Recommendations for studying a language on your own

Recommendations for studying a language on your own

The great problem of modern life is the lack of time to attend classes in order to learn a language, either because work hours do not allow us, or perhaps, because our work consists of traveling. In both cases, the option that remains is personal study, taking advantage of the moments when we are free from our work. The schedule should never be an obstacle, if we really want to learn a language, it will only be possible if we manage to plan our studies and adjust them to the circumstances of each one. It is about acquiring the commitment and making good planning, which are the two fundamental keys to success in any facet of life and without which nothing is possible.

Preparation for the study

Self-study must be controlled well because it can lead us to a dead end and can even affect us psychologically by believing that we are not capable of carrying it out. The first thing we must do is set a short-term goal that is achievable, taking into account our schedule and our level of preparation.

Before starting the study process it is vitally important to have the necessary materials ready to begin the work. It is advisable to choose study materials that are reliable and help us with our objectives. A good choice of study materials for a beginner is one that is made with their cultural level in mind, otherwise, we will find ourselves with the unpleasant surprise of not understanding anything and most likely all our illusions will vanish, which it means, die trying. We must choose quality materials, whether they are printed or online.

Good planning is the mother of success

Planning the study of a language is the guarantee for success. The starting point of planning our study should be personal motivation. Looking forward to study time means that we have a high degree of commitment, essential for individual study.

We must avoid all planning that motivates us to advance in daily study, for this reason, the organization of the course, or personal study, must be designed with the purpose of frequently achieving small achievements, if possible we must propose small daily goals. This will motivate us to keep working harder and harder.

Without commitment we will not reach our goal

Commitment is the best option for success, for this reason the most practical thing is to set achievable goals, because no matter how small they may seem, the progress we make in this regard is consolidated until we build a solid foundation that guarantees us success.

The time that we can dedicate to the study depends on the personal circumstances of each one. It needs to be quality time, it can be fifteen minutes, half an hour, whatever time it is if we take advantage of it properly it will lead us directly and surely to success.

Listen to yourself to correct yourself

Recording ourselves speaking our new language from the beginning is a very effective tool to loosen up in practice. You can use tape recorders, on the Internet we can also have the opportunity to do it, and listen at the same time as what we say is interpreted by the translators, in this way we can and must perfect our pronunciation.

Once you have read the text of a lesson carefully, make an effort to make sense of what you read and try to check with the help of the translation whether or not you had interpreted the text properly. If you do it like this for several lessons, you will notice with great surprise and satisfaction the progress you make, and you will see that you need less and less to resort to translation.

When you have heard a lesson several times, try to write it down from memory, at least in part. Then carefully compare your writing with the printed one and correct any errors that may have slipped. If your writing is correct, you have already mastered the lesson. On the other hand, if you have had enough mistakes, it will be convenient for you to rewrite the text in the same way. With this you do not waste time, because once you safely learn a certain number of words and turns, you will continue to learn more and more easily and quickly

Learning materials

If we want to learn a language we must get used to listening to the natives of the country in question. Currently, it is not a problem, but we must keep an order, a rhythm and not lose heart in the attempt, we will have to be very persevering.

Through the Internet, we have the opportunity to watch movies, documentaries, series, etc., in the language that interests us. From the beginning of our studies, it is good to listen to native speakers to get a good grasp of the intonation and rhythm of the language we are studying. It is normal that given our level of beginners we do not understand anything for a while, then we will catch single words and finally we will understand almost complete sentences. It is not advisable to watch videos with subtitles since the voice and the headlines can be uncoordinated in time.

In conclusion

Although there are still those who do not feel comfortable with studying on their own, currently technology has advanced and there are more who appreciate the benefits of studying on their own using the Internet as the main tool. The study of a language is not an exception but a reality. The technique to achieve the objective is in our hands, what it is about is knowing how to use it and success will be guaranteed.