Certified English teacher and language coach

There are numerous different ways in which people learn languages:

• at school as a kid
• at a language school or with a private tutor as an adult
• their family moves to a new country and they learn the language of that country because they live there, attend school, make friends, etc.
• they move to a different country as an adult, for work or adventure, and learn the language through everyday activities and/or at a language school
• through self-study in their own environment (not the country of the target language)

I’m sure there are many other ways, but these are probably the best-known ones.

Now, whichever way you choose (or it chooses you), there is one thing that will make the learning process faster: immersion.

Immersion means that you surround yourself with the language you want to learn. This stimulates your brain and “opens its doors” for the new language.

Let’s say you are learning English. How can you immerse in this language if you don’t live in an English speaking country?

• Watch films in the original English version (you can use subtitles).
• Watch videos on social media, preferably about topics you’re interested in.
• Read a little bit of English every day.
• Listen to music with English lyrics.
• Use English as “background noise”: during housework, cleaning, doing the dishes, washing your hair. Even if you don’t consciously pay attention to it, your brain is stimulated by the language and it gets more and more used to it.
• If it’s possible, find real-life activities in English: join a yoga class that is in English, join an English speaking course (sewing, knitting, taking photos, whatever you’re interested in), or meet international groups of people in your town.
• Talk to yourself in English: when you are at home just going about your business, report to yourself what you are doing. Say these sentences out loud because that also “normalises” English not only for your brain, but also for your mouth, ears, etc.