LOLcats can be funny, sarcastic and even offensive, but did you know they can also be educational? Here’s are the top language learning tips right from the LOLcats themselves…
Tutor kitty says: Track your progress!
When learning anything, progress is king, and tracking it should not be an afterthought. Accurate statistics on how, when and what you’ve learned will allow you to optimize your language study habits, motivate you, and last but not least give you some additional bragging rights… which leads us to the next tip:
Tutor kitty says: Sharing is caring learning
One of the best ways to learning something is to teach it to someone else. As soon as you start learning a language, brag about your progress to everyone around you, and teach them what you’ve learned!
Even a complete beginner has a lot to teach others and such behaviour will not only motivate you but also cement the knowledge in your head. Use forums, engage on Twitter and attend offline study meet-ups as much as possible.
Tutor kitty says: Immerse yourself in the language
Let’s say you’re learning Japanese… Cinephile? Watch a flick by Ozu Yasujirō. Art lover? Takashi Murakami is here to please you. Book worm? You must have heard about Norwegian Wood… Change the language of your Facebook or Google account, cover your walls with Japanese language posters, and ensure that you regularly communicate in Japanese to anybody you can.
Whatever your hobby, there’s always a way to immerse yourself in the language you’re learning at the same time. You may have to get creative at times, but believe me—it’s worth it!
Tutor kitty says: Look up what you don’t remember
It’s a popular misconception that trying very hard to remember everything yourself will somehow improve how well you’ve learned that something. If you forget a word, and can’t remember it in less than a a dozen of seconds, go look it up!
Tutor kitty says: Stop lying around!
This may sound repetitive, but procrastination still is one of the main reasons behind most failed attempts at anything in this world. Whenever you catch yourself staring at a blank wall give yourself a face-palm and do something useful—ideally language-related! Doing something, even badly, is often better than doing nothing at all.
Tutor kitty says: Give yourself a break
Never-mind all I’ve said about progress and procrastination, taking a break can be very helpful every once in a while. Make smaller breaks every 20-30 minutes in you learning sessions, and a longer (even a week or two) break every few months.
During that time, try to do something completely unrelated to what you’re learning. It’ll settle down what you know and you’ll be surprised how much better you’ll be able to use the language after the time off!
Tutor kitty says: Regularity leads to superiority
Expanding on the previous tip, strive for regularity over intensity. It’s scientifically proven that learning one word every day for a month which you review at manageable intervals, you’ll remember them better than if you learn all 30 in one sitting.
Always strive to spend a little time learning every day rather than cramming as much knowledge as possible in large chunks once in a long while.
Tutor kitty says: It’s all about the test knowledge
Testing and exams are good to keep track of your progress and as a motivational target during your studies. However, you should always remember that test results are not what it’s all about.
Someone who barely knows the language can pass a major exam with all A’s, and vice versa, a native speaker may struggle to get a good grade. It would be a shame to miss all the fun in learning a language just because you get obsessed with test results.
Tutor kitty says: Don’t drown in technicalities
While full-time students tend to spend all their time thinking about tests and exams, self-learners are known to spend disproportional amount of time learning how to learn. You may think you’re being productive, but in reality spending 90% of your time on self-learning tutorials just won’t teach you the language.
Spending the same amount of time on the actual learning will almost always give you better results. So please share this post, and then get back to learning! The ten minutes you’ve spent reading this doesn’t count as language study—get to it!
