First Words in French or Spanish

Your journey into mastering a foreign language has begun! After the previous two posts, you have good reasons why you’re learning and some rules of thumb to start with. Now, it’s time to start learning some words!

While you could start with other free resources like flashcards or bilingual library books, it’s probably more helpful for you to choose a tool that includes sounds of the language and provides some feedback as you begin learning. For that, I recommend downloading the Duolingo app onto your phone because it’s free and does a good job teaching the basics of French and Spanish (though you’re welcome to try another app, if you prefer).

Try learning the language through this app and see what you think for a month or two. Twenty minutes is plenty of time to cover a handful of daily lessons. As you complete your first few months, here are some stages to consider:

-            In the beginning, absorb as much as you can about the sounds of the language along with learning what new words mean

-            Use this phase as an easy way to get in the habit of 20 minutes per day – and while Duo gives you reminders, stick a reminder on your bathroom mirror anyway 😊

-            Eventually, you’ll reach a point when you’re ready to start heavier reading and listening to really advance – the pitfall to language apps like this is that they simply lack the volume of vocabulary you need to deeply and efficiently learn the language

In the beginning

If you haven’t studied a foreign language before, this is probably a very new thing to be learning. Everything will be very novel. This will hopefully make it easier for you to take interest in your language learning and focus well. That said, don’t take your focus for granted; study in a quiet place without distractions just as you would to learn anything else well. Remember that your goal is not just to learn the French or Spanish, but it’s also to help you get in the habit of learning effectively and making good use of your time and effort.

Since everything about the language is new, it could help to take some notes on what you learn while using the app. If a sound is unusual, write about it to help you remember the next time you encounter it. Rules like conjugations can also be learned faster and remembered better if you write down examples to get used to them. Keep your notes brief and simple if you really only have 20 minutes!

Habit, habit, habit

After a few weeks, the warm glow of the app will start to wear off, and you may begin to forget about making time each day to learn your new language if you don’t have effective reminders. Don’t rely exclusively on time reminders to tell you when to learn, as you might unexpectedly be someplace, doing something, or talking with someone at the time your reminder activates. In addition to any reminder on your phone, have a place reminder (like the sticky note on your bathroom mirror) that you may see at different times, but when you are in a place where you perform a daily routine. Ideally, it should be a place where you’ll see it when you aren’t in the middle of something and can choose to pause for language time.

Don’t be surprised if at first it feels like a little bit of a hassle to set aside 20 minutes for language learning each day. Habits are always hardest to form at the beginning. After a month or two of getting your new habit established, learning for 20 minutes each day will feel like part of your normal rhythm. You’ll still have to push yourself some – it won’t feel totally natural for many months, but use reminders to learn and reminders for why you are learning to keep you on task and motivated.

Moving to larger vocabulary volumes

After a few months on Duolingo, feel free to keep going if you enjoy the app and the pace at which you’re learning. But after that first few months, if you want to start learning at a faster rate, feel free to take on something meatier; just don’t bite off more than you can chew – it will probably be several months before you can pick out many words from listening to a podcast, although you can gain some benefit from listening to the sound of the language for a few minutes per day there. Don’t overwork yourself or set expectations that cause you to feel overwhelmed, burn out, and then give up.

From my experience of what works well, I recommend reading at a comfortable pace that allows you to start digesting your new language in a longer form. Reading will give you exposure to lots of new words but allows you to stop and focus on a word, examine the word’s context, and let its meaning sink in for you to recall the next time you see it. In the next post, I’ll share something I call the “three-pass” method, using instruction manuals as a handy resource containing content translated between English and French and (more often) English and Spanish. The three-pass method is effective because of the way it uses repetition, context, and volume of words to help you grow your vocabulary efficiently.

Conclusion

Using Duolingo or another language app as your guide, it’s time for the rubber to meet the road with your language learning! A language app will get you going with basic vocabulary, verb conjugation and other grammar, and getting familiar with how to pronounce the words. Remember the vital importance of habit formation, both to get you off to a good start learning the language and to strengthen your ability to form and stick to good habits, which will help you succeed at anything else you want to achieve. Frequently remind yourself not just to perform your daily learning process, but also why you are doing it! Finally, you get to decide when you’re ready to move on to materials that are more challenging but will allow you to learn the language much more rapidly and deeply.

If you haven’t done it already, download an app and start learning French or Spanish today!