For your first foray into acquiring a language, we recommend going into either one of two materials as your primary learning sources:

1. a beginner’s class
2. a foreign language training software

We find these two most helpful because you’re going to start from a place where you hardly understand anything. As such, you will need a resource that’s willing to work with you from the ground up. Using starter vocabulary building and basic comprehension activities, they can slowly get you up to speed on everything you need to have a working ability in the new vernacular.

Some people feel bashful about starting out a new language. It’s a strange, conflicted feeling that you shouldn’t allow to get the better of you. Even if you feel you aren’t developing as fast as you should, keep at it and don’t give up. More importantly, don’t be afraid to use the little that you do learn on a day to day basis. The more you are able to apply the bits of lessons you pick up, the quicker you will be able to internalize them. You know where that leads, right? A faster entry into the second stage of language learning, where you know enough to hold your own in basic conversation.

1. Type carefully. Many second language writers worry about their language so much that their writing ends up filled with too many typing errors.

2. All English sentences have a subject and a verb. Keep that in mind and make sure every sentence you create has them.

3. Vary sentence lengths. Most second-language writers tend to fall back on simple sentences too much. There’s nothing wrong with it. If you fall into the same trap, just combine two or more sentences every few lines and you should be fine.

4. Use active verbs. This is simpler than it sounds. Instead of using verb forms of “to be,” such as “is,” “are,” “have” and other similar words, use actual action words for the verbs in your sentences. The maturity they lend your writing is worth every extra minute you take to rewrite erstwhile passive sentences.

5. Use a spellchecker and a grammar software at bare minimum. There’s nothing uglier than material rendered unreadable by bad grammar and misspellings. These automated English language tools can fix those problems on the fly, so that you need not add to your worries.

When you hear someone lecture, they usually do it in their preferred style of thinking about a subject. As such, the instruction is as much about them as it is about you. If you can’t keep up with their particular method, you’ll likely spend a lot of time staring blankly and hoping that what they’re discussing is on the course notes.

Most of the time, lecturers will adopt either one of three styles:

• Subject-focused. In this style, the lecturer will spend a lot of time defining and explaining things, often pausing for time to let you take notes. Highly traditional, it focuses on the mastery of the subject matter, often at the expense of practical applications.
• Example-focused. In this style, the lecturer focuses on linking the lessons to everyday examples. The idea is your understanding of the subject matter can be much more robust if you manage to link it to things the happen around you regularly.
• Interaction-focused. In this style, the focus is on the students, with the lecturer allotting plenty of time to asking questions and taking different views into consideration.

From what I’ve seen of most of the good language software titles on the market, they manage to combine all those different styles into a single resource. Add to it the fact that you can approach everything at your own pace and it makes for a tool that can cater to your personal needs much more than a scheduled class can ever hope to do.

1. Do some pre-reading.

If you’re attending a class, always do some early reading on the to subjects scheduled to be tackled. It always pays to have had previous time to think about topics before class – it helps you understand the lesson better, as well as think more critically. Additionally, reading notes from previous days is great to help you establish context and continuity, regardless if you’re attending a lecture or sitting down with a language learning software.

2. Prepare questions and responses.

Again, this advice is geared more towards those who are taking a class or getting private tutoring. After doing some early reading, prepare questions for areas that are currently unclear, as well as parts of the lessons you may have strong feelings about. You can refer to these later during the actual lessons.

3. Take notes.

Always take notes of your lessons. It’s highly doubtful you’ll remember everything you hear (or read, for that matter), so having ideas on a separate notebook in a form that makes sense to you will help a lot for later reviewing.

A language isn’t something that a person does, the way you would do science or math. Instead, it’s something that “happens” – an experience – between people. When individuals experience the world by themselves, it’s called perception; when they experience the world together, it’s called language.

To learn a language, you’ll have to join with people and experience it. Sure, you can sit in your room with your language tutorial software and stock up on elements of the language in your arsenal, but at some point, you will have to go out into the world to use it to truly integrate them into your set of skills. Don’t let that scare you, though. Communing with people doesn’t have to mean jumping in to foreign streets and trying to strike up a conversation with everyone that passes by.

When you sit with a speaker of the language in a room and you attempt to make out what they’re saying, you’re experiencing the language together. When your tutor points at items in a room and you tell them what that thing is in the target language, that already falls in line with that. There is a ton of value to be gained from preset lessons (such as those in a classroom or a language software). However, there are elements of language learning it just doesn’t satisfy that only communing with other people can.

The former is par for the course. It’s tough to stretch your comfort zones, interact in a new language and risk rejection without getting emotionally worked up. Being emotionally invested in language learning is, as far as current learning methods go, unavoidable. There are things you can to lessen the anxiety and negative feelings, though, from meditation to deep breathing to other types of mental health practices.

