How fast can I learn a language? What should I learn first?

Howfluent can I get in a lan

guage? These are common questions. Let'slook at them here.

What do you mean by learning a language? You can alwaysimprove. You will never be
perfect. You can always enjoy thelanguage. So why not focus on enjoying the language
? If you enjoythe language you will improve quickly. You should feel meaningful andsa
tisfying progress every month. You will continue to improve as longas you want to.

What should you learn first? In my view language learning starts withlistening. If possib
le, reading should be combined with listening. Ifyou can understand what you hear in th
e language, you will feelcomfortable and confident. It is important to be able to understa
ndpeople when they talk to you. You can always stumble a little whenyou express your
own views. In fact, for the first while you need nottry to speak, just listen and learn. But
it is essential to understandwhat is said to you. Learning to understand the language in a
llsituations takes time. It takes years. Yet the challenge to improveone's listening compr
ehension is an excellent stimulus for the brain. Itkeeps you young and alert.
Reading can help a lot in listening. So take the trouble to read, andto learn vocabulary.
Try to enjoy what you are listening to andreading. Do not be in too big a hurry. This wil
l only put unnecessarypressure on yourself. Savour the language. Observe the languagea
nd get used to the patterns of the language. Before you know ityou will be using the lan
guage better than ever before.

If you can understand what you hear you will learn to speak well,when you need to spea
k. If you do not have the opportunity tospeak in the language you are learning, do not w
orry. Speak toyourself. Write and have your writing corrected. Read your correctedwriti
ng out loud to yourself. And when you have the chance to speak,go for it and do not wo
rry about how well you think you performed.

How fluent can you get? There is no limit. You can just keepimproving. There are nonnative speakers who use the languagebetter than native speakers, even though their pron
unciation maybetray a foreign origin. It does not matter. The sky is the limit.

The important thing is to continue. We all have the ability torecognize and imitate patter
ns in all things, including foreignlanguages. Let yourself go. Enjoy the language. Work
a little onlearning the words and phrases that you have come across in yourlistening and
reading and soon what seemed strange in the languagewill seem natural. You will exper
ience a sense of power as you useyour new vocabulary, almost without thinking about it
.

I think that has been the experience of our learners at The Linguist. Ithink this will be ev
en more the case once everyone is fully engagedin the new LingQ system.