly (but that also had to do with my university teaching method), so I don't think it's abnormal to struggle with the initial stage. I think it's just something you have to get through if you want to learn that language. Yes, I agree with you that AI could help a lot. Actually, use AI at the moment to help me with my Japanese grammar.
Really awesome post. As someone who has struggled with fluency as a heritage learner, I often put a lot of pressure on myself to achieve C2 level fluency but I think your point about having a goa for your language acquisition (why you’re studying) is very important and something that could make it much more enjoyable and productive for someone learning a new language if the get that advice on the onset.
Hey Helena, thanks for reading and your comment! I think many people want C2 as a default goal (mostly because it looks cool haha), but the reality is for the majority of us B1-B2 is more of a useful and achievable goal. I could technically try to get more languages to the C2 area, but I have no need for it apart from English, and for the "price" of getting to C2, I can probably learn a few languages to B2.
Thanks for sharing! I'll be using this as a starting point to pick German back up.
If I can add a specific recommendation, as someone who speaks 4 languages, it's using social media algorithms to our advantage. This unfortunately only works once you're already B1 or B2, but is how I became C2 in English (it’s my 3rd language, my native being Spanish) while paying essentially nothing and without being near any native speakers. Platforms like YouTube have useful channels dedicated to getting you to those levels. But once you're already comfortably conversational, you can drop educational content altogether and watch real media in that language, right? Well, what's nice about YouTube and platforms like it is that they're designed to automatically find something that will hook you. Not hook you for learning, but genuinely interest you. Unfortunately, I've found it's much harder to retrain your algorithm to another language now than it was when I did it. But having played around with it recently, I think you can get the same functionality out of making a new account and only ever clicking videos in your target language. This is imo the easiest way to get lots of fluent input from any language that has a large enough online presence.
Thanks Robin, appreciate you reading and your comment! This is a solid tip and I recently heard about it (literally within the last week). I think if you have VPN that's even better as supposedly even YouTube ads will be in your target language? This is a great true immersion tip.
One of the best further level tips I got is to try to move some of your life to that language. E.g. If you want to learn a new recipe, read/watch it in that language, or do yoga videos in that language, learn to play an intrument in that language etc.
Thanks for sharing, Sofia! I will follow the platforms you recommend. I'm struggling with Deutsch, it's so different for me because I learned Italian super fast and enjoyed a lot, while now I don't have the same fun. Also French was more fun, I'd say. I think studying latin at the same time than Italian helped me. Also, coming from Spanish as mother tongue, I guess I need to be more consistent with German, but not heroic, as you said.
Thanks for reading Marita! I can totally relate to language learning sometimes not being as fun as you'd have hoped. I found the same with Mandarin, it definitely wasn't fun a lot of the time but it was extremely rewarding. I also think that it became more fun when I found materials that were interesting for me. For example, I loved ChinesePod, a podcast series, because I enjoyed the storylines, the hosts, and felt invested in them. Maybe you can find the same with German? I sometimes watch Easy German on YouTube for fun, I think it's pretty good.
Thank you! This post has been really useful in motivating me to learn Hindi (I can understand it pretty well thanks to my upbringing but can't speak/write/read it). As someone who used to love languages a lot (studied Russian, French and Italian at school), I'm pretty excited to try and do 30 minutes of language learning every morning! Thanks again :)
So pleased to hear you found it useful for motivation! I personally got motivated to get back into languages after a Hive community member Dan Friedman told me about his Japanese streak on Duolingo, so I do think there is something about just learning about each other's progress!
Best of luck with Hindi, seems like you have such a solid base so it should be much easier than studying from scratch.
I found it very useful for getting back into language learning after focusing on getting Hive off the ground. I felt like it was a very low lift, 5 minutes a day minimum with an opportunity to do more if I felt like it. I thought it was brilliant for building a daily learning habit. I also I got a pretty good base after about 90 days with grammar and vocabulary, so when I picked up other materials, they didn't seem intimidating to me.
However, I did start finding it a bit repetitive, and when I decided to commit more time to learning, I felt that 1h on Duolingo didn't get me far because it felt too easy. I eventually ended up picking up other materials for Japanese, which were more challenging and covered more ground, and I have recently stopped Duolingo altogether. I may come back to it with another language (e.g. Korean). I watched a few criticisms on Duolingo on YouTube and linguists tend to agree that it's not great for pronunciation or making sure you progress most efficiently, because the platform is optimised to keep you on it for as long as possible, not to learn as fast as possible.
I like this post and the way you’ve structured your approach. I’d be really keen to hear a bit more about your experiences with the different languages and anywhere where one was much harder in certain areas than others?
