Learning a New Language in 16 Steps
I’ve been teaching myself French over the past two years or so and it’s such a wonderful feeling when you can talk to someone in their native language and take them by surprise — be it a classmate/colleague, a cab driver or even a stranger at a restaurant. It’s equally satisfying when you can read things off a menu from a French restaurant and have some idea what exactly it is that you’re ordering (unlike Kangana Ranaut ordering fish from that movie Queen). No, I can’t really hold an hour long conversation or even speak or comprehend French at the normal rate at which people talk; but at least it’s a start. And you never know where this additional skill might be of some use. Apart from the fun and the utility, I also feel learning a new language is good exercise for the mind.
I’ve tried so many different approaches to learning a new language and many of these experiments ended in utter failure. But I may have finally found a combination that works. Of course, what works for one person need not work for another but nevertheless, I thought I’d share it here.
The 16 steps I’m listing out are what I followed in sequence while learning a new language. There are so many different resources available online — I don’t believe any single one alone can help. It’s all about using the right resource at the right time.
PHASE 1 : Getting Started
Step 1: Duolingo
Duolingo is a great place to start out learning a new language. It’s organized into modules, you can set yourself daily practice targets, learn vocabulary along with sentences, you get to practice your pronunciation; most importantly, it’s free! The initial modules deal with Basic (“Good Morning”, “Thank You” and the like) followed by simple vocabulary and it then gets more complicated as you go on. Duolingo has also recently added new features in the form of chat-bots and also Duolingo clubs where you get to monitor the progress of a small group of friends learning the same language.
A daily practice target of 10 or 20XP should be enough. Do it slow but do it consistently (be the tortoise and not the hare). Maintaining your daily streak can be an excellent source of motivation.
Step 2 : Duolingo Comments
This isn’t really an additional step per se, but it’s so important that it deserves a stand-alone mention. One of Duolingo’s weaknesses is that it doesn’t really give you a lot of guidance on language rules and usage. This can be disorienting to most people. This is where the comments are very useful. For every question, on the page where they show you the right answer, there is a link called ‘Discuss Sentence’. This is where other users discuss confusing aspects of a sentence and you have moderators or native speakers offering their insights.
Step 3 : Notebook
The notebook can serve two purposes. So let’s divide them into two sections — Section A and Section B of the notebook. Section A is where you want to put in notes mainly pertaining to grammar and other rules / exceptions in the language. These are very helpful if you want to quickly refer them in the future until they get committed to memory or become second nature to you.
For the notebook, I recommend using the GoodNotes app if you have an iPad It’s easier that way so that you don’t have to lug an extra book around with you wherever you go. If you do use that app, you need a good stylus and I highly recommend the Bamboo Fineline series. Here are some examples of what my Section A looks like.
I’ll talk about Section B in a bit.
Step 4 : Verb Conjugation Websites (bookmark them!)
Knowing how to conjugate verbs is one of the most fundamental aspects of most languages. Even within the same tense, the conjugations for different combinations of singular/plural and first/second/third person can be very confusing. They may get even more complicated when you learn new tenses. It’s in your best interest to learn them as quickly as possible.
Whenever I practice Duolingo and I come across a verb in the sentence, I try to do a mental test of the different verb conjugates and if I’m unsure, I go here:
This website has information for all possible conjugations of any verb and they have that information for several languages. Bookmark it! Right now!
PHASE 2 : Venturing beyond Duolingo.
Pre-req: 50% of the Duolingo Tree
Step 5 : Podcasts
At what point you start listening to podcasts would also depend on what kind of podcast you choose. At the 50% tree point, I would advise something that is on a basic level.
Podcasts are good for improving listening skills and also provide good additional information that you can add to your notebook.
I found the Coffee-Break series quite helpful when I was learning French. I’m looking forward to using Coffee-Break Spanish in a couple of months. These are usually 5–15 minutes and are good to listen to when you’re taking a ‘coffee’ break or going for a run.
Step 6 : Children's Books
Find an online version of some of those bedtime stories that you’re so familiar with. If a 6-year old can read them, so can you!
PHASE 3 : Practical Usage of the Language
Pre-req: 90% of the Duolingo tree
Step 7: Notebook (Section B)
For all the subsequent steps, Section B would be a good idea. This is where I note down common phrases you come across in the language that you’re learning. The source may be podcasts, books, movies, videos etc. Here’s a screenshot of what section B looks like in my notebook:
When I revise this section and come across a phrase that I’m very used to, I highlight it in orange so that in subsequent revisions I can skip them.
At this point I must mention that I strongly advise against writing down vocabulary in your notebook. At least not until you’re very fluent with the language. As a new learner, you come across so many new words and if you write them all down it’ll eat up too much of your time. Besides, many of these words would be so common that you’ll get to know them by heart anyways.
