How to master a language easily

Learning a new language is a TON of work. The process can be so overwhelming that you may not even
know where to begin.

But mastering another language can open up a lot of opportunities. You can communicate with more
people, learn about other cultures, and be exposed to job opportunities that were previously
unavailable.

So how do you tackle such a large project from the start?

We asked for help from the top language experts in the world, who have mastered not just one other
language, but several other world languages.

These polyglots have studied and mastered different languages from different language groups. They
have been language beginners many times over and understand how intimidating and difficult learning a
new language can be.

So, they graciously offered up their top two most valuable tips to help you learn a new language.

Expert #1: Simon Ager│Omniglot

1) Don't worry about not understanding everything - try and guess the things you don't know from
context, and ask about or look up words that come up frequently whose meaning you can't work out.

2) Try to use whatever language you know, without worrying about mistakes or looking foolish - play
with the language, learn from your mistakes, and have fun.

Bio: Simon Ager’s native language is English. He can speak French, Welsh, and Irish fluently. He can get
by fairly well in German, Japanese, Scottish Gaelic, Spanish, Manx and Esperanto. And he has a basic
knowledge of Taiwanese, Cantonese, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Russian, Breton, Dutch, British Sign
Language (BSL), Cornish, Swedish and Toki Pona.
Simon currently lives in Bangor, Wales.

Official Website: Omniglot.com

Twitter: @Omniglot

Expert #2: Olly Richards│I Will Teach You A Language

1) The first thing to realise when taking on a new language is that regular, consistent study over time is
the key to getting results. You'll go through periods where you lose motivation, or struggle to find the
time to work on your language, and that's completely normal.

What's important is you stay consistent with your study, and try to carve out some time every single
day. Stick with it, and time will do most of the work for you!

2) Secondly, don't wait too long before starting to speak with people in your new language. It's normal
to feel apprehensive about speaking when you're still a relative beginner.

However, it's important to realise that you get good at speaking by speaking - not by waiting until you're
ready, because that day never comes. Find a language partner or tutor - locally or online - and schedule
regular sessions. I find 3-4 times a week is ideal.

By speaking regularly, you'll quickly build confidence, and that will catapult your progress forward!

Bio: Olly Richards speaks eight languages - French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Arabic,
Cantonese, and German. His native tongue is English.

He is originally from the UK and started learning languages so he could better communicate with his co-
workers.

Olly currently lives in London, England.

Official Website: IWillTeachYouALanguage.com

Twitter: @Olly_IWTYAL

Expert #3: Teddy Nee│Nee’s Language Blog

1) Learn phrases that you frequently use.

If you take a look at all language learning books, you will find many similar phrases, such as "How are
you?", "Where is the station?", "I want a cup of coffee, please".

However, do you really use those phrases in your real life? I suggest you to learn ONLY phrases that you
frequently use. In this way, you can start to have conversation at the very early stage of your learning
journey.

I suggest you to learn the following first: the 6W1H (What, Why, Where, Who, When, Which, How)
phrases, basic tenses (past, present, future), grammatical structure (SVO or SOV or VOS or others),
numbers, day and time, frequently-use verbs, and pronouns (I, you, we, my, your, him, them, etc.)

2) Use the language as often as possible.

You may have heard the saying that living in the place where the language is spoken is best for your
learning. The idea is that you will hear the target language every day, and probably, use it actively
occasionally.

But this method has limitation, what if you don't have the time and money to move to other cities/
countries? Let me suggest you what you can do at your comfort and your own learning pace. It is best if
you do these as often as possible.

a. Read articles and check dictionaries (this method improves your vocabulary and learn how a word is
used in a sentence)
b. Listen radios/ TVs (it's best to listen to dialogues than songs, unless you want to learn to sing,
because if you want to be able to talk, then learn how people talk)

c. Talk to anyone in any possible opportunity (because language is for communication).

Bio: Teddy Nee speaks six languages - Hokkien Medan, Indonesian, English, Chinese, Spanish, and
Esperanto. Now he is learning Dutch, Portuguese, and French!

Teddy currently lives in Taiwan.

Official Website: NeesLanguageBlog.com

Twitter: @tdnee

Expert #4: John Fotheringham│Language Mastery

1) Define your "why" first. Similar to what Nietzsche said, with a strong enough why, a language learner
can endure almost any how.

