In language learning, getting started is always the hardest part of the process. Knowing little to none about the language, with barely any confidence, you jump blindly into the pool, hoping to make your efforts pay off down the line. We’ve all been there and it’s a very uncomfortable place.
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.