Hey, thanks for reading and your comment. Yeah, I must admit that I found Chinese (Mandarin) really hard to start speaking. I think it was partly due to the way I learned it at uni, because many people find it actually quite easy to speak at least at the beginning. I also struggled with understanding everything people were saying until I went to China for half a year, but I think grammar has always been quite easy with Chinese, as it actually technically does not have grammar.
With Japanese, I'm finding it quite challenging at the moment, partly because my work's quite busy, so a lot of my brain space is occupied by work, and partly because it's just so different from all the other languages I've learned. Sometimes the grammar is just completely new and different from anything I've ever learned, so you have to spend a lot of time really understanding how the language works.
Partially agree. OF course, another person thinks grammar is not relevant to learn a language. Learn a language is different than speaking a language. And please, please let's stop promoting that ridicolous book about learning a language in 3 months. It is not true.
Thanks. I've learned the hard way that group classes are less than ideal. I'm improving my Finnish and my strategy it to learn structure on my own using videos and books (no apps) and to participate in informal conversation cafes.
Thanks for reading! I can totally relate, I feel like I sat in way too many group classes... Videos are one of the most effective ways to learn, especially when you can see people's expressions and how their mouths are moving. I also think the conversation cafes could be very motivating to keep going!
This was so good. Thank you! I'm refining how I'm studying Korean and I'm eager to start another language. This was really helpful with helping me narrow my focus.
Thanks for sharing your language learning journey. I thought of learning Korean but that might be too ambitious. Instead, I am pivoting to learning Tagalog given it is close to two languages I am fluent in.
You shared a few languages resources. One question, did you use a dictionary in improving your language proficiency?
Hey, thanks for reading! Tagalog sounds like a good choice, especially if it's close to your languages! You can always take on Korean when you have more time/resources for a challenge!
RE your question, on a day-to-day basis I just use the internet look up words or a dictionary on my computer.
When I learn actively, I use a dictionary app (usually free but sometimes paid).
However, with tools like LinQ you don't really need a dictionary.
I didn't find reading the dictionary that helpful to me as I think we learn best in context while enjoying our favourite content! The only time I read a dictionary was the Idioms Dictionary in English when I wanted to make sure I covered all the idioms, or at least all the common ones.
Very well written, this is the kind of acquired knowledge and experience that most folks cannot articulate as clearly and as systematically as you have done, thank you!
Thanks a lot, I appreciate you reading and the kind comment!
Thank you for sharing all the useful resources, I've been learning, Mandarin, French and Spanish on Duolingo, but I'll be using the advice and tools you shared to get even better and definitely adding goals for my language learning.
Obrigado pelas dicas, Sofia!
Nice article. Did you approach learning a new language that doesn’t have many similarities to the ones you already know (like Japanese) any differently? I tried to learn Chinese some time ago, but it was difficult to get past the initial stage.
From personal experience, I also think AI models can now provide additional support for language learning. They can offer personalized feedback on the mistakes you make and see some patterns you might not notice. I used them a lot when I was recently preparing for the A2 Dutch exam.
Hey Yaroslav,
Thank you for your comment and for reading.
I am definitely approaching Japanese very differently because I'm used to speaking very quickly with languages like Polish, French, Spanish. With Japanese I find it's very hard for me to speak because I don't really know any words apart from the ones that I'm learning very slowly, and I find the grammar quite hard-going. However, I'm not putting too much pressure on myself because my goal is just to be able to use it when I travel in maybe like a year and a half or so, so I'm not really in a rush.
As to your experience with Chinese, I totally get it. When I learned Mandarin Chinese, I also found it challenging! I think for the first three years I couldn't even speak properly (but that also had to do with my university teaching method), so I don't think it's abnormal to struggle with the initial stage. I think it's just something you have to get through if you want to learn that language. Yes, I agree with you that AI could help a lot. Actually, use AI at the moment to help me with my Japanese grammar.
Really awesome post. As someone who has struggled with fluency as a heritage learner, I often put a lot of pressure on myself to achieve C2 level fluency but I think your point about having a goa for your language acquisition (why you’re studying) is very important and something that could make it much more enjoyable and productive for someone learning a new language if the get that advice on the onset.
Hey Helena, thanks for reading and your comment! I think many people want C2 as a default goal (mostly because it looks cool haha), but the reality is for the majority of us B1-B2 is more of a useful and achievable goal. I could technically try to get more languages to the C2 area, but I have no need for it apart from English, and for the "price" of getting to C2, I can probably learn a few languages to B2.
Thanks for sharing! I'll be using this as a starting point to pick German back up.
