How To Learn Languages Quickly and Efficiently

//How To Learn Languages Quickly and Efficiently
How To Learn Languages Quickly and Efficiently 2017-01-08T04:04:24+00:00

Working as a ski rep in France, where I learnt a little bit of French

To call myself a keen learner of languages would be a blatant lie. Despite travelling all over the world for many years, learning languages is something that I have only truly applied myself to twice. The first time was when I worked as a ski rep in France. I would take a six hour return bus journey to the airport every Sunday and spend around three hours talking to the bus driver in French. He was a lovely man who didn’t speak a word of English and I learnt more in those few hours each week than I had in years of French at school. The second time was when I chose Spanish as an elective at university. I was dating a girl whose third language was Spanish – English was her fourth – and I said, ‘Speak to me in Spanish.’ In a few short months, I went from knowing almost nothing to being able to hold a basic conversation with Spanish people – we even went to Spain where I got to try it out, speaking with her non-English speaking friends. When I took my exams, I got a high grade in my Spanish test. These two experiences taught me something that is very important: It is possible to learn a language quickly if you learn in the right way.

The reason I have not generally taken the time to learn languages over the past few years is three-fold:

  • I prioritise other interests that are greater than language learning for me as an individual
  • I rarely spend enough time in an area that speaks a single language, thus I don’t have a target language
  • People speak English all over the world and that makes me lazy (when coupled with the reasons above)

Despite this, I see language learning as a very important skill and I have looked into different ways of learning languages, even dabbling in a couple of courses here and there. If I was to live in a single place for longer, find a language that would be of great use to me, and make more time by doing less other ‘stuff’, I would devote time to language learning. However, I am very much of the opinion that traditional language courses are a slow and inefficient way of learning a new language, based on my past experiences of language courses, coupled with the two times I actually learnt to speak a little bit of a foreign language. There is a much better way to learn a language – start speaking it!

HOW DO I START SPEAKING AND LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE?

You’re probably thinking, ‘How can I start speaking a language if I don’t know it?’ A valid question! I’m going to hand over to someone who is very experienced in this area – someone who spoke no more than English when he was in his early 20s, but now speaks more languages than one person can normally learn to speak in a lifetime! His name is Benny and he runs Fluent in Three Months.

I have been following Benny since 2012 and I love his content – never before have I seen language learning advice that actually seems to work, until I came across his site. Despite the fact that I do not apply myself to learning languages, I have read many of his articles and see great value in them. Rather than offering a traditional language course (like Rosetta Stone, which I once tried – huge waste of money in my opinion, don’t go there), he teaches you techniques about how to learn ANY language. And how to start speaking it quickly.

Check out was Benny has to offer you and if you don’t like it, find something else that works for you. I see his techniques as the best way to gain language learning skills, enabling you to learn any language in the most painless and time efficient way possible. It is his language learning techniques that I will use when I get around to learning a language (if ever).

MY EXPERIENCE TEACHING LANGUAGES

I was an English teacher for around two years. It was a big part of my life and a time, like all times, where I learnt lots about myself and about others. To set the scene, I spent most of my time teaching English in Korea where a lot of the learning is rote and the testing is multiple choice. However, in more progressive schools, such as the one that I worked in, there was more free reign to teach the language in whatever way you felt was best for the kids. By engaging them in conversations and getting them to just ‘have a go’, often tricking them into using English by engaging them in subjects that they were interested in, I was able to see huge improvements in their language learning. There were children who had been learning English at school for over a decade, yet couldn’t string a sentence together when I met them, but after a couple of months in my class, we were having ‘conversations’. This is not because I am a great teacher, it is because I encouraged them to have a go and I didn’t criticise them for not speaking perfectly. In this way, they learnt a lot. It is this approach to learning languages that I have seen in Benny’s language learning techniques and it is the reason why I recommend them.

WHAT IF IT DOESN’T WORK FOR YOU / ME?

Not everything works for everyone, so it is possible that this won’t work for you. How do you minimise that risk? All of Benny’s language learning courses come with a 30 day money back guarantee, taking away the risk factor. In his words:

“I’m certain that Fluent in 3 Months Premium will give you everything you need to learn a new language. If for any reason it doesn’t, I insist you have your money back. Just email me within 30 days of joining, and I’ll send your refund. No questions asked.” 

If you’re interested in trying any of Benny’s Fluent in 3 Months language learning programmes, you can find them all by clicking here.

Please Note: This page includes an affiliate link, and at no extra cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I recommend Benny’s Fluent in 3 Months courses ONLY because I believe them to be the best language learning programs available on the market at this time. If this changes, I will amend my recommendation. I read his blogs and when I get around to learning a language, I too will be using his program. If you have any questions about this, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with me.