MASTER A NEW LANGUAGE IN SIX MONTHS FOR FREE
Most people have, at some point in their life, wanted to learn a new language. If you are one of those people, this is the article for you. We will discuss how you can reach fluency at your desired language in only six months. This article works for all language, but if you want to specifically learn English, be sure to check out this article too. These are methods that have worked personally for me and for many foreign-language speakers I know. If you follow this guide thoroughly, trust me you’ll be speaking with that sexy French accent in no time.
START WITH DUOLINGO
Duolingo is a free language-learning apps designed for beginners. This app ahs it drawbacks and shouldn’t be used to reach a level of fluency. For beginners though, it is a great way to build up your confidence in your target language. It has a plethora of languages to choose from, including near-extinct languages.
For the first and second months, do Duolingo consistently for atleast 30 minutes each day. You can do more, but don’t do less than 30 minutes. No matter what the app tells you, if you want to get anything out of Duolingo, 30 minutes a day is a must.
COMPREHENSIVE INPUT
The first stages of language learning are all about input. Gather as many input as you can in your target language. Search for YouTube channels, TV series, movies, songs, everything you can find. For the first month, turning on English subtitles is fine. You don’t really have to understand anything, your subconscious is doing the job for you.
Watch 30 minutes of content in your target language every day for the first month. In the second up, ramp it up to 1 hour. This can be an episode of a TV series, or around 5 YouTube videos each day. This is a very fun-filled way to learn a new language. If you have Netflix, you can usually find any TV series in different languages. This can be very helpful while learning a language.
Try to watch some parts without English subtitles, turn on the subtitels in your target language instead. Again, you do not have to understand anything and it’s completely okay if you don’t. We are just training your brain to get used to the language.
ANKI
From the third month, we will start utilizing Anki. Anki is a learning app based on spaced repetition technique proven to be best for memorization. The mobile app costs money so you should download it for desktop here.
Anki will show you flashcards with words in your target language and its meaning on the other side. It has an algorithm endorsed by Elon Musk which will provide you optimum memorization power. After downloading Anki search for “Anki decks for learning <target language> on google. You should download the deck and install it into your software.
Starting third month, we will add 15-20 minutes of Anki in our schedule. We will continue using Duolingo for 30 minutes and watching content in target language for an hour. This is a total time of around 1 hour 45 minutes each day. But if you look closer, since youre just watching a TV series for the majority of that time, your real learning time is only 45 minutes, that’s great for how much you are learning!
HELLOTALK
Hellotalk is another super-useful free app for learning language. It will allow you to talk with native speakers in your target language to improve you communication skills. In return, you will contribute with your own native language ability. IT is a a tit for tat app, help others and get help.
From the fourth month, we will start utilizing hello talk. You will have basic conversational skills in your language as well as an ability to read and write by this stage. We will now drop doing Duolingo altogether. If you did Duolingo consistently for the past three months, you should be atleast at checkpoint 2 till now. That much Duolingo is more than enough to learn the basics.
You will still watch one hour of content, talk in Hellotalk for 15-30 minutes every day and do 30 minutes of Anki each day. In addition, at this stage you should start recording yourself speak and relistening to your recordings for better pronunciation.
Follow this schedule until the end of six months, by which you should have reached fluency in atleast speaking and a decent level in reading and writing. For official measurement, with this schedule, you will reach a B2 level within six months. Happy learning!