6 Hacks To Learn A New Language Faster

Learn French (better than Joey Tribbiani).

Have you seen that episode of FRIENDS where Joey asks Phoebe to help him work on his French for a role? Phoebe – fluent for some unexplained reason – coaches her meatball-sub loving friend through some basic phrases. His confidence – and Phoebe’s frustration – grows with each line. He thinks he is the next Serge Gainsbourg. Phoebe, though, knows what he’s saying is, essentially: “Blah, blah, blah.”

“I’ve heard a hundred different approaches to learning languages,” says language mentor Lýdia Machová in her TED Talk, The secrets of learning a new language. “Everybody seems to have a unique way they learn a language, and yet we all come to the same result of speaking several languages fluently … It suddenly dawned on me: the one thing we all have in common is that we simply found ways to enjoy the language-learning process.”

So, for anyone planning an escape to a Euro summer and want to be able to order your cocktails with confidence, or if you’re simply on a self-improvement bent and have your sights set on learning a language, here’s how.

Thanks to Getty Images

Know why you’re doing it
Are you practicing your French because you’re headed for the city of love? Japanese because you really want to know what’s on the menu? It’s good to have a goal, an incentive, a reminder of why you’re spending every waking minute listening to podcasts where you only really understand three percent of what’s going on.

Find a friend
Rope someone into learning with you, or find someone who knows how to speak your new language of choice. This way you can practice, together. Also: you can practice phrases that aren’t in your textbook.

Read, read and read some more
If you’re learning French, for example, hit up French VOGUE. There are all sorts of smaller captions in here (with pictures!) that you’ll be able to get a grip on.

“I was learning Spanish, I was bored with the text in the textbook,” Machová told her TED audience. “I mean, who wants to read about Jose asking about the directions to the train station. Right? I wanted to read Harry Potter.”

Listen up
If no one around you speaks you new language, tune into some podcasts. Or, throw yourself in the deep end and really get immersed. Learning Spanish? Why not just jump the next flight to Barcelona? You know you want to.

Download an App
There are plenty you can find online that will help you learn. No need fo a classroom. It’s 2019 after all.

Watch FRIENDS. No, really
Says Machová: “... The same thing happened when I was learning German. I decided to watch FRIENDS, my favorite sitcom, in German, and again, at the beginning it was all just gibberish. I didn't know where one word finished and another one started, but I kept on watching every day because it's FRIENDS. I can watch it in any language. I love it so much. And after the second or third season, seriously, the dialogue started to make sense ….

“…. I vividly remember the moment when I understood the first joke in German ... I was so happy and motivated that I just kept on watching that day ... and as I kept watching, I had more and more of those moments of understanding, these little victories, and step by step, I got to a level where I could use the language freely and fluently to express anything. This is a wonderful feeling.”

As if you needed an excuse to rewatch that episode.