4 Unconventional Ways to Learn a Foreign Language Outside the Classroom

by Maria Rainier

Enrolling in a formal online or traditional college course to learn a language is highly recommended, but the formality of it all and the presence of a professor may just intimate you from truly practicing the language like you need too. If you're a tad bit shy or would just prefer a more entertaining way to supplement your language course outside of the classroom, there are a few "fun" ways you can do so. For a few suggestions, continue reading below.

Listen to Music

One of the easiest ways to pick up a language and get a better feel for how words are supposed to be pronounced (as well as pick up a few informal, slang terms so that you sound more like a natural when speaking the language) is to listen to music. After all, that's how famous Colombian singer Shakira claims she learned English. If you're trying to learn Spanish for example, there are typically several local radio stations that you can tune-in to. If you're trying to learn French or Chinese of example, radio stations are harder to come by but not impossible. You can definitely scour some of the international radio stations featured on iTunes and well as use other internet radio sites like Pandora to hone in on a foreign-singing artist like Edith Piaf (if you're trying to learn French). Then you can go back and try to print out the lyrics and decipher the meaning of the song as well.

Watch Movies / Soap Operas

Watching movies and soap operas in your language-of-choice is also another excellent way you can learn. In a way, watching foreign movies and soap operas is better than music only because you can read body language and watch scenes, which can help you understand what's going on. Most movies and TV shows also let you see English subtitles or captions, so in case you're really get stuck on a word or the characters speak too quickly you should be able to still understand.

Study Menus

Another fun way to learn a language outside of the classroom is to "study" menus in the language of your choice. Most menus can be found online or at an "authentic" restaurant in your area. You should also practice ordering your food in the foreign language as well, after all practice makes perfect.

Change Phone Settings

Last but certainly not least, changing the language settings on your cell phone can really intensify your learning experience too. The symbols are all the same you know more or less how to answer phone calls and send text messages, but since you're forced to see the words for the terms everyday you'll learn how to spell and say those words in the appropriate language at a much quicker rate.

About the writer

Maria Rainier is an education freelance writer for onlinedegrees.org, a site that specializes in all-things education. She encourages your comments.

Articles

Writing systems | Language and languages | Language learning | Pronunciation | Learning vocabulary | Language acquisition | Motivation and reasons to learn languages | Arabic | Basque | Celtic languages | Chinese | English | Esperanto | French | German | Greek | Hebrew | Indonesian | Italian | Japanese | Korean | Latin | Portuguese | Russian | Sign Languages | Spanish | Swedish | Other languages | Minority and endangered languages | Constructed languages (conlangs) | Reviews of language courses and books | Language learning apps | Teaching languages | Languages and careers | Being and becoming bilingual | Language and culture | Language development and disorders | Translation and interpreting | Multilingual websites, databases and coding | History | Travel | Food | Other topics | Spoof articles | How to submit an article

[top]


Green Web Hosting - Kualo

You can support this site by Buying Me A Coffee, and if you like what you see on this page, you can use the buttons below to share it with people you know.

 

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.

 

Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.fr are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission if you click on any of them and buy something. So by clicking on these links you can help to support this site.

[top]

iVisa.com