Why do you want to learn? How do you want to use the language? How will it improve your life?

2) Spend most of your time in the language, not learning about the language. We acquire languages at a
subconscious level when we get sufficient input and practice.

This means actively listening to authentic content and communicating with native speakers as much as
possible.

Bio: John Fotheringham holds a B.A. in Linguistics from Western Washington University, with a focus on
Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and T.E.S.O.L.
He started his language learning at the ripe age of 12 when he went to São Paulo, Brazil for a 2-week
home stay. Since then he’s vowed to learn the language of every country he visits. So far, he’s learned
Portuguese, French, Japanese, Chinese, and has studied a handful more.

John is originally from Seattle, Washington, USA.

Official Website: L2Mastery.com

Twitter: @LanguageMastery

Expert #5: Kris Broholm│Actual Fluency

1) ABANDON ALL FEAR AND INTERNAL DOUBT!

When you start, your mind will constantly doubt itself whether what you're about to say is correct,
whether you even know the words or not. It's IMPERATIVE at these practical occasions to simply let
loose and ignore that internal doubt.

Don't try to prepare a script internally for every sentence (that's not how we speak our native language.)
instead simply use what you know, or find a way to speak around it. Don't wait for perfection! It might
never happen.

Note: This is extremely difficult, but if you consider that all your fellow course participants are in the
exact same boat, and you're doing it to learn languages it becomes somewhat easier. Don't worry if you
make a mistake either, just shrug it off and keep going.

2) Trust the process and have fun!

Middlebury is a world-class language school, and you will definitely learn a lot if you just let go of your
worries and trust the process.

Don't try to force yourself to remember things, or spend all evening running through flashcards.
If you speak and practice the language at every opportunity, and follow the excellent programme laid
out, you will be successful, I have no doubt.

But, most importantly; Have fun!

Bio: Once influenced by some of the same polyglots on this very list, Kris Broholm found his love of
languages while trying to climb out of the hole that is depression. He found that learning languages gave
him the fulfillment and purpose he had been searching for in his life.

Now he can speak multiple languages including English, Danish, German, and he can understand and
converse in Esperanto, Russian, and Hungarian. His goal in 2013 was to learn 10 languages in 10 years!

Kris is originally from Denmark but currently resides in the UK.

Official Website: ActualFluency.com

Twitter: @KrisBroholm

Expert #6: Emily Liedel│The Babel Times

1) When you’re learning a new language, fall in love with both the language and the culture that speaks
it.

2) Then create as many opportunities as possible to speak the language and interact with native
speakers.

Bio: Emily Liedel is on a mission to learn all of the official UN languages to a native-like fluency by her
35th birthday! So far, she speaks German, French, Russian, and Spanish as well as her continued study of
Arabic and Chinese.

Emily currently lives in her hometown Portland, Oregon.

Official Website: TheBabelTimes.com

Twitter: @TheBabelTimes

Expert #7: Mark Kinsella│Eurolinguist

1) Ok, the first would be bombardment. Listen to as much as you can. Internet radio is great for this.

Buy a course and listen to the audio even before you read it. That way the words don't seem like
strangers when you see them written and you're already getting used to the sounds.

2) Have imaginary conversations in your head using the vocabulary you are learning. Toss it around in
your mind whenever. It'll get you used to using the language for real, and you'll get familiar with the
syntax. On the way to work, in the car, whenever!

Bio: Mark Kinsella works for Lingua Tours in Dublin, Ireland. He speaks English, Italian, Spanish, French,
German, Dutch, Portuguese, Gaelic, and Esperanto.

Mark is from Dublin, Ireland where he is currently living.

Official Website: EuroLinguist.blogspot.com

Twitter: @theeurolinguist

Expert #8: Vladimir Skultety│Forever A Student

Learn by using.

1) More specifically, speak and listen to the language as much as you can.
2) In higher stages, also read and write as much as you can.

Bio: Vladimir Skultety is a translator and interpreter in Mandarin Chinese, Slovak, and English. He is also
a graduate of International relations and Chinese studies. He can speak 15 languages and 8 of those at
the highest levels of language mastery.

He mainly writes about Chinese Mandarin to help people learn Chinese characters faster and more
effectively.

