27 ways to kickstart learning a new language in 2016

If you’re looking to learn a new language in 2016, there are literally hundreds of thousands of resources at your fingertips. Here are a few recommended hacks that you can access today, using your computer or smartphone:

1. Make an A4 poster for where you’d like to be in 3 months with your language learning, be realistic but challenging. Stick it somewhere you’ll see every day (preferably in the morning).
2. Download a Chrome extension called “Language Immersion for Chrome”, it helps you experience the language in your everyday activities by changing words into another language on your PC.
3. Change your iPhone/Android language to the target language. Here’s a guide on how to do this one.
4. Use iTalki to find a native speaker to interact with over a Skype call to immerse yourself in the target language.
5. Search Pinterest for “language learning” or “languages” and discover a host of infographics/articles and much more, perfect for interactive learning.
6. Follow Benny Lewis for insight into how to immerse yourself in language and culture. His YouTube and Blog are particularly helpful for absorbing his wise words.
7. Get organised using a service like Evernote or Dropbox to capture all the language related articles, resources and images across your day. Make sure to use folders!
8. Watch a few Netflix shows with the subtitles on — we recommend Narcos for Spanish learners, and make sure to pick up on a few pieces of vocabulary.
9. Organise your time, block off 2 hour chunks for your language learning and make sure you fill it with activities. Use a service like Google Calendar/Sunrise to manage your time effectively.
10. If you’re a teacher, follow Lauren’s articles on the FlashSticks website — it’s perfect for learning about ways to improve your language teaching in the classroom.
11. Find a breakfast cereal from your target language where the packaging is native, order via Lidl or Amazon (they tend to sell international foods) and find and translate new words every morning.
12. Go for a run listening to a Podcast about your target language, it’ll give you mind something to focus on. We recommend Kerstin’s Podcast
13. Grab Google Translate on iOS and Android, hit “conversation” mode and start practicing your sentences by trial & error using voice recognition.
14. Download an App called HelloTalk for communicating with native speakers via a What’s App style experience.
15. Listen to native music, use Google to find the top 5 most popular singers in the target language and use Spotify to download a few for your day.
16. Meet other language learners on Twitter/Instagram and Facebook to start befriending and building your network. Languages around the Globe has a mighty community, start in the comments section.
17. Fall asleep listening to a language Podcast on a low volume and a sleep timer using a service like Overcast.fm, Pocket Casts (Android) or the native iOS podcast app.
18. Find 5 fun facts a week about your target language ‘s host country. They don’t have to be directly related to the language, but maybe culture or history. Get started here.
19. Try “Vlogging” your second week worth of language learning progress. Whether you share this or not, the pressure of being in front of a camera will test your memory recall.
20. Find an object, using the new FlashSticks App translate it — it’ll give you this in 40 languages, why not have a go?
21. Tell 3/4 friends about your language goal, message them or speak with them in person (we recommend speaking in person) — this helps you to be accountable.
22. Try and book a weekend away in your target country, this will help with motivating you to use your language as well as to carry on towards your goal.
23. Use Instagram to follow #languages to connect with other learners across the world, remember to comment with your thoughts on each post that interests you.
24. Make sure to get 20 minutes exercise a day, whether outdoor or indoor, this will help with your motivation and momentum when learning a language.
25. Speak to people about your struggles with language learning, whether online or around you, this will help you to confront problems early on.
26. Ask a close friend whether they have a native speaking friend who’d be willing to teach you over a coffee. Meeting up and experiencing language learning in person.
27. Get some FlashSticks language Post-it notes to stick up around you, to help you learn a few new words each day.

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