- Speak up! Even if you don’t know how to say something, give it a try. It is way better to be corrected than ignored.
- Keep a vocabulary notebook. Every time you learn a new word, write is down. Include a translation, drawing, a note on when you learned it, whatever helps you remember the word.
- Many languages share common roots. If a word sounds familiar, chances are you already know it. This will help you have a large vocabulary in no time.
- It can be quite daunting be in a class where you don’t understand anything that is being said, but you should still be paying attention. By writing down everything the teacher writes on the board and listening you will start picking up on sentence structure, pronunciation and spelling.
- After so much work at school you should give yourself a break! Watch some cartoons or read children’s books. You’re never too old to feel like a kid and if you have younger host-siblings they will appreciate the company.
- Ask for permission before you do this! Using post-it notes, tag everything in the house: the door, table, shoes, chair, etc. Once you learn a word, take the post-it note off.
- People will try to be nice and speak to you in a language you understand (English is specially common). When they do, try to challenge yourself and answer in the language you are learning. They will appreciate that you’re making an effort.
- Switch your phone, computer and social media to the language you’re learning. At the beginning this might be disorienting, but you will get the hang of it in no time.
- Get off you phone, computer and social media. Your friends back home are not going to help you learn the local language (or make local friends).
- STUDY! Sometimes there is no getting around it. Languages have rules that are so weird that unless you study them it is unlikely that you will learn them.
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