Vladimir currently lives in Slovakia where he was born.

Official Website: ForeverAStudent.com

Twitter: @VladSkultety

Expert #9: Martin Boehme

1) Practice new sounds early - bad pronunciation can make you feel unconfident and keep you from
speaking even if your grammar is perfect.

2) Practice/study for longer periods of time. 5 minutes a day is like 1 push-up a day. Speak for an hour
with no English and make your brain melt.

Bio: Martin Boehme is a web developer who speaks English and Spanish fluently. He can get by with
French and is currently studying Japanese. He works at College Info Geek.

Martin currently lives in Denver, Colorado, USA.

Official Website: MartinBoeh.me

Twitter: @mpvboehme
Expert #10: Giwan Persaud│Duolir

1) Keep engaging yourself with that language through video, audio, and reading material in that
language.

2) Practice speaking with others whenever you can.

Bio: Giwan Persaud is the founder of Duolir, a database of short stories with translations for language
learners seeking to find relevant reading materials within their level.

Giwan is originally from Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Official Website: Duolir Bilingual Short Stories & My Toori Bilingual Blog

Twitter: @duolir

Expert #11: Shannon Kennedy│Eurolinguiste

1) Accept that at the beginning, everything is going to be one big jumble that won't make any sense.
Eventually you'll start to pick out bits and pieces and everything will fall into place.

The more exposure you get to the language, and the more you slowly chip away at it, the more it all
starts to click.

It takes time, so don't feel discouraged if you don't understand or struggle to form sentences. You'll get
there.
2) A little study each and every day is the best thing you can do for your learning. Consistency in
language study is so, so important. It keeps everything fresh, prevents you from needing to do
unnecessary review, and helps you continue to move forward.

Studying fifteen minutes everyday is far more effective than studying for two or more hours one day a
week.

Bio: Shannon Kennedy knows 9 languages - French, English, Mandarin Chinese, Croatian, Russian,
Korean, Italian, Spanish, and German. She has a Master’s degree in Music/Ethnomusicology from
Queen’s University, Belfast where her love of languages was sparked.

She plays the saxophone and works for Fluent in 3 Months.

Shannon currently lives in California, USA.

Official Website: Eurolinguiste.com

Twitter: @eurolinguistesk

Expert #12: Lindsay Williams│Lindsay Does Languages

1) Find something you love.

When you've got something to relate to in a language, it's something that will connect you deeper than
just words.

It could be music, a TV show, food, something about the language itself...there's plenty of options here,
but what they all have in common is that when your motivation is lower or you go through busy times in
life and language learning gets pushed aside, it will be much easier to restart and pick things up again if
you've got a connection and a reason to keep learning.

2) Set goals strategically.

It's great to say "I want to speak Spanish" but that's not really a goal - it's an ambition. Goals are the
smaller milestones along the way that help you to make that ambition a reality. I like to use what I call
Onion Goals! Put your end goal in a circle and add bigger circles surrounding it, each layer asking
yourself how you'll do the last.

For example, if my goal right now is to "learn 50 words", the next layer out might say "use Memrise".
The next layer, "daily when having breakfast". What's great about Onion Goals is that you can adapt it
for various goals along the way, basically anytime you need clarity as to how you're actually going to do
these amazing things!

Bio: Lindsay Williams learns, teaches, writes about, and makes YouTube videos about languages. She
speaks Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Esperanto, Japanese, Indonesian, Dutch,
Mandarin, and Korean. She has studied a few others for travel.

Fun fact: Her (reasonable) obsession with Shakira is the reason Lindsay got so addicted to learning
languages!

Lindsay currently lives in England.

Official Website: LindsayDoesLanguages.com

Twitter: @LDLanguages

Expert #13: Ellen Jovin│Words & Worlds of New York

1) Be really good at knowing when you are having fun, because if you are not having fun there is no way
in hell you are going to get as much done as you would if you were actually having fun.

If I am sick of conjugating verbs, I learn vocabulary. If I’m sick of vocabulary, I might chat with a native
speaker online. If I suffer a sudden attack of misanthropy, I may switch to audio lessons. If I get tired of
audio, then perhaps I watch court TV in the target language. Variety is good; it aids and abets fun.
2) Eat greens.

