Tricks For Learning A Foreign Language In Your 20s

There’s nothing worse than hearing little kids switching effortlessly from one language to another, is there? They make it look so easy, and we can’t help but think that these tiny bilingual geniuses are already speaking two languages better than we could speak just one at that age. But kids’ brains are nothing but sponge… they soak up all sorts of stuff which makes picking up languages pretty damn easy.

In your 20s, it’s a different story… as you’ve probably already realised. But being able to utter a few words of proper French, for example, rather than Del Boy French (yes, we know you’re too young to get the reference but it really is comedy gold), can be a big advantage, especially if you’re planning to travel.

So… what are some ways you can make learning a foreign language in your 20s a little easier?

PICK AN ‘EASY’ LANGUAGE

OK, so no language is ever going to be easy to pick up if you’ve never dabbled in languages before, but there are definitely some that you’ll find easier to learn than others as a native English speaker. If you want to go down this easy route, choose a Germanic language that follows the same sort of structure as English. German and Dutch are the most obvious choices, but if you wanted to learn something a bit more adventurous there are some others based on the Germanic form like Afrikaans and some types of Creole. A lot of English speakers find learning these Germanic languages a bit easier for two reasons:

1. The structure of the sentences is a lot more similar to what we’re already used to. In English, we’d say ‘I have an intelligent dog’, and we’d say pretty much the same thing is German: ‘Ich habe einen intelligenten hund’. But in Spanish the sentence structure is different, and we’d say ‘Yo tengo un perro inteligente’, which translated word for word would be ‘I have a dog intelligent’. See what we mean?

2. There’s also a lot of similarities in the words themselves. Take the word ‘church’ for example. In German, the word for church is ‘kirche’, and in Dutch it’s ‘kirk’… both somewhat similar which makes them a lot easier to remember. But in Spanish it’s ‘iglesia’… there’s nothing familiar to give you a hint.

ACTUALLY WANT TO LEARN

Ever noticed how it’s nearing on impossible to get out of bed for your lectures each morning, but by some miracle you have no problem downing a pint at the airport ‘Spoons at 4am before a weekend in Spain? Exactly. Things are easier when you want to do them, so actually having the motivation to learn a new language in your 20s can be a big help, and it can mean it’s easier to stay focused on your goal.

It’s a good idea to ask yourself why you’re trying to learn a new language. Because you’re being forced to as part of one of your modules? Then you’re probably going to find it harder than if you’re learning for fun, or if you’re learning in preparation for a big trip. Give yourself something to aim for and have a reward ready for when you get there. Learning is hard; don’t be afraid to give yourself a pat on the back.

BE A BIG KID

Learning new words is one thing, but getting to grips with how these words are used in sentences, and how they’re used in context, is quite another. Like, you may be pretty confident that ‘Senor’ means ‘Mr’ in Spanish, but you might not know that, if we were talking about Mr. Jones, we wouldn’t say ‘Senor Jones’ but actually ‘El Senor Jones’; essentially ‘The Mr. Jones’. And the trick to learning these little quirks is to be a big kid and pick up some foreign children’s books that have basic words but correct formatting.

Some good ones to look out for are Los Tres Cerditos (The Three Little Pigs in Spanish), La Chenille Qui Fait des Trous (The Very Hungry Caterpillar in French), and Der Gruffelo (The Gruffalo in German) because most of us already know these stories anyway, so it’s easier to follow along. A word of advice though: keep these kids books for home reading only… you may get some weird looks reading them on the train!

STUDY ABROAD

This is a pretty big step, and it’s not one to be taken lightly. But the truth is that there really is no better way to learn a language than to be amongst native speakers. Not only is the language all around you, everywhere you look, but if you enroll in a dedicated foundation programme designed for beginners at the same skill level as you, you’ll also have a pretty solid support system which can be a massive help.

The difference between learning from a book and learning from a course like this is that the courses are designed to be more conversational so you learn to actually speak a language, not just understand it. It also gives you a chance to practice what you’ve learned out in the real world. Your efforts to order arroz con pollo probably wouldn’t be met with too much enthusiasm from the girl at the counter at Nandos.

FIND SOME GOOD APPS

There’s loads of language apps out there and while they don’t promise to make you fluent, they do help you to get to a point where you can at least say the basics. You know, things like ‘Si, yo quiero beber más vino’ and ‘No, yo no quiero una ensalada’… the important stuff. The most famous language learning app is Duolingo. The free version is pretty good, but you’re limited to ‘lives’ so if you lose them, there goes your learning for the day. You might find it better to go for a paid version that gives you unlimited access. Yes, they cost money, but you can get good student discounts for apps like Secret World of Languages.

THE BEST TRICK OF ALL

There’s no secret to learning a language in your 20s (wouldn’t it be nice if there was, though?). It’s just about practicing what you’ve learnt and trying to use words and phrases everyday so that they become more natural. If you’ve got a bit of a habit of talking to yourself through the day (haven’t we all?), try to swap out some words for foreign alternatives. You know, like when you mutter under your breath ‘nice car parking, idiot’ when you see someone straddling the white line, try ‘nice carro parking, idiot’ instead.

It all helps!