Learning language faster

Tips for Learning Language Alone Faster

Find out what your memory is

Everyone has a different way of learning and one reason is the type of memory. Some people only learn by doing something, others by listening and several people combine them all. It is easier for you to learn a new language knowing your own:

  • Photographic memory: easier to learn with colors, diagrams, illustrations
  • Auditory memory: needs to be silent and listen to the teacher’s voice and repeat aloud, without the need to see
  • Kinesthetic memory: you need to get your hands dirty, you need to live something, laboratory experiments for example

Once you recognize your type of memory, it will be easier to learn a new language and focus on that style of study.

I have photographic and kinesthetic memory: I learn by writing and I need to write while listening to the person speaking during class. This helps me a lot and later I remember just seeing the sheets in the notebook with drawings and different colors of pen and highlighter.

A tip to get the pronunciation faster is to write as you speak over the word so that you have no doubts. For example: “das Mädchen” means the girl in German, then I write “das mêdxien” on top of the word using different colors.

In the case of studying Japanese it is more difficult and time consuming because I need to draw all the Kanji I see to be able to decorate and it takes a long time to make each stroke but it helps to recognize later.

Search for materials on the internet

There are several free materials, but I recommend focusing on those distributed by national TVs! Check the list below:

  • German: Deutsche Welle
  • French TV5 Monde
  • English: BBC
  • Italian: RAI
  • Japanese: NHK

That’s how I started in German, when I had no apps and no cell phone right. You can use this material to support your course or learn a new language from the beginning.

In addition, there are many other courses ready and free to learn the language yourself, you just need to research it well and see if it is worth it. Depending on how much you pay to take a course, they are usually more complete. I had already looked for several Japanese courses, but I had never learned and then I finally paid and it worked!

Of course, it depends a lot on your routine, the method of study. I already took the normal course at a language school, at school and with online teachers. I find it easy to learn languages ​and study alone at home with the help of these materials.

After a while you will have some doubts in pronunciation or grammar. At that time it is interesting to take classes online with NATIVE TEACHERS on Italki’s platform!

Use Anki

Anki is a memory app and is excellent, you do it there for 10 to 20 minutes a day and you will notice that you will learn the language yourself much faster. MAAAS should use with caution because if not only will it mess up your learning if you do it wrong, I will explain.

Anki means memory in Japanese and works like a memory card scheme, a little game, where the front of the letter is the word or phrase in the foreign language and the verse its meaning.

The application will introduce you to several letters in one day and you click on the appropriate options and remember or not (green to remember, red to be wrong, more or less). The wrong cards are played more often by the app until you look and PLAU knows the meaning. These cards accumulate, so you need to do it every day so you don’t suffer in the end.

You only put in Anki the words you have learned and know the meaning, DO NOT PLACE WORDS THAT HAVE QUESTIONS OR DO NOT KNOW. You add them after class, just put them right there and close. DO NOT TAKE ANKI AFTER THE CLASS. If you do it will mess up your brain and make it very difficult (I did a day like this unintentionally and it took me a long time to learn N’s family in Japanese).

You will open ANKI THE NEXT DAY and make all the cards. This is how it works and absorbs much more quickly. You cannot change the number of cards shown, since the app was designed to help you and not complicate it.

You can use the AnkiDroid app or the Ankiweb website to study on your computer. For iOS users, the app is paid.

In some applications it is possible to upload your own photos in these letters instead of the letters. It is a very cool method because the brain can better associate a word with something you are intimate with, such as a trip you took or your kitten. Quizlet is one of them and is paid.

Use phrases

As soon as you learn a new word in the language you are studying, try to assemble a sentence with it during the week to make it easier to memorize.

I am going to make a cup of tea with one spoon of sugar. If it is something palpable, such as a cup, you can put a sticker on it written “cup”.

I have a lot of difficulty with numbers and when I was learning German, I used to read the license plates on the way home in German. In German you don’t say twenty-one, you say one and twenty.

Reinforce with apps and videos

There are several channels on youtube teaching languages, expressions and pronunciation, as well as some profiles on instagram, take advantage of them! Try to watch to help you fix the content.

Some apps like Duolingo help you create vocabulary and build sentences. but don’t just stay there! Do a search in the Play Store and you will see several, look for the best grade and go testing to see if it works or not. Always go beyond!