Case in point, yours truly – I’m pretty sure I had a 2015 New Year’s resolution, but by December, I completely forgot I even had one, let alone what it was… no clue at all! Anyway, let’s talk about a common resolution that many people will probably make at some point in their life – learning a new language.  

My daughter asked me just recently, “how did you learn to speak French?"  When I speak Spanish to people in the U.S. they ask, “Where did you learn Spanish?”  People in Spain, often ask if I would recommend an English person to teach English to them or their child.  While others exclaim, “Wow, the Thai language must be difficult to learn.”  Yes, my head spins every day because I’m always switching between languages!  

Indeed, there are some real tips (tried and true) that I can share to help those who really want to learn a new language.

There are the common ideas – take a class, buys CD’s, get a teacher/tutor, live in a foreign country, immerse in a foreign exchange study, travel, etc… are you seeing currency symbols $$$ £££ €€€€ yet?

Of course you need some basics, a structured class or program is one way to get the basics. But, unless you want to be that guy/gal who knows all the proper grammatical rules and dictionary explanations, yet still can’t order off a foreign menu or ask for simple directions from a random local person on the streets of Madrid, you may need more…

WARNING - Buyer Beware Clause:  Before you read these language learning tips... please read Segment 39 – 10 Problems of a Language Lover. 

Here are 6 Tips to help you keep your Learn a Language in 2016 New Year Resolution:

1. Be a couch potato! – That’s right sit around on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn and watch TV – binge watch something… anything, for hours on end, regularly – just do it in your target language – and you can call it “learning or studying”. A special someone I know prepped for graduate school by watching countless hours of TV and American movies.

2. Chat all day on the internet or mobile phone! – You don’t have enough fun online, mostly working or social media right? Well, how do you think I keep up with my Spanish text-talk education? Whatsap - I am on various groups (some friends, some organizational, some commercial), where people just chat all day long about stuff… great quick blurbs to read and I even text back (in the target language, of course!). 

3. Play games! – In case you just can’t resist the lure of games. Download an app on your phone or tablet, and play. Many games come in multiple languages, just match the language setting to your target language and you’ll be set!  If you have a WII or Nintendo, you can do the same. For a more serious, yet entertaining approach, you could try a language app such as Duolingo. 

4. Talk to telemarketers! – Hey don’t hang up or get upset when they call and interrupt your lunch or dinner… I used to get calls all the time to answer surveys or questions from telemarketers or market researchers. I used that as an opportunity to practice my language skills. Sometimes, they prompt you to press 1 or 2 to hear the survey in a certain language… just press 2! Then you get to take the survey in Spanish or in your target language. Sadly, sometimes they hung up on me because they didn’t understand me, and now I don’t get as many call from them any more, not sure why…

5. Make friends! – I suppose your social media friends count too in this day and age, but make some foreign friends and have some fun.  Join a Salsa dance club, or a Pétanque league or Biathlon club, or even a book club… have fun doing exciting activities with new people, odds are some of these people are from a different countries and may speak your target language (ie. I’m pretty sure you will get to practice your French skills in a Pétanque league – at least the swear words I’m sure).

6. Date or marry a foreigner! – Well, they always say the best way to really learn a foreign language is to go out with a foreigner… but you better really love that language because you will not only hear it from your partner, but also from his/her friends, family and other random people who happen to find out that you are in a “bi-lingual relationship” and who also have a fanatical love for that language... There’s a whole network of “bi-lingual relationship” people out there just waiting to embrace you - in your target language!

So there you have it, 6 sure ways to help you meet your 2016 New Year’s Learn a Language Resolution! Let me know how it goes for you… these have worked for me! Happy New Year 2016!

… Stay tuned for the next Segment of HT Localization Presents Language Translations for Real Life Series, where we’ll continue … with more stuff.

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This article was written by Rachanee Thevenet, Co-Founder of HT Localization.  Rachanee is an Asian-American expat living in Spain with her family.  She loves all things international including food, art, literature, culture, languages and people.  She has years of professional product marketing expertise and global expansion experience.

HT Localization, LLC. is a worldwide translation & localization agency providing a full range of professional language translation services, including social media localization, marketing translations, website translations, software localization, eLearning materials, documentation translations, etc.  With locations in the US, Spain, France, Zambia & Thailand, and coverage across all languages and most industries, HT Localization is well positioned to provide around the globe services for all translation needs.  

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