Studying (and mastering!) a foreign language requires effort, perseverance and patience.
However, by focusing your energies intelligently and making slight changes to your habits, you will be able to make the most of your class time in order to achieve mastery of a foreign language much more quickly.
Here are our tips to boost your learning in class:
1. Use your vocabulary lists creatively
Being absorbed in your lessons may make you think that you will never forget the new words you learn. Unfortunately, there are usually so many of them that it is impossible to keep up by relying on your memory alone. Use writing.
The act of writing a word helps our minds remember it better, and keeping word lists is a fantastic way to practice this. But you know what’s even better? Using these lists, of course!
To optimize your vocabulary list, try to get into the habit of categorizing new words and then connecting them to their meanings; this practice helps your brain process each one. To get started, use one of these best “list-keeping” techniques—or combine them all!
Divide your page into three columns, representing: the word, its function (noun, verb, preposition, etc.) and its definition. As soon as you hear a new word, update your list.
Color-code new words based on their usage, such as function, topic (travel, work, food), or linguistic usage (slang, formal/informal speech). Using colors will help you quickly find related words and self-test.
Boost your memory by including an example of a word in context. Did your teacher use it in a sentence or draw a picture on the board to help stimulate memory? If so, copy it down. Using the word in context will keep it from flying out of your mind after class.
2. Avoid your native friends
While you may have signed up for classes with a friend or have become friends with someone from your own country, you will have to resist the temptation to work together in class if you want to learn. Why? By working with someone who is your native speaker, you will not question yourself and, in difficult situations, will simply be tempted to use your own language.
On the other hand, being brave and reaching out to someone new and different – with whom you can’t verbally cheat! – will force you to work harder to understand your new language and be understood in return when you use it. And honestly, isn’t that the main reason you’re in class?
3. Talk, talk, talk
Now, we are not asking you to be like those students who interrupt the class, chatter incessantly, and then take over the lesson on their own. They are not generous with their time towards their classmates. However, by refusing to interact, you will not optimize your learning either.
Remember that your teacher is there to help you: if you have questions, doubts or requests, express them! Formulating your problem out loud (especially in a foreign language) is an excellent language practice, which often allows you to glimpse a solution before it is even given to you.
When learning a new language, you don’t progress by ruminating on your doubts, but by dispelling them. And who knows? Maybe another student in the class, who was asking the same question, will also benefit from the teacher’s answer!
4. Be present consistently
You know the scenario. You sign up for a Mandarin, Turkish or Spanish class, as excited as a child on the first day of summer vacation. The first few classes go well, but then “life” takes over. Work gets hectic. Friends
