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Introduction on How to Learn a Language Fast!
This article will explore how to learn a language fast, as well as figure out how long it takes to learn a language online. Learning a language is never going to be easy. That’s the first thing you’re going to have to accept.
The second thing you’ll need to accept is that it’s going to require a remarkable degree of willpower.
You’re moving towards a specific goal – that goal being ‘knowing a language’. But for much of your studying that goal is going to feel like an abstract concept; something that exists in theory, but in practice can often feel unobtainable.
As you piece together broken sentences from half-remembered words, it can sometimes be hard to feel like you’re getting anywhere.
If you think that you’re going to breeze through learning a language and be fluent, or even basically conversational, within a few hours then you’re going to be disappointed.
90% of learning a language is your attitude.
Accept that it’s going to be a challenge, believe that its going to be an uphill battle towards a potentially far-off victory, and then you’re already over the hardest hurdle. You’re now on the right path.
How long is it going to take to learn a language?
This is the fist thing people realistically want to know.
It often goes hand-in-hand with the concept of ‘difficulty’, for most people. If a language can be learned in 24 hours then it must be an easy language – but if it’s going to take you ten years then that implies a sense of difficulty.
This is written on the understanding that you, the reader, are an English speaker. This is an important disclosure, because those of us who employ English as our mother tongue will have an easier time learning other European languages, but will typically struggle with languages from farther afield.
If we were to break down the number of hours required per language, it would look something like this:
Language | Hours | Days | Weeks | Months |
Spanish | 4032 | 168 | 24 | 6 |
French | 5040 | 210 | 30 | 7 |
German | 6048 | 252 | 36 | 9 |
Indonesian | 6048 | 252 | 36 | 9 |
Russian | 7392 | 308 | 44 | 11 |
Greek | 7392 | 308 | 44 | 11 |
Arabic | 14784 | 616 | 88 | 22 |
Chinese | 14784 | 616 | 88 | 22 |
Japanese | 14784 | 616 | 88 | 22 |
It’s very easy to see that the ‘closer’ a language is to English, the easier we English speakers will learn it.
Spanish and French we could learn within a handful of months of intense study; but if we wanted to learn Japanese to a proficient level we’re looking at nearly two years of intense work.
These more ‘difficult’ languages often require more mental acrobatics than the typical ‘account for tense’ or ‘don’t forget gender’ which would-be polyglots will have already been encountered. With German or even, perhaps surprisingly, Indonesian we’d be looking at a low-level conversational proficiency within about a year. But Japanese or Arabic would prove a lot more taxing.
Are there things we can do to make learning a language a little easier for ourselves?
Luckily for us, we have access to the internet.
Learning a language used to mean poring over endless books and tests, practice papers and exams. But in the modern age it can all be achieved from the comfort of your own home. Learning a language has never been easier.
The internet has a firm monopoly on casual learning these days. Whether it’s browsing wikipedia to develop your understanding on some obscure historical event or discovering how to knit the perfect scarf – if we want to learn we start with Google.
Learning a language is no different. Many of us experienced mandatory language lessons while at school, but once you’re let loose on the world there’s no one telling you to learn Spanish any more; no one requiring you to memorise the gender of ‘table’ in French. So if you want to learn a language you need to do it off your own back.
A quick Google search will turn up a whole host of websites encouraging you to learn a language with them, often recommending a ‘premium’ package.
It’s worth keeping in mind, however, that much of it can be achieved for free…especially with the help of AI tools.
Best Online Language Learning Sites
DuoLingo
DuoLingo is one of the most popular resources freely available on the internet, insisting that it can teach you a language with just fifteen minutes of study a day.
DuoLingo Review
DuoLingo is sometimes the butt of the joke amongst ‘serious’ language learners, because it’s simple and requires very little from you. Even at its most difficult, the lessons can’t be considered particularly taxing. Rather than dismissing it as ‘too easy’ though, it is actually an ideal place for a novice to start. It’s clean, simple, and demands very little of your time.
Choose a language, try it out, and if it’s not for you then you can try a different one. You’ve not spent a penny, and it’s exceptionally convenient to fit alongside your day-to-day routine.
The lessons are not gated behind pay walls and you can re-take them as many times as you feel necessary.
It offers free tests too, to make sure you’re keeping on top form.
Each lesson lasts less than five minutes, meaning you don’t really have an excuse not to do at least one lesson a day. You only need to do three lessons to meet its promised ‘fifteen minutes’ too.
It’s also freely available in a convenient app download for your phone.
LearnLanguage
LearnLanguage prioritises user-generated content with a focus on more ‘difficult’ lessons.
With resources on over nineteen different languages submitted by users, LearnLanguage also maintains a dedicated core of nine languages which it moderates itself.
It also reports a high level of user happiness, being well-maintained and looked after. The lessons are accessible and the community is often regarded as being particularly supportive.
Streema
Streema is something of a more unorthodox recommendation.
Rather than being a formal language learning service, Streema provides you with free access to television shows from all across the world. This is often regarded as being one of the best ways to learn a language: picking it up through hearing it in use.
