Best Way To Learn A Foreign Language - Expert Techniques

The first step is to get a basic foundation in the language as quickly and as cheaply as possible. You can enroll in a short introductory course at a foreign language school. But usually it is more effective and more efficient to try an audio self study course.

My preference is to find one of the many Pimsleur audio programs. They are fairly easy to find on-line or at your local library. I like to put them on my Ipod and then listen to them on my way to work. I actually look forward to getting stuck in traffic because I can spend more time learning the language.

The tapes are a lot of fun. Rather than a long list of monotonous vocabulary, the tapes focus on getting you comfortable putting simple sentences together. New material is slowly added and older material is frequently reviewed. After completing one of these programs you can expert to feel reasonably comfortable with a core set of survival vocabulary and grammar patterns.

After you have acquired the basics, the next step is to completely immerse yourself in the language. You don't have to go to another country to do this. You can immerse yourself in the language without leaving your home.

Part of learning a language also involves training your ear. Every language has its own unique sounds and rhythms. If you are just starting out with a language, the new sounds will be a lot of incomprehensible gibberish. But the more you can immerse yourself, the more you will begin to recognize sounds, patterns, and as time goes by, words and meaning.

One technique is to find a copy of your favorite movie in your target language. You'll already know the plot and will understand the gist of the dialog. Plus, since it is your favorite movie, you'll have an emotional connection to the material. Watch the movie over and over again. Try to pick out words and understand meaning. Even if you don't understand anything, try to learn to say some of the lines along with the actors. Try to mimic the rhythm, pitch, and intonation along with the characters. At the very least, you'll be able to quote famous movie lines when you arrive in your foreign country.

What is the purpose of learning a language? To communicate! If all you do is memorize vocabulary and study grammar, you will never learn to speak the language. Studying and speaking are two very different mental muscles.

Nobody learned to swim by reading a book. At some point you to jump in the water. The same is true with a foreign language. The trick is to start speaking right away. Don't wait until you feel like you know enough before speaking. I can tell you from experience that day will never come.

Instead, just take what ever you know now and use it. Even if you only know how to say, "Hello, my name is ... I want to learn ....", that is fine. Go out and practice saying it to as many people as possible. The pressure of having to say it to an actual live native speaker will force you to learn it and never forget it. Go out and practice with as many people as possible.

One easy example of doing this is to practice asking for directions. Learn how to say "Excuse me, can you point me to (a location that you already know)?" Then say, "Thank you very much". Wait until that person is out of range and then find another person to ask the same question to.

My final advice is to learn how to learn a foreign language. There are numerous techniques and strategies out there. The more tools and techniques that you have at your disposal, the better faster you will learn your language.

I struggled with learning languages until I found a guide that finally taught me the best way to learn a foreign language. For a comprehensive guide packed with language learning strategies and techniques, visit http://languagelearnersecrets.com