If I can add a specific recommendation, as someone who speaks 4 languages, it's using social media algorithms to our advantage. This unfortunately only works once you're already B1 or B2, but is how I became C2 in English (it’s my 3rd language, my native being Spanish) while paying essentially nothing and without being near any native speakers. Platforms like YouTube have useful channels dedicated to getting you to those levels. But once you're already comfortably conversational, you can drop educational content altogether and watch real media in that language, right? Well, what's nice about YouTube and platforms like it is that they're designed to automatically find something that will hook you. Not hook you for learning, but genuinely interest you. Unfortunately, I've found it's much harder to retrain your algorithm to another language now than it was when I did it. But having played around with it recently, I think you can get the same functionality out of making a new account and only ever clicking videos in your target language. This is imo the easiest way to get lots of fluent input from any language that has a large enough online presence.
Thanks Robin, appreciate you reading and your comment! This is a solid tip and I recently heard about it (literally within the last week). I think if you have VPN that's even better as supposedly even YouTube ads will be in your target language? This is a great true immersion tip.
One of the best further level tips I got is to try to move some of your life to that language. E.g. If you want to learn a new recipe, read/watch it in that language, or do yoga videos in that language, learn to play an intrument in that language etc.
Thanks for sharing, Sofia! I will follow the platforms you recommend. I'm struggling with Deutsch, it's so different for me because I learned Italian super fast and enjoyed a lot, while now I don't have the same fun. Also French was more fun, I'd say. I think studying latin at the same time than Italian helped me. Also, coming from Spanish as mother tongue, I guess I need to be more consistent with German, but not heroic, as you said.
Thanks for reading Marita! I can totally relate to language learning sometimes not being as fun as you'd have hoped. I found the same with Mandarin, it definitely wasn't fun a lot of the time but it was extremely rewarding. I also think that it became more fun when I found materials that were interesting for me. For example, I loved ChinesePod, a podcast series, because I enjoyed the storylines, the hosts, and felt invested in them. Maybe you can find the same with German? I sometimes watch Easy German on YouTube for fun, I think it's pretty good.
Danke for these good recommendations!, going right now to Easy German! Also started LinQ :)
Thank you! This post has been really useful in motivating me to learn Hindi (I can understand it pretty well thanks to my upbringing but can't speak/write/read it). As someone who used to love languages a lot (studied Russian, French and Italian at school), I'm pretty excited to try and do 30 minutes of language learning every morning! Thanks again :)
So pleased to hear you found it useful for motivation! I personally got motivated to get back into languages after a Hive community member Dan Friedman told me about his Japanese streak on Duolingo, so I do think there is something about just learning about each other's progress!
Best of luck with Hindi, seems like you have such a solid base so it should be much easier than studying from scratch.
Thanks! Do you find Duolingo to be useful? (and is it like an aid to your study or more of a main tool?)
I found it very useful for getting back into language learning after focusing on getting Hive off the ground. I felt like it was a very low lift, 5 minutes a day minimum with an opportunity to do more if I felt like it. I thought it was brilliant for building a daily learning habit. I also I got a pretty good base after about 90 days with grammar and vocabulary, so when I picked up other materials, they didn't seem intimidating to me.
However, I did start finding it a bit repetitive, and when I decided to commit more time to learning, I felt that 1h on Duolingo didn't get me far because it felt too easy. I eventually ended up picking up other materials for Japanese, which were more challenging and covered more ground, and I have recently stopped Duolingo altogether. I may come back to it with another language (e.g. Korean). I watched a few criticisms on Duolingo on YouTube and linguists tend to agree that it's not great for pronunciation or making sure you progress most efficiently, because the platform is optimised to keep you on it for as long as possible, not to learn as fast as possible.
I like this post and the way you’ve structured your approach. I’d be really keen to hear a bit more about your experiences with the different languages and anywhere where one was much harder in certain areas than others?
Hey, thanks for reading and your comment. Yeah, I must admit that I found Chinese (Mandarin) really hard to start speaking. I think it was partly due to the way I learned it at uni, because many people find it actually quite easy to speak at least at the beginning. I also struggled with understanding everything people were saying until I went to China for half a year, but I think grammar has always been quite easy with Chinese, as it actually technically does not have grammar.
With Japanese, I'm finding it quite challenging at the moment, partly because my work's quite busy, so a lot of my brain space is occupied by work, and partly because it's just so different from all the other languages I've learned. Sometimes the grammar is just completely new and different from anything I've ever learned, so you have to spend a lot of time really understanding how the language works.
I read myself to sleep with those Olly Richard’s books in French almost every night- love them!
Thanks for sharing, Sofia! At first, I felt overwhelmed reading your post because I'm a B1 English speaker, but now I'm more motivated than ever!
So pleased to hear that! Enjoy learning Marcy:)
Partially agree. OF course, another person thinks grammar is not relevant to learn a language. Learn a language is different than speaking a language. And please, please let's stop promoting that ridicolous book about learning a language in 3 months. It is not true.
Was with you until you suggested AI usage. Do better.