Learning a new language sounds like fun, but many people feel discouraged once they consider the prospect of going to school, visiting private teachers, and buy tons of books.  Most people have very busy schedules these days, and going to class three times a week is not always a suitable option. That’s why you are probably wondering how to learn languages by yourself.

If you want to learn a new language and you don’t have time to visit a language school, there are many alternative ways to accomplish your goal. We are going to share some tips and ideas in this article. Remember: there are no boundaries, and you can achieve your learning goals by using the right tools and being determined.

Consider Taking an Online Course

We live in the Internet era and we can do a lot of activities online without leaving the comfort of our homes. So, if you don’t have time to attend a traditional language school, an online course can be a great option for you.

These days, there are online courses for just about anything that comes to mind. Among these, there are many language learning courses designed for complete beginners, allowing them to dive into new words and phrases with ease so that they can learn the new language on their own.

To make things easier for you, we have listed the best online courses available today. Go through this list and select the option that suits you best. Some of these courses come with a very affordable fee while other courses are entirely free. The most important thing is that all these courses are very easy for beginners to enroll in and follow.

Rosetta Stone

For many years, Rosetta Stone has been considered one of the best language courses available online. It offers courses in 28 different languages. The course comes with short and easy-to-follow lessons that you can easily fit into your schedule. In a single lesson, you’ll find listening, speaking, reading, and writing sections. 

Rosetta Stone offers a monthly plan, but you can also decide to be billed annually. It also offers a 3-day free trial. This allows you to explore the platform and to subscribe only if you are satisfied.

Babbel

Babbel is another great language learning course. Registration is free, and for every course, the first lesson is completely free of charge. There are 14 languages to choose from. The thing online learners love the most about Babbel is that it’s fun to use. In other words, it will feel less like learning and more like enjoying. We can all agree that’s a win-win!

While a school language-learning course on a college may cost more than $2000, the monthly subscription goes from $6.95 to $12.95 depending on the plan you select. If you pay monthly, the price is $12.95, but if you go for a 12-month plan, you’ll get the best value and only pay $6.95 a month.

Duolingo

Unlike the previous two courses (which come with a monthly subscription fee), Duolingo is free. It offers a set of short lessons and it is very easy to use. You get to learn new words and phrases, speak, and write as well. You can download the Duolingo app for your Android or iOS device and learn a new language on the go.

The app comes with ads, but you can get rid of those if you sign up for Duolingo Plus. In addition, you will get offline courses and other interesting learning resources.

Memrise

Another great online tool is Memrise. It offers a set of lessons that come with flashcards and a lot of repetitions. On Memrise you can learn up to 16 different languages. You will get a personalized learning experience that is also fun. Another important thing is that you will be able to fit the lessons to your daily routine. The course price is $6.67 a month. 

Implement the New Language into Your Daily Life

Here is a fun and yet very effective way to learn the new language faster: by implementing it into your daily life.

Look for movies and TV shows in the language you want to learn, and if you love spending your free time watching and reading interesting videos, articles, and books, look for content in the language you are planning to learn.

This may seem very hard and confusing at first, but by being exposed repeatedly to words and phrases, you will start to pick them up, until using them becomes natural. 

You should also try to listen to songs in the foreign language you are learning. Try to listen to a few songs every day. You can even create a playlist that you will listen to on the go. After listening to the song, you can read the lyrics and the translation to check what you got right and which new words you encountered.  

Your main goal should get exposure to the new language as regularly as possible. For instance, start greeting your friends in the new language. Or find a kid’s book that is written in that language, pick it up and start reading.

Here is one fun tip if you don’t like the idea of speaking a foreign language in front of your friends or family member. Talk to an imaginary friend about your day or share some exciting news and experiences in the new language. This is a way to break the barrier and to start to get familiar with new words and expressions. 

We live in a technology era. It’s very hard these days to find a person that doesn’t have a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. So what you can do is to change the language settings on your devices and select the one you want to learn. This is a very simple yet very effective way to learn many new words and phrases just by looking at your phone or computer.

Consider changing the language of your browser too. All the top browsers (Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Opera, Firefox, etc.) include this option in the settings panel. 

You can also look for new foreign pen pals or explore websites in the language you are learning. Visit social media pages of companies from countries where that language is spoken. There are many world-known journalists, celebrities, and athletes that share their posts on social media only in their own language, or in two languages (their native language, and English) so you can follow them as well.

Another technique that you may find useful is placing vocabulary labels around your home or office. You can purchase these, but you can also create them on your own with a piece of paper. That’s a great and yet simple way to learn new words every day. If you are learning a language with grammatical genders, the labels or stickers should have a distinct color for each gender. This allows you to recognize genders faster. 

Set Your Goals

When you learn a new language, it is important to set a goal and create a routine that you will stick to. Let’s say you want to learn Italian, and for now, you are only using a dictionary to learn new words. If that’s the case, plan to learn 30 to 50 new words a week and make it your goal. It is attainable, and you won’t feel overwhelmed.

It is very important to be determined and to stick to your goal. If you selected one of the online courses we have listed above, let taking the daily lessons that are short and fun be your goal. I f you have a very busy calendar, your goal should not contain a bunch of activities that you should perform on a weekly base.

Instead, go for something easy and fun that you can easily fit into the schedule.

Embrace the New Experience

Learning something new is a fresh experience, and you need to embrace it. You should enjoy every step of the way. By making it fun and enjoyable, you will learn a language faster. Don’t look at this process as some sort of obligation you have to fulfill. If you do that, you will soon feel negative about it, which might lead you to give up. 

Just imagine how you would feel to learn a language and soon after to visit the country where you can speak it. Doesn’t it sound like fun? Embrace the new. You never know, The language you are currently learning may change your life someday. 

Let your language-learning journey be an adventure.

Conclusion

Learning a new language on their own is something everybody can do.

As you can see, there are many great courses (free or at very affordable prices) that you can start right away. All these courses have short, fun, and on-point lessons that will allow you to enjoy the process, one of the most important things in language-learning.

By implementing the new language into your daily routine, you will learn to use it even faster and you will find it easier and simpler than you ever thought was possible.

We have shared many simple and yet effective tips that you can resort to, and make the best out of your new learning journey.

Music, movies, TV shows and books are great hobbies, but they are even better when we can learn something while doing them, right? Watch content, create song playlists, and set the new language on all your tech devices.

Make sure you set attainable goals and stick to them. You should not pressure yourself. Go for the small at the beginning, and you will achieve great things in the long term.

Be determined and focused, but remember to enjoy the process.

Another thing: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, especially when you are around native speakers. You are making the effort, and that’s what counts the most.

Mistakes are part of the journey, and we may learn a lot from them. Remember that even native speakers make mistakes when speaking their own languages. We all do.

Do have any questions? Or have you already tried learning a new language on your own? Are you doing it now? Share your experience and ideas in the comments section below!

And don’t forget to check the other articles in the language section.