Learning A Language To Help Your Travels

We all know that learning a language can be tough. Reading a 500 page book on how to speak a foreign language can be overwhelming. And if you don’t have much interest in learning a language, learning grammar and memorizing new vocabulary will not be fun either. However it would be beneficial when we travel to or live for an extended period of time in a non-English speaking country. Here are four great tips to help you learn a new language in a more fun and enjoyable way.

Easy & Fun Ways To Learning A Language

Books To Learn A Foreign Language | (c) Photo By Amsco Extra

1. Learn The Language By Reading Subtitles

Your language skills will become better eventually but when you are just starting to learn a foreign language, subtitles in your new language are very helpful. For example, you start watching a Spanish TV program. However you get frustrated when you miss out so many words. But if you have the Spanish subtitles on, you can understand much more than just listening alone. When your language skills are past the initial stage, you can turn off subtitles.

2. Play Scrabble To Help You Learn A New Language

We all love games and it makes the time go fast. So why not play a game of Scrabble in the foreign language you are trying to learn? This is a great way to build your vocabulary of the new language. All you need is the game Scrabble and a dictionary other than some friends who know the language. Playing this game will help you recognize letter patterns and spellings of the new language. After all, who doesn’t want a good challenge.

3. Learning A Language By Cooking

Most of us are motivated by food. So if you buy a cookbook or get online recipes in the foreign language you are learning, you will be more excited and motivated to understand the new language. For starters, try cooking the foreign cuisine by reading the recipe in their native language. If a main course is too hard to begin with, you can read some cocktail recipes online as it’s much easier. I’m sure you might need a helping hand with a dictionary, but that goes along with learning the language. What is great about following a recipe in a foreign language is you will understand that lot of the instructions are similar to English (ex. chop, heat, bake, slice). What’s more, at the end you can be rewarded with a good meal.

4. Learning The Language By Reading

I am sure there will be no shortage in reading materials but the key is to find something that interests you. It can vary anything from comic books to children’s books to fashion magazines. If you want something that is for adult reading, you can try some text books or magazines. There are books that is written in both English and the language you are learning. So if you don’t understand something, you can refer to the English translation.

As you can see, these four language learning techniques are hands-on. Most of us are more receptive to hands-on language learning techniques than reading a guide book. What’s more, all these language learning techniques are far from boring. In fact, they are fun. So go ahead and use them when you are learning a language before your travels.