The one thing young students, casual learners and advanced learners of a language have in common is the desire to learn efficiently. Students have to grapple with very different concepts, cultures and even script – depending on the language. It’s not as simple as picking up reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. To learn effectively, grammar rules, vocabulary and pronunciation are equally important. So what habits or actions can students use to gain that extra head start above the rest of the class?

1. Say it like the native speakers
Talk to native speakers to learn pronunciations, cultural backgrounds and even well-known slangs or phrases. Agape School of Education (ASOE) has a variety of teachers who teach their native tongue.

2. Engage with the class
Strike up conversations with your fellow classmates or even those who have learnt the language as a second or third language. They will understand better than anyone else what you might be struggling with. ASOE has a healthy mix of teachers who are native and non-native speakers of the language they teach. If you’re looking for relatable tips on how to study or memorise, you’ll find no better resource than our teachers.

3. Dear Diary
Write in the language you want to learn regularly. Daily even, if you want to maximise your learning efficiency. It doesn’t have to be complicated. You can start with listing out simple daily tasks then progress to feelings, ideas, thoughts and phrases you’ve recently learnt.

4. Take writing online
Scout out online language forums or discussion rooms where you can e-converse with people, express ideas or exchange thoughts about particular topics. It’s always a bonus if you can converse in another language on a topic that interests you. This ensures the vocabulary you learn is relevant and that you’ll remember it because you will use it.

5. The Fridge method
Every week, pick 5 items in your house that you want to focus on. Start with items that you use regularly, for example, your fridge, your cupboard, your laptop or even your dog! Attach vocabulary lists to these objects, but make sure that the lists have new and challenging words that you want to memorize. This method ensures that you test yourself every day. Of course, you must remember to refresh the list once you’ve committed the vocabulary to memory. As a bonus, see if you can formulate sentences or situations using the vocabulary you’ve chosen!

6. Listen to a story
Sometimes the best way to commit something to memory is to attach a song or a story to it. Research songs or folk tales in the language you are learning and go through the words, sentence structure and phrases that they use. That catchy tune that’s stuck in your head for days doesn’t need to be annoying! Use it to improve your skills!

7. Ban your native tongue
Once you’ve garnered enough vocabulary, start implementing hours, days or events where you only converse in your newly learnt language. Give yourself rewards and punishments for sticking to it or breaking the rules! It’ll not only force you to use the knowledge you’ve learnt, but also to alert you to gaps in your knowledge!

These tips can help you enhance and maximise your learning capacity. However, as with learning anything, be it a skill or a language, repetition and familiarity are always the most important key factors to success. Come down to ASOE today to find out how we can help you succeed in learning a foreign language! Or register for a course online now!