HOW TO SUCCESS LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

KAREN TATIANA CAMARGO RUÍZ

CODE: 20172165031

BASIC ENGLISH II
SCIENCE AND EDUCATION FACULTY
DISTRITAL UNIVERSITY FRANCISCO JOSÉ DE CALDAS

BOGOTÁ, 2018
 HOW TO SUCCESS LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Learning a new language has many advantages as, to expand our brain skills in the
communicative field and improves our linguistic and verbal intelligence, on the
contrary, people have a lot of excuses to not to do it, they are afraid, they don’t have
time or another kind of pretext, so if you really want to know a language you have to
be able to leave your excuse and be dare to learn the new language but, how to be
successful?

To be successful learning a new language there are some keys or tips that are going
to help you. First, we can talk about different kind of tips, there are emotional ones
that are about to be motivated and not to be afraid, and we can find tips about how
to improve the cognitive comprehension of the language with the help of some
exercises for practice. So, during this essay you’re going to read some tips to
encourage you to learn a foreign language and to be successful at the same time.

First at all, you need a true desire and leave you comfort zone, the motivation is truly
important, you have to identify the reason to learn the language, set it as a goal and
remember it every time you need motivation. This tip can sound obvious but it always
going to help; having motivation involves leaving fear, you have to think positively
and know that making mistakes is normal and even improves your knowledge, think
about all the good things that are going to happen if you know a new language and
keep you motivated.

Another important tip is to have fun and act like a child, maybe can be difficult but if
you don’t try to do it you can get tired of the language. You can try with karaoke,
simple games with friends or using apps about the language you’re learning. This
method is supported by some authors as Sigmund Freud or Jean Piaget, they tried
a theory about how people learn through games and how the learning process is
more successful with it. Thus, having fun when you’re learning a new language is an
alternative to make your knowledge more significant and keep you motivated too.

About your cognitive skills you have to practice in the 4 areas, speaking, listening,
writing and reading, those are the base of the language so you have to work hardly
on it. To improve speaking and listening areas you can have conversations with
foreigners, you can listen to music too and try to understand what the singer is
saying. To improve reading and writing areas you can search for small articles on
internet about topics you are interested in and try to write your opinion in a piece of
paper, and even you can translate songs just using a dictionary and a pencil.

There are other tips about how to improve those skills, you can keep a notebook and
write all those new words, as a result this is going to help you to memorize them.
Furthermore, experts recommend to do a lesson at least once a day, however if
you’re learning autonomously you can do daily exercises to practice the language
and not forget what you have been learning.

Role playing games are an alternative to learn at the same time you’re playing with
friends; this kind of game is going to help you to be encourage to use the language
and leave your comfort zone. Watching TV, movies or videos in the language you’re
learning is a good way to practice even in your leisure time. You can read children’s
books too as they have easier words and you are going to understand it without effort
furthermore online newspapers can help you to be informed about global news and
practice your reading skill at the same time. Another exercise for practice that can
be very useful is to talk with yourself or to think out loud in the new language; it
improves your fluency, vocabulary and pronunciation furthermore it can help you to
start thinking in the foreign language. Talk to yourself is an exercise that is going to
help you to identify your failures as a result you are going to know what part of the
language you don’t use very well so you can work hard and improves it.

To conclude, there are uncountable advantages to learning a new language as you

can improve your cognitive ability or have more business opportunities. To be
successful with the learning process of a new language, in one hand, you have to
be motivated, you have to be responsible and a persevering person; if you have
those initial requirements you are going to learn the language in an easier way. You
have to understand that making mistakes is not something bad and on the contrary
is going to help you, so don’t be afraid of making them. Having fun is another
important tip because is going to help you to no get tired of the language that is a
vital part of be motivated. In the other hand, you have to practice a lot, practice is
the base of being successful learning a language, you can practice with the different
exercises I have been giving you, you have to be focus on your failures and practice
on it, but always remember you need to strengthen all the four skills with different
activities even if it is for your own or with the help of a language’s teacher.

So, finally if you want to be successful with a new language you need to be dare of
leaving your comfort zone and keep you practicing and working hard on your goal.