If you’re anything like me, I have always been fascinated with other languages and the people that speak them. I spend several hours at a time watching people speak other languages  (with subtitles), so I am more than willing to learn a language. But how does one have the time or the resources? I’m here to give you some tips that I have learned in my discovery of other cultures and languages around the world.

  1. Look for apps. This may seem a little cheesy or crazy, but trust me. When I took spanish in high school and continued it through college, I used several apps to refresh my memory and help me learn further. If you’re curious, Duolingo and Rosetta Stone aer a great place to start. They are easy to use and with practice, they really work.

    Courtesy of Hailey Turpin
  2. YouTube. The world is your oyster, and the internet allows you to find and learn anything. A simple YouTube search could help you perfect your french, as well as start another language for completely free. If you are struggling financially but find time to learn a new language, YouTube will be one of your best friends. Not only limited to YouTube, search the internet and find the ways to learn for free. It’s completely possible if you look hard enough. Even while I am writing this article I have watch four videos of polyglots (people who speak several languages) fluently moving from one language to the other.
  3. Be patient. You will not learn a language in a week. Each one has many words and verb conjugations, so understand that the process is hard and takes a while. But persistence and patience is the best way to stay on track with your progress. There are times when we get busy and it’s hard to stay on track, but knowing that it is a long process will help you know that it’s worth it.  
  4. Start a language journal. I have a love for both journaling and learning languages, so if you feel most inclined, write down your words and phrases so that you can refer back to them and remember them better. Adding drawings and cool layouts make the experience more fun and easier to continue.
  5. Join a club. Especially for college students, we have language learning opportunities on every single place on this campus. UNC Charlotte values and strives for diversity, so take a look at some of the clubs and organizations that are offered on campus and join! Meeting and taking with native speakers of a language will help you learn to speak it.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on learning languages or languages in general. If you know what works for you, do that. However if you are struggling in your language learning journey, hopefully these tips will help you with your learning!  
