Alan's language learning top 10 tips!

Based on my experiences, here are my Top 10 language learning tips:

1. Keep motivated even when you are frustrated with your progress - which will sometimes happen - Rome wasn't built in a day! Don't expect to become fluent very quickly, learning a language well takes many years. But always remember that any level allows communication.
2. Keep interested in new words - they are the key to any progress
3. Enjoy using the language you already have - many people often say that they are "not yet good enough" - but forget what they have already achieved and what opportunities it brings.
4. Use the Internet as and when you can. There is a fantastic amount of useful material, not to mention interesting and useful blogs and chatrooms.
5. Read in the target language as much as you can. But don't try to read at a level too high - or you will get frustrated. Try reading for enjoyment sometimes at the level you are at - or just a little higher. You will find this encouraging.
6. Make as many friends as you can that speak the target language - maybe you could join a language club where people learn together. I am a member of 3 French language clubs and 2 German language club. If you find it difficult to find a club, you could try to make some "virtual friends" online.
7. Don't think of mistakes as failure - this is negative. Think of mistakes as "feedback" and then you learn to find ways to reduce them by keeping a postive attitude. When did you see a young child worry about making mistakes?
8. Take every opportunity to speak the language and engage with people. If you can't find anyone to talk with, then talk about things with yourself (out of earshot or people will start to wonder...) I have some interesting conversations with myself whilst driving...!
9. Learn about the culture of the country or countries where the language is spoken when you have some spare time. For example: English culture is somewhat different to the USA but we have many similarities and we do speak the same language - or do we? In reality there are quite a few differences between American English and British English. However these variations in accent and dialect happen with other languages too.
10. Finally don't be too hard on yourself if you don't progress as fast as you would like to. Learning a language isn't a smooth process - you can learn a lot quickly sometimes - then sometimes the progress is slow. Always think of language learning as a long-term project not a short-term project and you'll enjoy it more.

Finally, here is my own favourite saying (I wrote it myself)

"Enjoy what you know and the rest will only grow"