This Mandarin Monday, instead of giving you a list of vocabulary to work on, we’re giving you some tips on learning the language from 15-year-old student correspondent Fiona McFarland, who speaks five languages.
I have lived in China since age two and went to a Chinese school from kindergarten to grade 8. I learned English at home through talking with my family and reading books until grade 6 when I began taking English courses online. In grade 6 I also started learning French through Duolingo and then in grade 7, I began taking online French courses. At the same time in grade 7, I started learning Russian by chatting with Russian friends. Since I progressed rapidly I soon began to learn reading, writing, and grammar as well. In grade 8 I picked up Spanish on Duolingo as a hobby. I supplemented this with listening-based SpanishPod101 and attending a weekly online Spanish Club as well as watching movies, listening to music, labeling objects, and other activities associated with my other languages, I am now fluent in English and Chinese, am fast approaching fluency in French and soon after Russian, and can have basic conversations in Spanish. Here are my tips for learning a language, any language:
Change your cellphone’s language to whatever you are learning.
This exposes you to a lot of vocabulary, such as “phone,” “calendar,” “push the button,” “talk with your friends,” etc. as shown to the right since it also changes every app to that language. You can do this with any device, just be careful: make sure you can change the language back to your native tongue so that when an important message comes up you do not make a mistake. Also, when you try to translate something in WeChat, it will automatically translate to the language set on your phone.
Write a journal/diary.
Don’t worry about your grammar, just write whatever comes to your head. If you think you do not know enough words, look them up in a dictionary or just supplement English words wherever needed. Make sure to write the date how people would in that language since each country writes the date differently.
Tape the names of objects all over the house.
For instance, on a mirror put the word “mirror;” beside your toothbrush put “toothbrush;” beside the kitchen door put “kitchen,” etc. Just remember that tape gets sticky and if you leave a note on something for a long time it does not come off easily.
Play games.
If possible, play board or card games with someone else who speaks the language. Some games work via facetime and others, such as Minecraft or Words With Friends, are specifically made for online and come in all different languages. However, if you would rather play face-to-face games but have no one else to play with, games like UNO, Carcassonne, Pandemic, and most cooperative games use lots of important vocabulary and work well when alone. Just chatter to yourself and pretend to be all the players.
Talk talk talk.
Similar to 4, ideally you can talk with someone else, no matter how bad you think your grammar or pronunciation is. Even voice messaging with someone once in a while can help a lot! However, if this is not an option, have conversations with yourself. This will probably feel embarrassing to most people, but there are things you can do to help that. I sometimes chatter to myself with earbuds on or my hood up so that I can just pretend I am talking to someone on the phone.
Watch movies.
With or without subtitles, you are bound to learn some new words while enjoying yourself. If you really want to learn a lot of vocab, make flashcards of any words essential to the story that you did not know. E.g. for Cinderella you could write “glass slippers,” “mice,” “carriage,” etc.
Listen to music.
There are all sorts of music out there in many different languages. I personally enjoy Disney and Hillsong music since I already know the lyrics in English, the songs are clean, and they have been translated into many languages.
Read.
Books, cereal boxes, restaurant menus, anything works! For books, choose ones that interest you and that you would enjoy reading, since that way you are more likely to read it all the way through. Of course, depending on your language level and where you live this may or may not work for you.
Cook or bake.
Find recipes in the language you are learning. If you are an avid baker, copy down your favorites and create a recipe box with multilingual recipes. This is a great way to practice numbers, ingredients, and directions as well as try new cuisine.
Practice any way you can!
Websites and apps like Duolingo, Babbel, or LanguagePod101 can teach you a lot. Making flashcards of words you learn also reinforces your vocabulary learning. If you wish to communicate with native speakers there are penpal websites such as studentsoftheworld. Honestly, the possibilities are endless! Whatever you chose to do though, practice your language every single day, even if it is only for 5 minutes. To make your learning fun, vary it up. For instance, you could watch a movie one day, bake something the next, and then practice on Duolingo the day after. The most important thing, though, is to just do what you enjoy while learning a language!
KEEP READING: A Giraffe Among Horses: Growing up as a (Tall) Foreigner in a Chinese School
Images: Fiona McFarland
