All it takes to learn a foreign language is time, instruction and commitment. If you have adequately provided yourself all three of these components, you should be able to learn foreign languages to your heart's content.
1. DECIDE WHICH LANGUAGE YOU WANT TO LEARN.
Most high school students are posed with two options, French of Spanish. While both have plenty of real-world application, perhaps you want to learn a language for different reasons. Maybe you want to start an international business, and need to communicate in Chinese? Here are some tips on languages and their real-world application:
SpanishPerfect for those living in a new, multi-cultural America. This is a must for citizens in California, and the Southwest. It will be considered the second-language of America within the next few decades.
FrenchThe official second-language of Canada, this is a good language for those wanting to relocate to north of the border, or set up residence in Quebec.
Japanese, Korean and ChineseIn this global economy, China and the surrounding countries in Asia are the fastest growing super-powers. For international business-people, Chinese, Japanese, or Korean would give you an edge against your competition.
GermanWhile not a common language across the globe, German is a widely recognized language throughout Europe.
2. GO ONLINE AND LEARN IMMEDIATELY!
Whether you want to learn Korean, German, Chinese, or Spanish, there are a wealth of sites online that can help you get started today. Here are some great places to learn langauges online in the comfort of your home:
SpanishStudySpanish.com: Use this site for free to learn the basics, or pay for advanced learning.
SpanishPrograms.com: This free site offers an interactive tutorial that will get you speaking basic Spanish in no-time.
SpanishUnlimited.com: This is the holy-grail of Spanish websites, with interactive lessons, forums and links to several tutors and online courses.
GermanDeutsch-Lernen.com: This site offers free online German lessons, with extras like exercises, tests and how to use your new knowledge on job applications.
Learn German Online.net: Hosts links to links to help people learn German online.
Babel Nation.com: The website offers courses in German as well as free exams that are checked instantaneously online to help learners.
KoreanLearn Korean.net: Offers beginning lessons in the Korean language.
LearnKorean.com: This site offers the basic of the basic for learning the Korean language.
Word2word.com: Offers free courses in several languages including Korean.
Chinese (Mandarin)Chinese-tools.com: Includes 40 online lessons with audio, including reading, writing, modern vocabulary, grammar, examples and exercises. All texts and dialogs are available in mp3 format for downloading.
Conversational Chinese Online: Offers lessons in learning Chinese and mp3 format pronunciation downloads.
Chinese Horizon.com: A pay website, but offers support from real people if you need it.
FrenchFrenchAssistant.com: Learn French for free online with audio clips to go with the lessons and practice sessions.
BBC Languages: This is a fully interactive part of the BBC Network website where you can learn French for free with slideshows performed by a tutor.
Bonjour.com: An excellent resource for true beginners, offering phonetic pronunciation guides.
JapaneseJapanese-Online.com: Teaches beginning lessons in story form.
YesJapan.com: A pay site with reasonable rates for professional help while learning Japanese Online.
TalkSushi.com: Offers beginners phrases as well as articles on Japanese culture.
3. LANGUAGE FOR BUSINESS
Learning a foreign language for business is pretty straightforward: you want to make your business partners feel comfortable, impress them with your dedication or otherwise tilt the emotional scales in your favor during negotiations. Aside from that, being able to get around in a foreign country without a guide or a translator can be very useful to a business person. Even if your business is completely online, knowing a foreign language can give you that little extra that spells the difference between landing a lucrative contract and losing your shirt.
Learning for Business: Stuff to DoStart Early
Give yourself the time to learn the language. Colleges ask for at least 10 hours of combined classroom and independent study per week for fifteen weeks in order to master very basic tasks in a foreign language. Unless you are just learning a few greetings and politeness phrases, learning a foreign language requires a considerable time commitment on your part.
Work Smart
Do a little work each day. The road to fluency with a foreign language is paved with earlier lessons. As you gain more confidence in the language you will be able to learn at a faster pace.