The latter, on the other hand, is only a prerequisites for some learning approaches. If you sign up for a course where grammar lessons and vocabulary exercises are the norm, then it becomes an intellectually challenge too. However, if you eschew those kinds of materials and go for less-structured methods (such as language tutoring software based on simulated immersion), you can easily remove the intellectual demands.

Some people prefer to be challenged intellectually. Others don’t. Depending on how you want to learn language, you should definitely make a choice whether you prefer one or the other. Both sides of that comparison can work, by the way, provided they are a good fit for what you’re willing to give.

Do you find grammar books especially daunting? Do you hate having to take notes, study textbooks and follow detailed instruction? Then look towards language programs that minimize intellectual demands. If, on the other hand, the intellectual aspects of learning make the emotional demands easier to meet for you, then you’re likely to benefit most from an approach based upon traditional instruction.

1. Write down each word you want to commit to memory on paper.

2. Add definitions for each word, in your own terms. Use the dictionary feature in your language software (a Portuguese language learning software, in my case). Remember: make it as simple as possible, in your own terms.

3. Doing that alone will likely leave you with five or so words sticking out in your mind. Don’t believe me? Stay away from the list for an entire day and see what you can recall tomorrow.

4. Make two numbered lists – one with all the words and the other with all the definitions. These will serve as your actual memorizing tools.

5. Print the two lists out. First, look at the word. Then, look at the corresponding definition. Most of the time, an image will come to mind. If none comes, make one up – the more outrageous, the better. That will be your anchor. Do this for every word in the list. Devote 20 to 30 minutes a day for this.

That’s it. For 50-word lists, it normally took me a week of being able to recall majority of them, just doing this. Try it. It works.

You don’t need a language teacher to be the resource. In fact, you don’t even need a fluent bilingual. If they speak the target language fluently and your native tongue (which, I assume, is English) even at a slightly intermediate level, they can prove very valuable, especially when paired with a formal program, such as those you get from software-based language lessons.

How To Find One

Try to befriend people who speak the target language. Naturally, this will be easiest when you’re immersed in the country. If you’re abroad, you can try online (especially in forums) or local organizations. Be honest about what you want – tell people you meet you need someone to bounce off ideas and practice every so often. Broadcast your interest in finding a resource person.

Most of the time, someone will actually volunteer. That may shock you, but that’s how most people I know found their language resource persons.

It seems that, in every group people, there’s always bound to be one or two who are looking to be helpers. All you’re doing is broadcasting your interest so these people find you. See how that works?

No Free Lunch

One thing you have to remember is: it’s seldom free. You’re asking them to invest some time to help you learn, so they’ll likely want something in return. Some will want to learn English while you learn their native language. Others will want monetary remuneration. Whatever the case, do expect to reward their efforts in some form. It’s the right thing to do.

The biggest things that set them apart? Academic English requires considerably more proficiency in the different aspects of language learning that the conversational variety. In fact, you will need to demonstrate that you can be successful in classroom situations where both instructions and materials are conducted exclusively in the language.

• What kind of classroom language skills should aspiring learners of academic English show?
• The ability to understand lectures given in English.
• The ability to read and comprehend large amounts of text written in the language.
• The ability to think critically while using English as the primary medium.
• The ability to communicate their thoughts effectively in the language.
• The ability to write with an acceptable level of fluency, such that readers will understand what they are talking about.

If you want to learn academic English, eventually passing the TOEFL exam (a prerequisite for admission in many English-speaking universities), you should gear your language studies towards it. Find a language learning program that focuses on this specific use of the vernacular, as well as using secondary materials that will help you on this particular end. Instead of perusing magazines and listening to songs in English, for instance, you should try going for textbooks and academic speeches. That will ensure you’re getting accustomed to a more formal style of English that is more likely to be required in academic settings.

We’ve previously discussed what to look for in a language software. This time, we’ll go in depth about what you need to consider when finding a local class.

1. The type of classes offered. Are these pure instructions, where a teacher stands in front, while students sit and take notes? Or do they integrate group practice and field work? Personally, I’m more inclined to recommend any program that uses the latter, especially if they offer a diverse set of activities.
2. The credentials. Are they accredited by any organizations? Personally, I’d prefer ones endorsed by local chapters of well-known foreign groups for the target language.
3. The size of the class. The larger the class, the less personalized instruction you can expect. Try finding ones where the number of students don’t go over 15 heads.
4. The schedule. Naturally, you’ll want to find one that can accommodate your schedule, especially if you intend to keep a full-time job while learning a language on the side. Additionally, you’ll want to know how long the course will last.
5. The teacher. What are the instructors’ qualifications? What are their nationalities? How well-versed are they in both the target language and your native tongue?