Bio: Ellen Jovin is a self-proclaimed grammar freak who found other language writing systems and
cultures interesting. She has been studying multiple languages for 8+ years including (but not limited to)
Italian, Arabic, Persian, and Portuguese.

Ellen currently lives in New York City, New York, USA.

Official Website: EllenJovin.com

Instagram: @EllenJovin

Expert #14: Bill Price│How To Languages

1) Learn what's most useful to YOU. There is a ton a vocabulary and grammar to digest in any new
language, so make sure you don't waste your time and energy on learning things you know you won't
use.

What do you talk about on a day to day basis? Learn those things. Learn words and phrases related to
your interests and your needs. Just because you CAN learn the words for twenty different zoo animals
doesn't mean you should.

This accomplishes two things: It helps you reach a level of comfort and fluency in the language more
quickly AND it does wonders for keeping you motivated.

2) Listen to a LOT of the language. For me, the most frustrating part of learning a new language is
understanding speech. Listening to the language should be at least half of your daily routine if not more.

The more you listen, the more you begin to parse individual words and the more your ear will naturally
adapt. Of course, audio with transcripts and translation are preferable but I have found that even blind
listening to foreign language audio (regardless of comprehension) is helpful long term.
Bio: Bill Price is originally from from Louisiana where he grew up surrounded by English and Cajun
French. He first set a personal goal to randomly learn German in one year which he succeeded in doing
so. From there, his language learning journey turned him into a language enthusiast.

Bill currently resides in Colorado, USA.

Official Website: HowToLanguages.com

Twitter: @HTLanguages

Expert #15: Judith Meyer│Learn Yu

1) A language cannot be taught, it can only be learned. If you've come to this course, it means that
you've made a decision to learn a language. So go through these days trying to pick up as much as
possible.

Let teachers help you, let fellow students help you, research some stuff yourself, don't let anyone deter
you from your goal.

2) When walking around speaking your target language, note down all the words that you're missing
and that you might need again very soon (words like "remember", not words like "embryo").

As soon as you have a chance to sit down, look up the translation of these words and try to memorize it.
This will help you rapidly become fluent in "me-language", the 500 words that you personally are most
likely to use.

Bio: Judith Meyer is the head organizer of the Polyglot Gathering, an international conference for
language geeks. She speaks 9 languages, 5 at a lesser level.

Judith currently lives in Berlin, Germany where she is from originally.

Official Website: LearnYu.com

Twitter: @GermanPolyglot

Expert #16: Malachi Ray Rempen│Itchy Feet Comic

I have two useful tricks.

1) The first is to basically never stop practicing. Languages are skills, and like any skill, you get out of it
what you put into it. Put in a lot, get a lot back. But get lazy, and you'll get lazy results!

However, if you are feeling a bit lazy and/or overwhelmed, I happen to have a foolproof, guaranteed,
100% success rate trick, and that's my second:

2) Fall in love with someone who speaks your target language. There's no substitute for raging
hormones to give you the push you need to get fluent, and fast! Be sure to fall for someone who doesn't
speak your native language, though. That's the trick.

Bio: Malachi Ray Rempen was born in Switzerland and raised in Albuquerque. He took his own advice
and married an Italian! He draws and writes comics about world travel, life as a foreigner, life with a
foreigner, and learning new languages.

Malachi currently lives in Berlin, Germany.

Official Website: ItchyFeetComic.com

Twitter: @ItchyFeetComic

Expert #17: Noel van Vliet│Smart Language Learner

The most important thing is that you stay the course. It comes before anything else. Some will say make
sure you have fun while learning a new language. But even if you do that, some days or weeks are going
to be tough.
Therefore my top two tips at this moment would be:

1) Measure your progress in some way. It doesn't have to be very elaborated, just come back to a few
songs in your target language every now and then to see if you understand more than the last time you
heard them.

This gives you the reassurance that you are progressing and therefore increases your motivation.

2) Never worry about progress on bad days. Just shift your focus to completing your language learning
session(s). When we're a little bit down, our negative thoughts increase. And the majority of them are
completely irrational.

If you give them power they will make stupid decisions FOR you. Wait until you feel a little more
balanced emotionally.

