Learning a new language can be quite tricky, as there can be many new things to learn in that language that one might never have heard of, especially when their first language is English. Some things include complex grammar, upper/lower cases, and sometimes having to learn a new alphabet or not even an alphabet at all!
Fortunately, a new language is more than just learning new sounds and recreating them with your voice, it is more of a way of thinking about what to say. Instead of thinking about how to say car in Spanish, think of the car in Spanish directly without even using any English ability. An important thing to remember is that learning a new language requires dedication and time commitment, and it is always a lot to take in when beginning.
According to Junior Owen Yelton: “It’s so hard for me to learn German, I would have to work so hard to be fluent.”
The first and foremost important step to begin with is to download Duolingo and use it to learn basic phrases. This is the most fundamental step in learning a new language. Many would think that directly learning with a teacher is more efficient than technology, but learning with a teacher would mainly be studying alone and wasting time and money with the teacher. So the best way to begin is to learn with Duolingo to save time and money.
A good place to consider learning with a teacher is halfway or when Duolingo is fully completed. This sounds quite far, but like mentioned earlier, learning a new language is a commitment, and the learner will have to be comfortable with putting in major effort and seeing little to no return for months. When the user has completed Duolingo, the level of speaking will be very fundamental and similar to that of a toddler who speaks the native language at best. This is the perfect time to consult a teacher.
According to Junior Harrison Gamble: “When somebody explains a concept to me, it becomes easier to understand.”
Because now there is some structure to work with, the learner could realistically progress to the next part of learning the language, which is working on actually speaking grammatically correctly. This, just like the earlier part, is going to be tough and frustrating. A teacher is a perfect solution to this issue as they can explain everything perfectly now that a basic understanding of the language has been achieved.
Learning a second language is tough and requires a lot of time. Do not think that a second language can be learned in a year or two. This is a serious time commitment and learning even the most fundamental parts of speaking can take years. For an ever deeper understanding of the language, comparable to the level of a native speaker, it can take even longer and the learner would likely have to expose themselves even further into the language, speaking it daily with others and improving gradually.