LeTutor Language School

Learning a Foreign Language, Hard Work or Fun?

Foreign Languages are Fun

That’s Right Languages are Fun!

Lets get one thing straight learning a foreign language is hard work, but it’s fun. Yes I said it, it’s both. Although there is not currently a magic formula that will make instantly fluent it is possible to become fluent if you are willing to work. One thing that we advocate at LeTutor is responsibility on the part of the student and that is the key to your success. Am I using to many unfun words? Hard, Work, Responsibility. Well don’t go away yet.

First of all our definition of hard work is a consistent and conscious efforts focused on accomplishing a goal. By our definition hard work does not mean sweating and an aching back. Students simply need to be realistic about their goals and committed to putting forth the time and effort necessary on a regular basis to achieve those goals Now for the fun part. Although languages require work and dedication you must make your learning experience fun. This doesn’t mean that there will not be subjects you that you will have to buckle down and learn or that won’t be boring and monotonous. It does mean that you should be creative with your learning and exercises. Especially by trying to make your lessons as natural as possible they will seem less like work and more like fun. Here a few things you can do to make your lessons more interesting.

1. Carry a Dictionary: This is a fun way to learn new words without having to sit down and memorize boring lists. When you are walking around and you see something that you don’t know the name for look it up and write it down. Writing it down is important, it increases your memory retention.

2. Listen to the Radio: Listening to the radio is a great way to work on your ability to distinguish words. You can find foreign language radio stations all over the Internet that allow you to listen from your computer. Also, Sirius and XM radio have some foreign language channels available.

3. Be Social: After all that’s what languages are for. Get out and visit with friends or make new ones that speak the language you are learning.

These are just a few ideas to make your hard work fun. Be as creative as you want with your studies and if it works for you then keep on doing it. I would recommend that if you are not attending a language class or seeing a tutor that from time to time you schedule a lesson or two with a language teacher to make sure that you are learning everything correctly and are on the right path. The worst thing you can do is learn something the wrong way only to find out a year later. Wouldn’t it be horrible if you we were trying to ask someone how they were doing and told them that their breath was kickin like Bruce Lee?