How to Learn a New Language by Yourself – 12 Techniques & Rules

Do you find learning a foreign language difficult? Do you feel exhausted when reviewing the vocabulary and learning a lot of new words? Stop making your learning process a routine job, and make it your hobby. If you still consider learning a foreign language tough work, these 12 tips will turn your educational process into a favorite activity. Don’t overthink how to learn a new language by yourself; just give it a try.

If students start using these tips from that day on, learning a second language will be no difficulty. You will search for any opportunity to practice, learn more words, and become even better at your chosen language. The only thing you should remember is that regularity matters. If you don’t give up learning and use any opportunity to make your education funnier, there will be no difficult language for you.

Learning a new language sounds fun in the beginning. Still, once you’re already in the process, you realize that it requires a fixed schedule, hard work, and profound inspiration in addition to your daily life routine, responsibilities, and leisure activities.

But don’t give up yet. How to learn a new language by yourself?

You might not just be exploring other options when there are ways to study a foreign language without compromising your daily goals and priorities. With the help of technology, you can now learn a word or two before you go to work, on your way home, and even in between.

Tips to Learn a New Language by Yourself

Learning a new language will be easy if you remember the following 12 rules. Let’s get started.

#1 Learn Languages Deeper

Ask yourself, why do you want to learn this language? The strength of learners’ motivation determines how deep they dive into this language and how proficient they will become. People who learn a language to impress friends never learn more than 100 words and phrases; people who learn languages preparing for application to universities or a job always get deeper.

#2 Ignore Mistakes

Remember that mistakes are unavoidable at the beginning. So, if learners start concentrating on mistakes, they will be afraid of feeling the temptation to give up studying. Focusing on mistakes is the worst mistake. Talk and write as you can, and the more you practice, the fewer mistakes will appear.

#3 Practice Whenever and Wherever You Can

If people only study vocabulary and read books, they will never speak any other language fluently. Practice new words and phrases with your friends and family, or if there is nobody here, practice with yourself. The more learners practice, the better they will know the language of their dreams.

#4 Use Websites and Applications

The Internet is full of applications and resources that may turn your educational process into a dream. Using applications shouldn’t distract anyone from regular learning, but they are perfect tools to help students turn their learning process into something funny and delightful.

#5 Use A Pocket Dictionary

Wherever students go – they should always keep a dictionary with them. It will motivate them to practice more, and they will continuously look into the dictionary for any necessary word or phrase.

When you’re in a line, waiting for the elevator, or cooking your breakfast, it won’t hurt to crack open a few pages of your dictionary and study a phrase or an expression. Whether it’s print or an app, your dictionary should consist of the words and their meanings and the pronunciation, word type, and notes on how to use the word. If you have extra time, find a dictionary with a grammar and verb section to keep this aid handy and avoid buying a separate grammar book.

#6 Watch TV, Movies, and Programs in A Foreign Language

At first, a beginner might not understand a word, but this is like when someone is walking into a dark room. The more spectators concentrate on a film – the more they know what they discuss. Even if students can switch on subtitles, they should do that only if it is strictly necessary because if students always read what they say, they will never learn to listen to them.

#7 Remember That You Will Not Use All the Words in Your Dictionary

If anybody learns the dictionary by heart, they will waste their time because they will need only 300-500 words daily. Don’t memorize any word you heard or seen; learn only words you know you will need to use in your future career or practice.

#8 Find A Partner

Some think that finding a partner for study will lead to a waste of time, but if you organize your time and the way you study, that will not happen. The student feels more responsible and motivated by practicing and studying in a team. Together, the students will correct mistakes and provide feedback, which is very important at the beginning and at every stage of the learning process.

Engaging in face-to-face interaction with someone with a good grasp of the language you are trying to learn will help you practice and understand it by heart. Observe the other person’s gestures, facial reactions, and pronunciation. If this person is your friend, you can watch movies or TV shows together in a foreign language. You can also share the items discussed above with your friend and see how to use them in conversations.

Sometimes, you must look around you (or inside your pocket) to discover how to turn a struggle into a sweet opportunity.

#9 Become A Friend to A Native Speaker

If you are lucky enough to meet a native speaker and become friends – use that opportunity as much as possible. The more you communicate with each other, the more you start speaking how he or she speaks, which is even more efficient than practicing with a non-native tutor.

#10 Bring Out Your Portable Music Players

In her article in The Wall Street Journal, Heidi Mitchell explained the scientific findings showing how music helps the brain process millions of pieces of information daily. With this, you might want to take a break from your habit of listening to your favorite rock stars on your way home after work for a few weeks and play songs in the language you are trying to learn.

#11 Take Advantage of the Mobile, Internet, and Social Media

Instead of commenting on all the photos of your friends on Facebook, why not check language-learning software titles online or read language-oriented blogs? You can create your own blog about your journey to learning a foreign language. You can update it using your iPad or phone: summarize what you have learned from a language course, share how the differences of languages surprise you, or reveal the language learning techniques you learn every day. Your blog can serve as a venue for other language learners to share ideas and stories.

You can skip announcing to the Twitter world that you are bored and just Tweet about a new foreign word or phrase you’ve learned. You might even gain new followers from a different country and exchange “hello’s” with them in their language. Isn’t that cool?

#12 Have Fun

Don’t miss any opportunity to turn your process of learning a new language into a funny joke—you will get even more excitement from it.