Ol`gita Major: International Economic Relations Status: Workygirl I am fond of chocolates, flowers, friends, loud music, watching movies, taking pictures and traveling!!!

Faster Ways of Learning language
Olya Bezvushko

How come I'm not learning this language so slow? It's a question you'll hear in language schools around the world. It’s not that you are not learning. But sometimes you can experience such feeling that you should be learning faster and more. Sometimes that may create frustration. But is it possible to learn faster? Can one eliminate the feeling of frustration? I tried to search for some tips of fast learning and here what I’ve gotten:

1. You should focus on the process. Don’t expect a return proportionate to your investment of time and energy. Obtaining new language skills is a very individual and mysterious process. You will go forward and backward. But, one day, you will get ahead. Don't waste your enthusiasm and energy by comparing yourself to others or having biased notions of how long it should take. Cultivate a relaxed attitude. Do not ask yourself "How am I doing" anymore; better ask "What can I do to engage the language?"

     2. Begin to celebrate. The ability to capture the basics of your new language in 1-2 months is a great occasion for treating yourself.

     3. Take your study resources with you. Immersion into new culture while studying in a language school abroad means that English will be taught in English, Spanish in Spanish, and French in French.You will find it useful to have a textbook or workbook about the new language that is written in your native language. If you don't know what an indirect object or an irregular verb is in your home language, it will be difficult for you to understand it in the new language.

     4. Remember that the sooner you know the past tense the more you can communicate in the present.

     5. Talk to the members of your host family as much as possible. The experience of being understood was fundamental to my desire to continue my studies. Come to the lunch or dinner table with something prepared to say. You may find your hosts an interested audience for your baby steps in your new language.

     6. Acquire new style of speaking. Every language has a "style" in which it is spoken and you will have your own style, too, within the rules of grammar and with clear pronunciation of course. If you are in America, try a little play-acting. Become American! You don't have to wave your hands as you think native Americans do, but recognize that your new language demands a new persona to speak it effectively.

     7. Choose learning method which fits you the best: auditory, visual, or kinesthetic.

     8. Go for imaginary conversations with yourself. Draw a picture with vocabulary words. Walk the street and count each step. Listen to a song while reading the lyrics. Use your imagination to discover new effective ways of learning.

As your skills increase, your experiences within the culture will multiply by the day. You will no longer be visiting a place but living in a culture. Every interaction, no matter how seemingly mundane, will be a delightful opportunity to relate to the country and the people.