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Learn in your Car

One method that’s helped me to learn a new language over the years has been to listen to CDs (and before that, cassettes) in my car. You don’t realize how much time you spend in your vehicle driving back and forth to work or other places.

There are a variety of CD programs I’ve tried over the years. They all have had their values. Some more than others. I’m not going to recommend programs here, you can find those reviews/recommendations on other pages. This article is primarily about using the “passive” time you have to try and learn a new language. Believe me, we all have more “passive” time than we realize that could be put to good use learning something new, such as a new language like: Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, French German, Japanese, or others.

During my commute (30 minutes each way in traffic) I try to finish 30 minute lessons. There are a number of programs that have lessons that are 30 minutes in length or less. One added benefit of listening to these CDs is that I was less apt to use my cell phone in the car. That had two benefits: reducing my monthly usage, and increasing my safety.

While listening to these lessons, I tried to adhere to the following rules:

• don’t rewind the CD if you don’t understand a part. Just keep going, listening to the rest of the lesson. It’s a way of “taking the training wheels off” by reducing your dependence on “crutches” to assist you. It also helps you to think more rapidly in your chosen language.
• Finish one lesson per trip or 2 lessons per day. That would be one lesson going to work and another coming back. Or, 2 lessons per day on Saturday (on Sunday I’d rest!).
• For those CDs that paused for you to repeat what was just said, I’d make sure I repeated what was expected. Out loud. That’s an excellent way to learn. You must speak in your language.

Learning in your car is one example of “spare” time you could use to learn another language. In other tips I’ll write about others.

Do you have any other suggestions for things that were particularly helpful to you learning another language? Just click on the “Contact Us” link below and let us know. We may do an article on the suggestions you provide! (with full credit and disclosure given of course!)