Learning a new language is not a piece of cake.
It takes time, devotion, and a lot of effort. If somebody tells you that learning a foreign language is easy, he or she is either a genius or someone who thinks that you just need to know how to tell the time in a certain language to say that you are fluent in such language.
As I told you in one of my previous posts, time and experience have led me to the conclusion that done is better than perfect – which is actually true for most everything in life. The world is not going to fall apart if you do not know a certain grammar rule, or if you keep on pronouncing a certain word in the wrong way. The most important thing is that you go out and speak. And have fun.
I strongly believe in the power of having fun.
Fun makes everything easier. Fun makes the world a better place. Fun is a great way to learn without even realizing you are doing it. And today I’ve come up with a few fun ideas for you to learn and practice your language skills – hassle-free.
One of the things I find most difficult, when learning a new language, is memorizing new words and vocabulary. This is especially hard when studying a language you do not get to hear and use every day – every language but English, let’s say.
Learning by heart is utterly ineffective, memorizing lists of words without putting them into context is a waste of time. But over time I found a few simple ways to acquire some vocabulary with just a little effort.
Here are my tips.
1. Write your grocery list in Italian – or whatever language you are trying to learn.
A grocery or shopping list is always full of simple words. Those words are more or less always the same, like bread, butter, vegetables or whatever you fancy buying.
This means that using a foreign language for your grocery list is the perfect way for easily learning a bunch of words which can be really useful in daily life. After all, isn’t food vocabulary the most important thing you need to know, when abroad?
2. Use Italian for writing notes in your planner or calendar.
Once again, calendar or planner notes are short, easy and quite recurring. A perfect way to learn some words and verbs which you won’t forget – because you will keep using them most every day.
Writing down to-do lists in a foreign language can be another way of acquiring new words and verbs almost effortlessly.
3. Jot down notes, post-its or messages in Italian.
If you are at work, or doing your daily chores, and you need to write down something, do it in a foreign language. Those kinds of notes are usually quite simple, they don’t take much effort, but they can be an effective way of using – and therefore acquiring – the foreign language you are learning. Every single day.
What do you think? Are there other simple and fun ways to acquire vocabulary? Is there something that comes to your mind? Let me know!
If you are interested in improving your Italian language skills, I’d suggest you check Chiacchieriamo, your way of chatting with an Italian without moving from home.
Chiacchieriamo is a Skype chat that helps you practice your Italian with a native speaker, gaining the confidence you need when speaking the language.
If you want to give it a try, you can request a 30-minute free chat, so that we can meet each other and see if you like the service.
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