Step 8: Simple Videos / YouTube
There are some TV series tailor-made for beginners. ‘Extra French’ is one. The plot is pretty lame but that’s not really why you’re watching it.
I’m sure there are many similar others in the language you’re interested in. While watching these videos, use subtitles in the language you’re learning and NOT ENGLISH! If you use English subtitles, you will end up going through episodes with your eyes peeled to the English subtitles and will not have gained much. The key thing here is to improve listening skills. To relate what you’re hearing with the actual language that is being spoken. This is a great way to also improve your accent. If they’re speaking too fast and if the video is on YouTube, there should be an option to watch at a slower speed.
I also watch TedTalks in French. And once in a while, I use English subtitles. But do this only once you have some level of comfort in being able to make out what they’re saying in the original language.
Step 9 : HelloTalk
This is one of my favorites. I am so happy that I came across this app. HelloTalk is an app where you can pair up with a language exchange partner. Person A from France who wants to learn English can be connected to Person B who is good at English but wants to learn French. And so on.
This app has so many cool features that complement the learning process very well. It has an in-built translator option that you can use if you don’t understand what the other person has typed. The translator can auto-detect the language so you don’t need to tweak the settings in anyway. Even you can translate what you want to say into the other language if needed. There’s also a correction feature which allows you to correct the other person’s errors and make notes. This app works amazing but the real challenge is finding someone who has the same commitment-level as you. I’ve had many language partners but none have lasted for more than a couple of weeks.
Step 10 : Complete the Duolingo Tree
Complete all the skills and try to keep all of them leveled up (golden color). Beyond a point this would start getting old and there isn’t much you will learn anew. I would say that point comes when you reach Level 24 or 25. You can stop Duoling at that point as there’s not much of additional value or return on your time investment. This would be the time to move on to bigger and better things
PHASE 4 : Advanced Learner.
Throughout all of this and beyond, do not neglect the notebook which will always be a useful ally.
Step 11 : Babbel
This is yet another app that I find useful. This has much more content than Duolingo and the format of learning is more practical. There is a lot more of listening to conversations and speaking responses to questions and the lot. Babbel is not free however. But if you have reached this far, your commitment levels should be enough to justify paying for this app. I currently have a 3-month rolling subscription that auto-extends and it comes down to under $10/month.
Babbel at this stage is a substitute for Duolingo. Many of the modules are also situational — in a restaurant, at a soccer game and so on. Grammar rules are also explained in more detail in the grammar modules. I’m convinced that would add some sort of value.
Step 12 : Books
Not the children’s kind anymore. You can start reading Comics (Asterix, Tintin..) or other novels. I keep one on my iPad’s Kindle app to read on occasion.
Step 13 : Movies
Not easy to follow these at all. You can pick up bits and pieces probably. But it’s good to improve your listening skills and also to see how people actually converse in an informal manner.
I almost always watch a French movie on flights — especially the longer ones. I do cheat and use English subtitles often. Hoping a day will come when I won’t need them.
Step 14 : Coffee Break Masterclass
This is actually optional. It costs about $30 a month (for 6 months). I found it helpful but that might not be the same for everyone — and that too at such a steep price. You can find more info on that here:
Available for both French and Spanish.
Step 15 : HelloTalk (get bolder)
One feature of HelloTalk I didn’t mention was the audio messages. You need to step out of your comfort zone here. It can be embarrassing if your partner replies asking “what language was that? That’s definitely not French”. I’m sure though that if you have gone through most of the other steps, you wouldn’t be in such a situation. It’s not real time-conversation; you get time to think-through and form your sentences but you nevertheless improve your speaking skills.
Step 16 : Take every opportunity you can to use your new skill!
Find out if any of your friends or classmates speak the language and talk to them in that language often. Talk to yourself in the new language. Talk to anyone and everyone who speaks the language in that language.
This is the point at which I am in my language learning journey and I’m still a long way off from being able to speak and understand French with ease. Until then, I can rest in the knowledge that I could actually survive in a French speaking country on my own.
It also helps when you try to learn as much as possible about the culture and traditions of the language/country you’re interested in.
Some other ways to improve your language are to listen to songs in that language and also maybe joining a language group! There are many such groups that meet weekly (you can find them on Meetups.com). I haven’t tried it yet but it’s something I intend to do in the near future.
Learning a language (especially if it’s on your own) needs a lot of patience and is not something that can be done overnight (or in a year). Go at your own pace but make sure you set aside at least 5–10 minutes everyday.
P.S: If you know of another resource (app / podcast) that you’ve come across and found extremely helpful, I would really really reaaally love to hear of it.
