one. Start now – If you come home from a vacation excited to learn the language, take the bull by the horns and get started right away. The longer you leave it on, the more the initial excitement will fade. There is no better time than the present, and the sooner you start, the sooner you will be speaking in a foreign language.

2. Set realistic expectations – with the right study methods and discipline, you can learn a language quite quickly (from several months for the simplest, up to a year for the most complicated), but you should always be realistic with your time frame. Nobody can learn a language in 3 weeks. Also keep in mind that it will take a while for your ears to tune in to hearing the new language. This can mean that for the first few weeks you feel like you can’t understand anything, but once your ears ‘tune up’, everything will fall into place and your understanding will increase dramatically overnight.

3. Short, frequent lessons are better than long, infrequent ones. – when we talk about studying just 30 minutes per day, this is not just to help the working population find time, it is actually considered the most productive span of time. 30 minutes a day is much better than 2 hours twice a week. The mind is perfectly adapted to small bits of information and will soon ‘turn off’ if it takes too long. Try to find 30 minutes every day to study: at lunchtime, on the train home, or lying in bed.

Four. study out loud – Say out loud the vocabulary or phrases you are trying to remember. Saying the sentences in your head is not the same and your progress in both memorization and speaking ability will increase dramatically as you move the words from your brain to your mouth. If you’re feeling silly, just make sure you do this part at home in a private room, but make sure you do it. You can also catch mistakes with your own pronunciation when you speak out loud.

5. Do not be afraid to make mistakes – This is where the children have the advantage. When a child is learning a language, he begins by uttering gibberish that eventually becomes intelligible sentences. Kids are never shy about guessing words and getting it wrong, and neither should you. Everyone who learns a new language makes mistakes, but if you’re shy about making them, you may never learn from them. The fastest way to learn to speak a new language is to try and hang up on mistakes.

6. Use flashcards (learn vocabulary) – To fully learn a language you need to use a combination of language learning techniques, and one of these techniques is flashcards. To learn any new language well, you must expand your vocabulary. New words are the foundation of all languages ​​and the best way to learn them thoroughly is through flashcards. Whether you make your own or buy a set, everyone can find enough space in the day to look at the flashcards and check the vocabulary. Just pull them out every time you have to wait (in the elevator, waiting for food, walking to a meeting), it only takes a second to look at the card and learn a word. Highly effective.

7. Review previous material – From time to time it may be useful to review past material. Review the vocabulary you learned last week or the sentence structure you saw yesterday. A brief review can ensure nothing is forgotten

8. dive in – Try to find as many ways to practice your language as possible. Find native speakers on the internet and chat or call them; meet them if you can. Watch foreign movies with subtitles. You’ll be surprised how many words you recognize once your ears are attuned to the language. Don’t worry if you can understand more than you can speak, this is normal, especially with students who can’t practice often.

9. take a holiday – Give yourself, if you have the opportunity, a trip to a country that speaks your new language. Try and restrict your use of English at all times and use the language you have learned to make yourself understood. Take a dictionary; You will be surprised how much more you will learn if you try and how much fun you will have. Remember, don’t worry about making mistakes. The locals may laugh with you at your attempts, but they appreciate it and are happy for you to try it and will go out of their way to help you and make you enjoy yourself. If possible, go on a language study holiday in the destination country.

10 have fun – Possibly the most important of all tips for learning a second language – above all, don’t view your language learning as a chore, if you do, it won’t last and the study will fail before it really begins. This is another reason why the 30 minute rule is so important. Apart from being the most efficient and productive learning time, it also means that students don’t avoid their studies. The idea of ​​a quick 30 minute lesson is much nicer than imagining yourself sitting down for 2 hours. 30 minutes never detracts from the rest of your day and should mean your studying lasts longer. Enjoy it and have fun!