Top ways for your brain to help with learning language

02-02-2024

Although it is gratifying and enjoyable to learn a new language, there are times when our minds appear to be against us.

Here are top three suggestions for accelerating the process of acquiring a new language in your mind.

Establish a feeling of immediacy

What is a frequent complaint among language learners? Absence of leisure.

Your brain may decide against studying a new language after a long day at work or in school, during which it is exposed to enormous volumes of information, for the straightforward reason that it does not wish to expend the additional energy!

How exactly does one fight back?

Attend a real-life lecture with other students. Every subject. A Saturday workshop, an in-person class, or an online course. It would help if you had someone hold you accountable as the objective. Establishing a social obligation to attend in the presence of others, particularly a class and a teacher, will generate a beneficial amount of pressure.

Share your progress tracking. Have you ever considered using audio or video recordings of yourself to monitor your progress? Consider sharing your most recent essay, letter, or favorite expressions on social media. Twitter and Facebook host a substantial language-learning community of numerous organisations that will encourage you and encourage you to contribute.

Prevent your mind from evading your target language

Engaging in activities such as listening to music while commuting to or from work or school, watching Netflix or films on the weekends, reading a periodical during breakfast, or posting on social media platforms in the target language are all excellent methods to begin putting your knowledge into practice.

Even household items could be labeled with Post-it notes in the target language. You will be exposed to new vocabulary throughout the day in this manner. The objective is to communicate to the brain that it is necessary to utilise this language...since it is ubiquitous.

Individualise your learning experience

We tend to pay more attention to unnecessary information. Alternatively, items that we find mundane. Most of us lament having a poor memory and, for instance, forgetting newly acquired vocabulary. 

Your objective? Creating the illusion in your mind that these foreign words are significant, essential, and individual.

Employ your images

When creating a flashcard for the word "dog" in Spanish, French, or German in the future, keep in mind that your brain will be more likely to recall the word if you use an image of your companion as the face of the flashcard, as opposed to, for instance, using the equivalent English translation.

Doing so is incredibly simple on a mobile device: install a free flashcard application like Quizlet or AnkiApp and import your images.

Prefer key expressions to collections

Opt for memorization of vocabulary lists; instead, select words that possess personal relevance to one's daily routines, relationships, and life experiences.

It is common, for instance, to acquire vocabulary for various occupations when beginning to learn a new language. Instead of committing to memory countless lists of professions, start with the jobs of yourself, your companion, your parents, or your closest friend. You are considerably more likely to apply what you have learned and thus retain it for an extended time.

Create a self-description as quickly as feasible

Instead of relying solely on generic textbook examples, discuss your life and clarify your emotions, viewpoints, and personal stories using newly acquired vocabulary. The ultimate goal of language learning should be practical application in a natural and realistic setting rather than mere acquisition of information from textbooks.

Acquire the skill of effective repetition

Specific individuals retain indescribable arrays of Spanish or English verbs they studied in high school. However, when these individuals are asked to conjugate them, use them contextually, or employ them while relating a story...You will then comprehend why it is only sometimes only sometimes the most effective course of action to repeat for the sake of repeating.

Although learning by repetition has its advantages, stressing is not the key. It is essentially replicating itself.

Acquire knowledge of spaced repetition

Gibraltarist Gabriel Wyner, in his book Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language and Never Forget It, describes the spaced repetition method for acquiring a second language. The objective is to occasionally review vocabulary over an extended duration and at more frequent intervals, as opposed to focusing and subsequently neglecting one's coursework.

Increase your visuals

Recall what we said earlier about how personalised learning can be through the use of one's photographs as flashcards?

Memorization can be significantly aided by searching for a foreign word on Google Images and saving one of the resulting images to a mobile device for use as a flashcard. This is in addition to the benefits of using your images to aid in retaining information. Consider creating personalised flashcards using amusing images, familiar locations, family excursions, or the features of loved ones. With repetition, you can recall them better than if you had only used words.

Immediately repeat and employ what you have learned

Understanding the application of verbs is more critical than simply recalling long lists of them; the human brain is more inclined to retain information implemented in practical conversations.

Applying what you've learned by conversing with a teacher, a classmate, or a group is essential since external reinforcement sustains our learning. Additionally, as soon as you acquire a word, practise writing it in at least ten sentences; doing so in context will aid in retention and comprehension of the material.