Bio: Noel van Vliet speaks three languages fluently. He speaks Dutch, English, and Spanish. He too
wanted to know what the English 80’s music artists were singing and started from there.

Noel is originally from the Netherlands and currently resides in Costa Rica.

Official Website: SmartLanguageLearner.com

Twitter: @NoelVanVliet

Expert #18: Kerstin Cable│Fluent Language

1) Set goals and track your progress.

Goals! Projects! Missions! Whatever you call them, they are the lifeblood of sticking with where you are
at as a language learner.
Since you are a busy person, being accountable for your own time is one of the best ways of feeling both
accomplished and efficient.

Tracking your progress is not only a good way of structuring how you learn. It will also help you combat
the dangers of motivation loss.

The longer you stick with what you've already studied, the easier it will be to keep going. In other words:
It's easier to break a 2-day streak than to break a 2-month streak.

Tracking can work in many different ways. It can be as simple as keeping up with habit streaks on apps
(Duolingo, Memrise, or just type "habit" into any App Store). Or it can be a detailed log and review base
like your personal notebook.

If you'd like detailed goal-setting advice, check out Lindsay Williams' course Successful Self Study.

2) Build Great Habits.

If you want to get a better handle about how to build winning habits, start with how you make habits
stick in other areas of your life. For example, some people stay fit by scheduling regular workout times,
while others need accountability and love tracking their runs online.

I recommend you start digging into this with help from Episode 32 of the Creative Language Learning
Podcast, in which we discussed habits, styles and tendencies based on the work of writer Gretchen
Rubin.

Bio: Kerstin Cable had a passion for languages since she danced to Hebrew songs in Kindergarten. She
has studied English, French, Italian, Latin, and Spanish. She is currently trying to learn Welsh.

Kerstin is originally from Moselle Valley, Germany.

Official Website: FluentLanguage.co.uk

Twitter: @fluentlanguage

Expert #19: Raffaele Terracciano│Rafter’s Languages

1) Use content that you like. You are not going to learn a language by just reading grammar books. Read
and listen to content that is highly interesting for you, and everything will be easier for you.

You like sports? Then read the news about your favourite team in your target language.

2) Do that everyday. Every day that you use your target language is a day you get better at it. Every day
that you don't, is a day you get worse.

The only way not to lose what you have learned is to keep studying everyday, even for just 10 minutes.

Bio: Raffaele Terracciano speaks 11 languages - Neapolitan, Italian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese,
German, Dutch, Greek, Japanese, and Catalan.

The first book he read was Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne. And one of the best gifts he ever
received from his parents was an electronic translator for 5 languages. From then, he’s always been
interested in learning languages and travelling.

Raffaele is originally from Naples, Italy where he resides.

Official Website: RaftersLanguages.com

Twitter: @RaftersLangs

Expert # 20: Jan va der Aa│Language Boost

1) Have the right motivation.

Do you have enough reasons to learn a new language. Are you motivated? Without enough motivation
we tend to give up too easily.

Think about how much better your life would be if you would speak that language fluently. Would it help
you in your career?

Do you want to speak a new language for social reasons? Or do you want to have better experiences
living or traveling abroad? No matter what reason you have, you should at least have a few very good
ones in order to stay motivated!

2) Learn the most important things first! (80:20 rule)

Learning first things first is the key to quick progress in your new language.

The Pareto principle (also known as the 80:20 rule) basically states that you get 80% of the results from
20% of the work. This principle can be applicable in language learning as well.

Languages contain hundreds of thousands of words but only a fraction of them are used on a daily basis
by native speakers and only a fraction of those are words that you need for your first conversations.

Bio: Jan van der Aa speaks English, Mandarin Chinese and German. He also speaks Cantonese,
Portuguese, and Spanish and is a beginner in Japanese and Indonesian. He is going to learn Italian,
French or Thai next!

Jan is from the Netherlands.

Official Website: LanguageBoost.biz

Facebook: @jvanderaa1
Expert #21: Josh Teeters│Language Geek

1) Don't be afraid of translation. The current in-vogue advice seems to be to never translate anything, to
start using monolingual dictionaries as fast as possible, etc.

I've tried both paths, and I've found translating things (particularly in both directions) to be a very
helpful learning exercise.

