10 Tips for Learning Languages in a Fun Way

Sometimes, it is easy to lose motivation in your learning process and look for excuses for doing something else instead of practicing. If you are already looking for excuses to skip your lessons, refresh your language studies by introducing new ways of learning.

1. Sing along! If you like music, this is the most entertaining and indeed very efficient method of learning. Download lyrics from the Internet of your favourite songs in the language that you are learning, and sing as often as you can – when you go to work, when you are cooking dinner, exercising, or just relaxing at home. Even language classes at university include singing as part of practice. You repeat the sentences over and over again, and have fun at the same time.

2. Watch movies or TV shows. If you are just a beginner, you can use English (or your native language) subtitles. If you can understand at least half, better just listen. You don’t need to use any extra time for this practice – simply start watching movies in a different language.

3. Read books. For beginners, adapted or kids books are great. For intermediate level students, real books with plenty  of dialogs and short sentences are a good choice. You can read when you are in a bus or train, in a park or beach, on your couch, while waiting in a queue… Find a book that you enjoy and read with pleasure.

4. Read newspapers and magazines. Alternatively, you can also read news portals on-line – this allows you to choose any topic you like. Do you start browsing when you get tired at work? Then, make it useful – browse in a new language, and tell your colleagues that you are researching new marketing methods.

5. Attend courses that are fun. It is good to commit to attending a course, share your learning experience with other students, and make it a social event. You’ll probably even find time to do your homework the last night before the class. However, it is very important that the teacher is fun, and you enjoy the company of other students. Recently, I quit my Spanish classes because the teacher liked to chat about her daily life (in a different language than we were learning!) more than half of the time. Many courses offer trial lessons, don’t sign up without trying it out first.