Practice Often
Fluency in a language is just like any other learned skill. You have to use the skill to maintain it at a given level. Practice is especially important when you are learning a foreign language because, unless you are a 3-year-old, you are past your language-learning prime.
Learning for Business: What to FindIf you are learning a foreign language for business reason, you will probably want to find a program of foreign language instruction. Whether you want to attend classes at a community college or try out a virtual classroom online, the program you choose should have these features.
Fast Pace
If you're learning the language because of the demands of business, you probably do not have the luxury of a lot of free time. You'll need a business language course that moves along quickly so that you can get the skills you need.
Real-World Practice
Whether you are learning a foreign language to impress a client at a formal business meeting or to chat with a supplier at a restaurant, you want to look for language instruction that gives you examples drawn from the situations you are likely to face.
Native Language Instructors
The more experience that your foreign language course gives you with real examples of the language that you are learning the better. Look for courses that offer lessons given by an instructor who speaks the language as their first language.
4. BUT MY BUSINESS IS PLEASURE
If you're learning a language for pleasure, the reasons are a bit more varied. Moving to another country and or taking a vacation abroad spurs many people to learn a foreign language. Other people learn for the sheer joy of the words. Some people get a thrill out of new words, a thrill that is compounded when those words are from a foreign language. Learning a new language is a journey in itself to the right kind of person, a mental trip. For these people, the words and rhythms of a foreign language seem to have a topography all their own. These are the kind of people that learn Italian to read Dante, or master German so they can get in Goethe's head.
Learning for Pleasure: Stuff to DoCommit Your Time
You are not going to learn a language overnight. Find a block of time every day during which you can either attend classes or study on your own. Make a schedule, and clearly label these blocks of time Foreign Language Study. Post the schedule where you can see it every day.
Motivate Yourself
Since you're doing this for pleasure this should be fairly easy, right? Learning a foreign language is work, and that means that sometimes you are going to tempted to goof off. Make a list of the reasons that you are studying a foreign language and keep this near your schedule. If you are having problems sticking to your schedule, look at your list of reasons and remind yourself why you are putting in all of this work.
Pass Out Rewards
Treat your self to a favorite dessert or buy your self a present when you do well on your studies. This is a little easier to do if you are following a program of instruction, but if you are studying on your own, you can set your own goals.
Learning for Pleasure: What to FindMany of the things you want to find when you are learning a foreign language for business reasons will apply if you are learning for pleasure. However, since you are doing this strictly for your own reasons, you can explore a few other options.
Informal Lessons
Learning a foreign language for pleasure doesn't have to be done in a classroom. If you can find a tutor who is willing to meet with you over coffee for an hour a day, you can develop a decent amount of skill with a foreign language over time.
Educational Trips
What could be better real world practice than a trip to Tokyo to polish off your understanding of Japanese? When you learn a foreign language for pleasure you can top off your studies with a much needed vacation.
5. FOREIGN LANGUAGE BOOKS AND SOFTWARE
You can find foreign language course books and software to guide you in your study of another language. Like a course of instruction, there are a few things you should check for to make sure that you are getting a foreign language course that will pay off.
Look for the LevelMake sure that the book or software offers support for your current level of mastery and has additional resources so that the book or software can continue to be useful as you advance your studies.
Check for the FundamentalsEvery foreign language course book or software should stress the fundamentals of the language: syntax, grammar and usage, as well as vocabulary.
SimplicityLearning a foreign language is plenty challenging. Look for a textbook or software course that is direct, clear and understandable.
Foreign Language ResourcesCommercial foreign language site for businesses: http://www.rosettastone.com/en/corporationshttp://www.rosettastone.com/en/corporations
Nice directory to resources for French, German and Spanish: http://aliscot.com/idiomas/links/index.htm
Online foreign dictionaries and more: http://www.alphadictionary.com/index.shtml