By translating something—particularly in a very literal way—it lets you see what each and every word in
your target language is doing, especially when it is functioning differently than similar words in your
native tongue.

2) In the age of digital everything, don't discount the effectiveness of "old fashioned" study methods. In
particular, writing things out by hand—not typing—has proven to be very helpful in getting things to
stick in my memory.

Research has shown there is a connection between handwriting and memory, and I've found writing
vocabulary out has helped me learn it better than cramming digital flashcards

Bio: Josh Teeters first got his inspiration to learn a new language from watching the movie Braveheart!
Since then he has studied Latin, focused on German, has done some French courses and is currently
going through a Russian course. He has since started on Spanish and Dutch as well.

Josh currently lives in Ohio, USA.

Official Website: LanguageGeek.net

Twitter: @langgeek

Expert #22: Gabriel Wyner│Fluent Forever

1) Focus on mastering pronunciation as early as you possibly can. It will improve your ability to
remember words and it’ll minimize the amount of time you’re practicing bad pronunciation habits.

Seek out teachers to help you with this; it’s really easy to tip into an American accent when students
outnumber teachers.

2) Make flashcards that are 100% in your target language and involve pictures. You can do this using Fill-
in-the-___ Sentences, either by hand or in a program like Anki. Flashcard tests like these are
approximately five times more efficient for memorization than simply re-reading your notes.

Bio: Gabriel Wyner is a Middlebury Summer Language Immersion Academy graduate and success story!
He learned German to start and now speaks French, Russian, Italian, Hungarian, and Japanese. He is
currently trying to improve his Japanese.

Gabriel is also an opera singer who often sings in other languages.

Gabriel lives in Chicago, IL, USA.

Official Website: Fluent-Forever.com

Twitter: @Fluent_Forever

Expert #23: Olle Linge│Hacking Chinese

1) Focus on breadth before depth. You don’t need to know everything about a word when you first
learn it. Read and listen extensively as much as possible, preferably at a comfortable level.

Output and deeper understanding comes with time. Avoid advanced stuff until you actually need if for
communication.
2) Follow your passion. If you like playing games, find ways to learn languages through games. If you
love music, that’s a powerful way of learning as well. Anything that makes you spend more time with the
language is good.

An okay method that you use gladly every day is much better than a supposedly awesome method that
you never use.

Bio: Olly Linge has a degree in English and Chinese and a master’s degree in Teaching Chinese as a
Second Language. He enjoys writing, gymnastics, unicycling, diving, volleyball, role-playing, and playing
games.

Olly is from Linköping, Sweden.

Official Website: HackingChinese.com

Twitter: @HackingChinese

Expert #24: Randy Hunt│Yearlyglot

1) Ignore the haters. People will always judge you by their own definition of fluency. Their opinions
don't matter.

All that matters is whether you can perform the function required of you in your new language.

2) Get over your pride. Make mistakes. Make a fool of yourself early and often.

Pride prevents us from using a language in which we are imperfect. But humility allows us to learn more,
and sooner.

Bio: Randy Hunt had a goal to be a “citizen of the world” since he was in Kindergarten. By age 18, he had
exposure to four languages. Now he speaks Spanish, Russian, Italian and is currently making great
progress learning Greek.
On top of that, he can have basic chats in Polish, German, Turkish, French, and Esperanto. And he’s had
exposure to a couple more handfuls of other languages!

Randy currently lives in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Official Website: Yearlyglot.com

Twitter: @yearlyglot

And Here Are Our 2 Language Learning Tips:

1) Slow down. When you start to speak another language, you can get in your head about speaking your
new language as fast as your native language. Slow down and take your time. With more practice, you'll
naturally get faster as the langauge becomes more familiar to you.

2) When learning new words or phrases, try to create a small story in your mind to help you memorize
them. Using your brain's creativity will help you make connections and you will memorize material
quicker.

Bio: The Summer Langauge Academy offers a four week language immersion program for teenagers
interested in learning Spanish, French, Chinese, or Arabic. Study in Vermont, Spain, France, or Beijing in
a truly immersive environment this summer.

Our program was built in Middlebury, Vermont, USA.

Official Website: www.summerlanguageacademy.com

Twitter: @milangacademy

A special thanks to all 24 of these talented ployglots from around the world. These tips are amazingly
helpful for new language learners.