Learning a language on a shoestring or at no cost at all
Today I’m privileged to speak four languages; Portuguese (my native language), Spanish, English and French. I decided to write up some tips on the strategies I followed to achieve this.
Learning a new language is something that opens up many opportunities for us: it can improve our position in the job market, allow us to travel and live experiences closer to the local culture, profit various cultural materials such as books, films and music in their original language, meet people and build relationships, among other benefits.
Today, with the availability of resources on the internet, learning a language can be done from home, with very low costs and even having some fun.
Purpose
It seems quite obvious, but it’s essential to stop and ask yourself “Why do I want to learn this language?”
Many people are always repeating that they would like to learn x language, but they a reason that motivates them to sit down and study.
I would like to learn Russian, for example, but I don’t have a “why” that motivates me to do it, on the contrary, when it comes to Spanish, I had a clear motivation: I wanted to live in Argentina and follow a career there.
Write down your motivation in as much detail as possible and put it in a place where you can see it.
Goals
Learning a language is a long process, which can sometimes be quite frustrating. One of the benefits of studying on your own is that you can set goals by your interest, your available time and your abilities.
As well as the purpose, your goal should be as specific as possible, for example, “I want to be able to have a conversation for five minutes within the next 3 months.”
If you are one of those procrastinators, it would also be good to set time goals, e.g. study for one hour a day three times a week (you can set an alarm on your mobile).
Being a baby again
Unfortunately, we can’t go back in time but, how did you learn your mother tongue? I’m sure that your parents didn’t give you grammar exercises; they spoke to you calmly, they showed you the world linking words with images and you repeated, probably making cute and funny mistakes, until one day you learned to speak correctly.
When I was focused on grammar I was less confident in speaking because I was afraid of making grammatical mistakes. For example to say a simple phrase such as “He goes to the restaurant”, my mind went through all the conjugation of the verb “To go”. It was not natural at all.
Go back to being that baby and open your ears and above all: copy and repeat without being ashamed. Grammar will come later when you understand the basic logic of the language.
Get the basics
We all need to have the first contact with the new language. For this, I recommend the Duo Linguo application (there are also other similar applications, but I haven’t tried them). From my point of view, the use of this application is that it allows you to get to know the basics of the language and hear how it sounds, opening your neurons to something new.
Another means of acquiring the basics are Youtube channels. There are many playlists on Youtube where native teachers teach the basics of their language: what a privilege! You just have to look for the one you like the most. My advice is to follow these classes as if they were formal classes, taking notes of everything and writing down questions that you can then post in the comments. You can also follow more than one channel at the same time to have different accents and methods. In my case, for learning French I watched the channels; “Os franceses tomam banho”, “Inner French” and “Français authentique”.
Regarding the pronunciation, in some languages, letters always have the same sound, some examples are Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, so it can be useful to write down at first how these letters are read in your mother tongue.
For example, in Russian, the letter “Я”. In my mother tongue, it can be read as “ia”.
You can do this with whole sentences until you memorise how each letter sounds: “Я тебя люблю” = “Ia tibia liublu”.
It will enable you to read texts correctly even if you don’t know what they mean.
If you can and want to spend a little bit of money, you can buy a book that teaches the basics (A1/A2), I recommend the books on the Asssimil method because they are quite practical and with examples that you will use in real life.
Immersion
Until a few years ago, language immersion involved a country exchange, which can be very difficult for many people to achieve. Today this immersion is possible thanks to the internet.
It is time to set your life in this new language whenever possible:
- Watch movies with subtitles in the language you are learning;
- Listen to music;
- Play karaoke;
- Listen to podcasts;
- Read books (many are available as PDFs and you have the Google Translate function within the Google Books app);
- Follow local influencers on social media;
- Read or watch the news;
- Change the language of your mobile phone and other electronic devices.
This list is not exhaustive, every chance you get, just change the language. At first, it will probably be a very frustrating experience, because you will understand a very low percentage of what is being said, but little by little, you will understand more and more.
To make it less boring, try to look for topics that you are passionate about: if you are passionate about travel, look for travel bloggers who talk about this topic in the language that you are learning. Keep in mind that on Youtube you can slow down the playback speed of the video, which is very useful at the beginning.
Once you’ve started to understand, try to repeat phrases. Don’t be ashamed to talk to yourself.
You don’t have to know everything
A language has infinite words, but the reality is that the words used in everyday life can be reduced to a much smaller list.
I recommend that you make lists every week, containing words you would like to know, e.g. the 30 most used verbs, adjectives, adverbs of time. Google will be your best friend. You can also use Wordreference.
Put it into practice
Now the question is to start speaking with what you have. A “hello, how are you?” is already a lot! One of the options to put it into practice is the Tandem application, this application allows you to talk to native speakers who are interested in learning your language. I met a Ukrainian guy who wanted to learn Portuguese and who spoke perfectly English. Chatting with him improved considerably my self-confidence to speak English. Again, you’re going to find a lot of people who are on these apps just for fun, but if you’re patient you’re sure to find someone who is focused on learning.
Another option is Facebook or Meetup groups, you can look for groups like “Language exchange” or groups of immigrants from the country where they speak the language you are interested in. Generally, newly arrived immigrants want to make friends and improve the local language, you can offer that exchange. Like this, I meet a French girl who wanted to learn Spanish: She gave me a free tour around the city.
When speaking, don’t be ashamed, you are learning and it is normal to have an accent and to make mistakes. I learned that sometimes people laugh because they find it cute. The goal here is to be able to communicate and that your interlocutor understands you, the goal is not to be perfect!
Finally, but not less important, check on the objectives you have set for your self and repeat this cycle to go deepen your knowledge, there will always be something new to learn! Be proud and celebrate your achievements :)
Bonus:
If you already speak Spanish and would like to learn Portuguese, I have some videos teaching the basics on Youtube. Pay attention: it’s nothing professional! I did it for some friends in Argentina who were interested in learning. Take a look in the playlist here.
