Here is an article from another woman who writes on learning languages. I was drawn to it because of the emphasis on fun. This begins a monthly series of guest articles by other writers on learning languages.– Rosana
Having fun is the ultimate cherry on the pie – it makes everything, including language learning, an entirely different experience. You get the impression the materials are simpler, there’s less effort involved, the productivity skyrockets, and time flies by at an otherworldly speed. So why not enjoy the magic process of gaining linguistic knowledge, starting today?
Here are 5 ideas to introduce fun to your language learning:
1. Set an intention to spend a day thinking in your target language.
If you’re learning more than one foreign language, dedicate at least a day a month to think in each of them! It’s like gifting yourself with a home-made total immersion program that will sharpen your awareness and re-enforce your linguistic self-confidence. It’s an excellent exercise to enrich your vocabulary. And, you’ll most probably realize you’re perfectly able to express many more thoughts in your target language than you gave yourself credit for.
2. Master the vocabulary that’s relevant to you.
There’s no point to learn technical expressions from a field you’re not even familiar with in your native tongue before mastering the vocabulary that’s relevant and important to your life, business and any specific reason you’re learning a foreign language in the first place. Focus on the most pressing linguistic needs, and you’ll be able to start using your knowledge right away. Your motivation will reach new heights and you’ll be newly energized to take on new linguistic challenges.
3. Play the »copy-paste-memorize« game.
If you’re bored by the usual language learning methods, use some imagination and try something new. Gather some online and offline materials on topics that you enjoy reading about, and copy sentences, idioms, word phrases, words that catch your eye. Organize the new vocabulary in a creative way – it will be easier to memorize it – and add your own examples of its usage as well. With the help of dictionaries, figure out all the different ways to employ those expressions. It doesn’t have to take long. If you’re time-challenged, you can set a timer so you don’t get carried away.
4. Get in a competition.
Feeling lonely in your language learning efforts? With too little accountability to really care about your immediate results? Think about pairing up with a friend in a similar situation, and start a »competition« that will stimulate you both to achieve more in less time. Since it’s up to you two to set up the rules, you can make the game as fun as it can get. Invent linguistic tests of the learnt vocabulary, grammar and improvised/free speech, make up a special card game to challenge your memory and see how quick you are on your feet, do whatever it takes to move your linguistic knowledge to a new level.
5. Wake up and observe.
In case you’ve only used the books and worksheets you got at your language course or the home-study kits you acquired, it’s time to start noticing signs, product descriptions, news headlines, and other »real life« teaching materials all around you. This will shake up your usual language learning routine a bit, and bring in some fresh breeze you’re longing for. And with the resources to be found online at no cost whatsoever, there’s no way you’ll ever run out of brand new content to learn from.
Martina Srblin is the Language Learning Magician who will help you discover the language learning system that best fits your needs, skills and schedule, so you can stop wasting time, money and energy on language learning methods that – for you personally – are inefficient. For free resources and to sign up for a FREE report on “7 Key Steps to Smart Language Learning” and a FREE subscription to the Language Learning Magic Ezine, please visit Martina’s website http://www.martinasrblin.com.
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