Learning a new language brings many benefits.
It lets you discover different cultures in a more profound way.
With rapid globalization and technological progress, we’re all more likely to connect with people from other countries and backgrounds.
Social media has linked us worldwide, making it possible to form friendships across the globe.
The Many Benefits of Learning a New Language
Including any additional language on your resume can make you more appealing to employers in various industries.
Companies working with multinational customers or multilingual call centers are just a few examples of organizations seeking bilingual or multilingual staff.
While international travel has been limited lately, there’s no better time to prepare for future trips abroad than by learning a new language.
Knowing the local language gives you deeper cultural insights and makes traveling more rewarding.
Spending just thirty minutes a day isn’t enough if your goal is true fluency.
The language learning resources we mention here are non-specific. Why?
Because we all learn differently, and each language offers its own unique set of study materials.
Below, we suggest various resources to help you immerse yourself in the language you’re studying, whether it’s for work, travel, sports, or other interests.
Become a Book Worm
If your first impulse is to head to Amazon for “[Language] for Dummies
Textbooks and other written materials are a great place to begin your learning journey.
Keep in mind, these resources aren’t usually exhaustive—many textbooks are designed for classroom settings, where teachers and peers help boost fluency.
At home, focus on building your comfort level with the language.
Books can guide you through the fundamentals—like where to start, grammar rules, and basic lessons—while helping you acclimate to how the language works.
Get an App
Apps make it easy to learn a new language quickly and for free.
If you’ve been learning a language for a while you probably know this trick already. If you don’t, then strap in for a whole new way to engage with languages.
The most well-known language app is probably Duo Lingo. This was one of the first to combine the magic formulas of gaming and learning together to create an engaging experience, unlike anything that had gone before it.
On that note, Busuu’s Spanish lessons are also an amazing resource for those interested in this particular language.
They offer a comprehensive program that makes learning Spanish easy and fun.
Aside from Spanish, Busuu also has a selection of other languages to learn, widening their reach to language enthusiasts.
Since then there has been an explosion of great apps that can help you learn in a way that doesn’t feel like a chore.
Duo lingo has over 20 languages, including German, Irish and even Klingon if you’re interested! For those looking to overcome a language that is really challenging for them, you can find apps tailored to specific languages, such as Dongsa, which is designed to help a user learn the many conjugations of Korean verbs.
Use Flashcards
Apps for language learning often attempt to replace traditional paper flashcards, but they can’t fully replicate them.
Flashcards definitely belong in your set of language learning tools.
They provide a physical, hands-on method of studying, complemented by visual cues.
Flashcards work well for quick reviews—keep a stack next to your bed and flip through them before sleeping.
Many people use flashcards only for vocabulary, but they’re also fantastic for memorizing grammar, sentence structure, and broader language concepts.
They’re a versatile tool to deepen your understanding of any language.
Consume Foreign Content
Long stretches at home can feel monotonous, so entertainment has become a key way to stay engaged.
Why not do both at once—enjoy yourself and learn a new language?
Foreign music, films, and TV series let you hear and see how native speakers use the language.
Thanks to technology, accessing foreign content through streaming services and other platforms is easier than ever.
Netflix, for instance, offers a wide variety of content from different countries.
Pick something in your target language and dive in!
Pay attention to pronunciation, commonly repeated words, and typical phrases. This is how your brain adapts to new linguistic patterns.
The more time you spend with authentic media, the easier it will be to reach and maintain fluency.
Use Video and Audio Online to Develop an Ear
One of the greatest challenges historically for those trying to learn a language from afar is getting the pronunciation right just from written information.
Nowadays you can overcome this problem entirely thanks to the myriad of video and audio available online.
Useful resources include the likes of websites such as FilmOn, which hosts television stations in a multitude of languages and http://www.sbs.co.kr/, which allows you to access torrents of Korean news for free.
There is also language software, such as FluentU, that will take videos and content you know and love and convert them into a language lesson for you.
This is a good way to make language learning a more engaging experience.
Download Exercises and Course Material Online for Free
While it is good to take charge of your own learning and create lessons out of your daily media consumption, it is still a good idea to take advantage of the expertise of teachers and language experts to get to your goal.
Thankfully, you can now access virtual teachers for next to nothing.
There is a huge amount of free teaching exercises and even entire courses available online if you do a little digging.
For instance, if you are looking to master Korean, there is Korean from Zero, which offers an entire teaching course in PDF form, or the famous and now award-winning Talk to Me in Korean, which offers a breathtaking amount of teaching material for free with explanations in English and presenters who offer some entertaining conversation.
Chat Regularly With Native Speakers and Other Learners
Not only can you torrent the sounds and speakers of another language into your home via video and other media, but you can also engage with native speakers directly thanks to tools such as Skype and Google hangouts.
The first step is the find a language exchange partner.
Websites such as italki.com are a great way to do this. This is a sort of forum or chatroom for those in the market for an Intercambio.
They also allow you to filter according to a number of factors such as age and hobbies, meaning you can find a like-minded person to help make what can be a scary experience (I.e. talking to a native speaker for the first time) a little less so.
Once you have your partner, set up a date via Skype etc. and away you go!
Learn to Read
It may sound like a tip from an 18th-century school teacher, but learning to read a new language is still a central aspect of the process, and you can now find an unlimited amount of engaging reading material in your chosen language online.
For instance, Newspapermap.com offers access for free to newspapers from around the world.
Not only is this a great way to learn things like sentence structure, but it also offers an opportunity for a little cultural background research that will surely be helpful whenever you finally touch down on your language’s country of origin.
Change Your Phone’s Language Setting
Our phone usage has skyrocketed recently, so why not put those hours to good use by practicing a new language?
Try changing your phone’s default language to the one you’re learning.
Seeing and reading words often can help them stick in your brain, and it keeps your learning goals front and center.
Final Thoughts
Learning a new language can feel daunting, but it’s definitely achievable with steady dedication.
Make a point to practice daily, stay consistent, and have fun along the way!
If your business takes advantage of global collaborations from home, you might need a reliable professional translation service.
The team at BeTranslated is experienced in various fields and language pairs. If you’d like more details or a no-obligation quote, feel free to reach out.