Using textbooks and workbooks

Another great way to learn a language is to purchase a text book or workbook that teaches you how to learn Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese etc. The best books are those where you can learn on your own place and don’t need to be accompanied by classroom instruction.

The reason these books are good is that you can practice reading and writing in the language you’re trying to learn. This is important because it not only aids you in two other forms of communication in your chosen language other than just learning to speak it. You also get the added benefit of utilizing other methods of learning: reading and writing. Both of these methods will assist you in remembering what you’ve seen. Writing will be especially beneficial to you because you will have to “do” something as opposed to passively listening. This “action” is another tool that can be used to help you learn to speak a new language such as French, Japanese, or Portuguese.

I like using these types of books to help me nail down some of the more difficult grammatical rules of the language I’m trying to learn. The subjunctive in Spanish, for example, is not an easy concept to pick up by simply listening to it, you also need to see it in context and read the rules about it. And above all, practice it.

I usually like to set a goal of going through one lesson a day in a workbook. I don’t write in the workbook itself I do the examples over and over on blank sheets of paper. That way I can’t “cheat” by seeing what I had written in the book from before.

Once you’ve mastered a lesson, put your new knowledge to work; use what you’ve learned the next time you speak with a native speaker.

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!)

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