Language learning benefit both career and personal development

Valuable knowledge

Learning a foreign Language can be a good choice, both for the career and for personal development. What language should you choose, how do you start, and how do you make language learning a pleasure?

Sometimes we may imagine that we do not need languages other than English in today’s globalized world. There is a common interest around the world in learning other foreign languages. Trading companies are losing valuable business opportunities each year due to lack of language skills.

Certainly, there are many businessmen in the world which can speak English — but learning their mother tongue can be a very valuable way to gain their trust and through that deepen the contacts.

Choosing a Language

Learning a foreign language will not only be good for the career but also for a personal development. For instance, by improving creativity and learning ability. But above all, one gets the opportunity to take in on another culture, which can enrich one’s life in many different ways

How do you know which languages to learn then? To start with, you should think about which language you could benefit from the most in your career. You can also relearn a language that you learned in school a long time ago. The last mentioned, can have its advantages, like some of the vocabulary are still in place somewhere in the back head.

No Quick Solution

Once you have chosen a language that you want to learn, the next step will determine how to proceed. About language learning as self-learning that promises you to learn a language in a week or a similar kind of short period of time — be critical. Because learning language takes time and is a bit strenuous — you must be aware of it when you get started.

Begin by defining for yourself about what level you want to achieve and how long it takes. Also be clear about what is most important for you to know in the new language. Some mostly want to learn to conversate, while others are looking to read the country’s literature in original language, and so on.

Different Ways to Learn

If you want to be able to order food in a restaurant in a local language, that would be one concrete goal you may want to set up for yourself. It is also important to decide if you want to learn the language through self-study or if you think you will need tutoring help. Having a teacher’s help will open more doors for questions and discussion. For those who want education there are a variety of options, ranging from evening classes to private teachers and apps for online tutoring. For instance, there is an app called Pop On where you connect instantly with native speakers from around the world within seconds. You develop quickly while enjoying a fun and immerse live language learning experience with native speakers. Pop On is global language learning and cultural exchange community with members from over 180 countries. The app is dedicated to empowering people to push their boundaries, to broaden their horizons, and to understand each other better, by providing a culturally engaging environment and helping to improve their language skills.

Countless linguistics and language devoted people have over the years launched their own ideas and theories about the methods that should be used to learn a foreign language. There is certainly some truth in each of these, but one should keep in mind that people are different and therefore learn in different ways.

Feel the best way to learn yourself — is it through text, sound or image? Use all tools, but focus on what works best for you. Once you get started, it is best to start with the necessary phrases and keywords so that you get a feeling for the language. For instance, learn to greet, introduce yourself, order coffee and ask for the way. Add some simple adjectives like happy, sad, hungry, thirsty, spicy, tired and so on.

Let your desire and curiosity guide you. If you love animals, find out what dog and cat are called in the new language. Also try to provoke curiosity by constantly having the language learning in your mind while you are out. Find out new words everyday!

Grammar

The more words you learn, the more you play with them — you will get more anxious to put together your own sentences. Then it is time to start to peek into the grammars. Certainly, you have learned in school that grammar is one of the most boring part — but now you are not going to be a student, this time it is because you are curious and eager to learn. Once you have come so far, would it not be fun to at least bend the verb “to have” and “to be”? You will probably learn that quite fast and suddenly you can form a whole bunch of new sentences.

Grammar may not be so boring after all, if you just avoid thinking about it as grammar and instead look at it as a solving for a tricky test. Eventually you can start doing some grammatical exercises. Take it at your own pace and do not let the exercises become a stress factor. But keep in mind that regularity is very important when it comes to language learning.

Pamper Yourself

Once you have learned the basics and become a bit better in the language, it may be time to expose yourself to a little “language bath”. Meaning, spoil yourself, which is in a good way, in the new language. Is there anything that you really enjoy to read, watch or listen to — though you feel ashamed of it? Anything like comics, TV series or Harry Potter books. Allow yourself to read, watch and listen as much as you can — but only in your new language!

In order to learn a new language, one must also get to know the culture, because the language is full of cultural references. Finally, keep in mind that learning a new language should be a pleasure. As the linguist Paul Pimsleur once said “nothing forbids you to read languages with a Martini in your hand”. Plan a trip to the country in question so that you have a goal and a reward to look forward to. Try to identify yourself with the new culture that you are becoming part of.

Pop On is a global language service and cultural exchange app which connects you with native language partners around the world
within seconds. Whether you are at a beginner or advanced level, you can start your language journey with Pop On and find the right
Chat Pal/Tutor for you. Pop On supports Mandarin Chinese and English and will incorporate a range of languages such as Japanese,
Korean, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Russian etc.
Pop On app is now available on Google Play Store and on the App Store. Learn more about us at gopopon.com.

Enrich Your Life with A New Language was originally published in Pop On on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.