Whether you plan to spend your next vacation in Madrid or just introduce yourself to the French dame who serves you your morning café au lait, it always feels good to communicate with the locals in their own language. Conversing with people in their own local lingo not only makes you come across as cultured, but also breeds a feeling of understanding and acceptance. Learning a new language is easier said than done. While it’s great to be able to speak in many languages, mastering a new tongue is not everyone’s forte. However, with a little effort, dedication and lots of practice, you can easily beat a polyglot at his own game. If you are the kind of a person who has itchy feet and loves to navigate around the world, then this quick tutorial on how to learn any language will save you from getting tongue-tied when the belle next to you leans down to ask you for a drink.
Tips On How To Learn Any Language
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No matter how hard you try to rattle a few Spanish lines or impress a ‘bella’ with your Italian words, unless and until you have your accent in place, all your efforts will be in vain. To perfect the language, you need to master the pronunciation first. Brush up your command over a language with repetitive drills of the most common words, phrases and sounds.
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A good way to learn any new language is to rent a movie or an audiotape. Never mind if the movie doesn’t have subtitles, you can still fine-tune your intonation by imitating the speakers. Repeat the phrases as many times as you can for a better twang. You can also avail popular audio books on any subject of your choice and listen to it carefully until you completely grasp the language.
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If you don’t want to enroll yourself in any language class, you can still enjoy the advantage of learning a foreign language by means of magazines, short stories, newspapers, articles and more. You don’t really have to indulge in some heavy reading for that. Beginners can kick-start with lighter content for a clear understanding of the language. Alternatively, you can also pick any bilingual dictionary and browse through the words, definitions and examples to comprehend the language better.
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When out to perfect a language, it’s important to acquaint yourself with the grammar first, more so if you don’t wish to be rendered as incomprehensible. Apart from that, you can take out sometime to burrow deep into the local proverbs, idioms, expressions, slangs and more. It won’t just help you have a better grasp over the language, but will also polish your language skills.
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If you are really keen on learning a new language, then you can always switch on to any news broadcast or listen to the live feeds from net or radio stations and pick your cues. What’s more, you can always join bilingual chat rooms and indulge in casual chatting with people who speak different languages. It won’t just make learning the language fun, but you will also have help at hand anytime you fumble with certain words.
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Most importantly, practice what you learn. Once you are confident enough with a particular language, don’t shy away from using the language to interact with the natives. Never mind if you don’t get the right inflection at one go, remember there is always a scope for improvement.
With these expert tips on how to learn any language, you will be able to impress the Spanish chiquita or Italian belle anytime and anywhere!