So tune in to that episode of that German TV show you’ve never heard of, and see if you can absorb any of the language by seeing it in use.
It’s different, and it’s a little ‘out there’, but there’s no shortage of testimonials from people saying ‘I learned [X language] from TV’. Give it a try, and if it doesn’t work out then remember: it’s free.
Pimsleur
Pimsleur isn't free, however it is a very fast method for learning a language. It works as a monthly subscription to their whole library of audio language lessons. You listen to two people having a conversation in your chosen language and breaks it down slowly in order for you to repeat and practice.
As each lesson progresses the conversation gets more complex but also recalls all the previous things you have learned in the lessons before. With regular practice these lessons will get you accustomed to using your newly found conversation vocabulary with confidence.
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But what if you’re looking for something a little more traditional?
Maybe you want to limit your screen time, or can’t afford that jazzy new smartphone. There shouldn’t be any obstacles to learning, and lack of access to technology shouldn’t stop you learning a language.
Even if you don’t want to learn ON the internet, there’s plenty of things you can buy THROUGH the internet that will help you.
The old school pen-and-paper approach is still viable, and there are an abundance of exercise books, audiobooks or DVDs available on places like Amazon which will make your learning so much simpler.
Take a look at this selection of resources to help you develop your ability:
Spanish: Best Way To Learn Spanish Online?
Learn Beginner Spanish Bundle: The Ultimate Spanish for Beginners Bundle, by Patrick Jackson
Practice Makes Perfect: Complete Spanish Grammar, by Gilda Nissenberg
French: Best Way To Learn French Online?
Easy French Step-by-Step Exercise book, by Myrna Bell Rochester
Learn French with Paul Noble Part 1: French Made Easy, by Paul Noble
German: Best Way To Learn German Online?
German: Learn German for Beginners, Including German Grammar. German Short Stories and 1000+ German Phrases, by Language Learning University
Living Language German, Complete Edition: Beginner through Advanced course, including 3 Coursebooks, 9 audio CDs and free online learning, by Living Language
Japanese (Easiest way to learn Japanese?)
Speak Japanese in 90 Days: A Self Study Guide to Becoming Fluent (Volume 1), by Kevin Marx
Learn Japanese with Innovative Language’s proven Language System – Level 1: Introduction to Japanese, by Innovative Language Learning
Chinese: Best Way To Learn Mandarin Online?
Learn Mandarin Chinese with Paul Noble – Complete Course, by Paul Noble]
Beginners’ Chinese, by The Open University
These are great if you’re looking to teach yourself – but what if you want an actual teacher?
If you’re looking to learn English online then there’s no shortage of possible companies to choose from.
But if you’re looking to learn almost any other language online, with face-to-face teachers, it can be quite difficult to find them.
There’s been a huge rise in online teaching jobs these last few years – but if you’re looking to learn German online or to learn Spanish online, then it used to be quite difficult to find somewhere reputable offering face-to-face teachers and lessons; and these are still ‘easy’ languages.
Japanese has become more popular over the last decade or so, which has led to a great deal of interest in face-to-face Japanese lessons. But what if you want to learn something like Czech or Indonesian; is there an easily accessible place to learn online from an actual teacher?
Here are some websites that you might want to look into:
AmazingTalker
AmazingTalker provides lessons through the use of a webcam.
You arrange face-to-face lessons teachers of varying skills and experience, and from thereon it’s much the same as any other online class-structured learning.
They’re also looking for new teachers on AmazingTalker, which is a promising sign that the service is performing well and actively chasing expansion.
It offers courses in Arabic, Bengali, German, and even Hindu and Urdu – as well as many, many more. Here you can see all the languages taught on AmazingTalker.
It has an extensive list of language lessons, with no shortage of experienced teachers there to help you learn. And like mentioned previously, you can also become an online language teacher with them yourself.
Preply
Preply is a website designed to provide students looking to learn any language with their own online tutors.
You can learn anything from Mandarin to Swedish by booking an online tutor for a one-on-one video class. It is very similar to italki, which is another viable choice for language learners.
You can also apply to become a Preply tutor, if you wish to teach English, or any other language, whilst you learn a new one!
Verbling
Verbling provides access to classes for over 50 languages, boasting a promising seven and a half thousand registered teachers.
It’s worth keeping in mind that many of these teachers profess an aptitude specifically for English, meaning that the number of teachers providing lessons in other languages is likely to be much more spartan.
The teachers prices are clearly advertised, and they’re each afforded a star rating as well as clearly displaying a total number of lessons conducted.
Final Thoughts on How to Learn a Language Fast…
The likes of AmazingTalker, Preply or Verbling are definitely worth considering if you’re looking to learn face-to-face from a teacher, rather than through websites like DuoLingo, or even from textbooks.
Of course, there are also options such as Cambly or PalFish, but these are catered towards those seeking to learn English online. However, these are great options for those seeking to teach online instead of learning. You can view a full list of teach from home jobs below: