I'm definitely no expert at learning languages, however I am currently trying to learn German and have found some useful tips and tricks that might help people in similar situations.
DuoLingo
If you can find the language you are learning on DuoLingo get it! I have found it so helpful to learn beginners and conversational language. It also helps you learn the different tenses for words etc.
DuoLingo has platforms online and in app form which makes it really handy to learn on the go.
It also great features like it's immersion section where you can read articles and correct them and the discussion section where you can go if you have any problems and discuss with other users.
Children's Books
Although this may seem silly because I'm obviously not a child anymore I am essentially learning in a similar way that I was taught how to speak English as a child. When we were younger we didn't begin by reading massive long chapter books so why should it be any different when learning other languages.
This website has a good list of German children's books but you can always just look them up online.
Music
This one doesn't necessarily help me learn German but it definitely helps you learn how words sounds and the way that the language is spoken. I love finding new artists I really enjoy but it also makes me feel closer in a sense to the language and culture of the country.
I made a Spotify playlist for German music when I first started listening to it and continually add new music to it as I find it. (Also I promise it's not all Cro but he is awesome)
Also if you want to understand what the song is saying/means usually you can find lyric translators online.
The first German song I listened to
Practice with People
This one seems pretty obvious but not everyone does it! I'm lucky enough that one of my best friends is also learning German at the moment as her family is German and we try to practice and help each other and she practices with her mum and Oma at home.
If you don't know anyone personally who speaks the language you are learning you can hire a language tutor or for a less expensive option find a pen pal online and email/message/write to each other. At the same time you may be able to help them learn English and learn more about their culture.
Immersion
I find immersion to be the best way to learn more about a country, culture or language. Whether it's listening to the country's music, watching a foreign movie with the subtitles on, reading books or news articles or just having 'no English speaking days' where you only speak only that language for the day (only if you're with a person who speaks/is learning that language).
You really just have to practice, I wish that it was easy enough to learn in a few weeks but it takes time, patience and practice to commit to learning a new language, I definitely believe that it pays off in the end though. There are so many languages that I want to learn but unfortunately I need to get a bit better at German before I take on any more languages!
I hope this helps a little bit and gave you some new ideas about how to learn a language or inspired you to start learning a new language because I absolutely love it!
Morgan x
