The internet and bookstores are full of different ways to learn a language. So how do you choose which one is the best and which one will work for you?
Unsurprisingly we think our method is the best. We have been teaching for a long time and we have seen lots of people succeed. Not only that but both Marc and myself have learnt second languages. There is one thing which we cannot supply and has to come from you: commitment.
We will supply you with audios, a Facebook page where you can stay up-to-date, regular live sessions where you can ask us questions.
There is one other thing we haven’t discussed failure. The word failure is often taught as being the opposite of success. We don’t believe that is the correct way to look at it – and certainly not when learning a language.
Failure is an essential part of learning a language. If you listen to an audio and fully understand it, that is great. But you are probably also listening to the wrong level! Try listening to ones that are a bit harder. When you don’t understand, that is not failure, that is the next step in your learning.
So we want you to be open to failure and see it as essential steps in learning.
What do we recommend?
We suggest you find an area that is interesting to you or you start with the basics.
Listen to the audios. Not once, or twice, but as many times as you need to. Try to pick out and identify as many different words as possible.
The audios are at different speeds, with different accents. Some you may find easier than others, but you can’t choose who you need or want to talk to so it is best to familiarise yourself with as many different accents as possible.
What if you are at a low level?
This is not a problem. Start with the introduction section which can be found here
Start by listening until you can hear all the words. Then move on to repeating. The final step is personalising it. Add your name, your hobbies, your nationality and any other information you think would be interesting for a listener.
I don’t have much time – can I still learn a language?
Absolutely! See above – commitment is what you need. Modern living doesn’t always leave us much spare time. We understand this so we have created a section that has short audios, you can find it here.
Don’t think that these simple sentences are a waste of your valuable time. The simple sentence is the starting point of great things.
Check out this progression:
I enjoy speaking English
- add an adverb – I really enjoy speaking English
- change the first verb – I really adore speaking English
- change the activity – I really adore playing League of Legends
- throw in another adverb – I really adore playing League of Legends online
Each time we are only making tiny changes to the sentence but it has gone from ‘I enjoy speaking English’ –> ‘I really adore playing League of Legends online’
Every time you learn a sentence think of how you can expand and vary it.
Language isn’t about memorising a dictionary, it is about being able to use every word you know in a sentence.