As a language learner, you want to learn to express yourself comfortably in a new language.
This is certainly achievable.
Before you can express yourself, however, you need to absorb a great deal of your new language through listening, reading, and learning words and phrases in a systematic way. Therefore, you should focus first on gaining the right language input.
Except for a small amount of beginner material, you should be looking on the internet for real language and not artificial content designed for language learners. You need to focus on the ability to share in the lives of real native speakers.
You can select items where the background is familiar and of interest. While using this kind of system you need to understand which content items are at your level of vocabulary and language skill (it shouldn’t be too difficult).
You can build your own language curriculum without the need for any textbooks. Let’s look at the different ways you can get the necessary input in your new language.
The first thing to do is to listen. The best way to improve fluency and comprehension is the seemingly passive activity of listening over and over to understandable content. This activity allows you to expand your language skills in a non-stressful way.
Listening is not just for beginners. Try to listen to your favourite recordings in languages that you are learning: in your car, while walking or jogging, or doing chores around the house. You can always improve pronunciation, rhythm, vocabulary and fluency.
Start by choosing content at your level and just listen. If you are a beginner, you may choose short items of a few lines.
Later you will be able to handle content of two to five minutes in length. As you progress you will want to listen to content that is twenty minutes in length or even longer. Listen to the same content over and over.
The subject should be of interest, the voices pleasing to you, and the level not too difficult. The more familiar the background, the easier it will be for you to understand.
Get in the habit of listening frequently: in the morning, during the day and in the evening.
Make sure your listening sessions are as comfortable as possible. Take the trouble to learn how to download content and then record it onto your device.
Take your lessons with you when shopping, driving, exercising, washing the dishes and cleaning the garage. That is how to accumulate the necessary exposure to the language.
