how to learn a language at home without spending a lot of money
Iâm one of those nerds who thinks that learning new languages is fun. My mom (who is not Hispanic, but lived in Spain briefly before she had kids) spoke English and Spanish to me when I was growing up, and ever since then Iâve had this drive to learn as many languages as I can.Â
Iâve studied languages in a public school classroom and at home, and I definitely prefer learning on my own. And I know that a lot of language programs are really expensive and time-consuming, but (in my experience) itâs so much easier to build your own custom language course. Here are the main things you can do to learn a new language at home, for free:
Make a Duolingo account. Duolingo is by far the best language program Iâve used (and Iâve used a lot of them), and itâs free. I have two accounts right now, one for French and one for Russian.
Watch movies and TV shows in the language youâre trying to learn. And yes, youâre allowed to use subtitles. (In the US, most movies available on DVD have a Spanish and/or French dub. You might have to do a little bit of digging to find content in other languages that arenât widely spoken on your continent, but they are out there.) This is also a really great way to discover new movies and shows that you never would have found otherwise. (I started watching Miraculous Ladybug to help with my French, and itâs one of my favorite shows.) Â
Study regularly. I try to spend 15-20 minutes on each of the languages Iâm currently working on, at least five days a week. Youâll learn faster studying for ten minutes a day, every day, than if you studied for two hours once a week.Â
If you can, find language buddies that you can practice with. My brother and I are both taking French this year, and I try to get him to have occasional French conversations with me. My mom and best friend are both fluent in Spanish, and they help me keep from getting rusty. I donât have anyone to speak Russian with yet, but maybe Iâll find someone someday.Â
Practice! Give your family and friends cute nicknames in the language youâre learning. Talk to your pets in said language. Look up cheesy pickup lines in that language and send them to your significant other without context. Find fun ways to practice your language skills.Â
Once you feel like youâve mastered the basics, try keeping a journal in the language youâre trying to learn. You donât have to write every day, and your entries donât have to be long, but just seeing your hand writing out the words can help you remember them. This is especially helpful if your new language requires you to learn a new alphabet, or has grammar rules that are very different from your native language.
Once you get closer to the âconversationalâ level, you might even want to start looking for reading material in your chosen language. (And itâs totally okay to have a translator app on hand for words or phrases you donât recognize!) I occasionally read things in Spanish, but Iâm not yet at that level with French or Russian. And thatâs okay. Like I said, you need to have a pretty strong understanding of the language basics before you reach this point.
Learn at your own pace. What one person finds easy, someone else may really struggle with. Some people are good at grammar and spelling, but struggle with pronunciation. For other people, itâs the other way around. Be patient with yourself, and make sure you frequently review and practice the aspects that you find most challenging.Â
If you do all of these things, especially the âpractice every dayâ part, you could easily be conversational in your new language in a year or less, and fluent with just a bit more effort. If youâre really brave and/or really stupid, you can even do what Iâm doing and study two or more languages at a time. (Just make sure that youâre studying and practicing both/all of them regularly.) I hope this was helpful. Good luck!Â
janainaart
prguitarman
theartofmadeline
titsay
discoholicmusic
