How Babbel’s Language Experts Design Effective Courses
Learn about Babbel's expert-designed courses, and how principles of language learning are built into every lesson.
Expert Advice for Learning a New Language
Want to learn a language but not sure where to get started? We've collected our best advice to help you conquer vocabulary, build confidence and start speaking as quickly as possible.
Our Expert Advice For Learning A New Language
Click one of the links to find our best tips, tricks and more for learning.
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How Do We Learn Language?
Exposure
How we learn language starts with exposure. The more you read and listen, the more your brain starts to recognize patterns naturally. How can you immerse yourself in the language that you want to learn? You can incorporate it into your hobbies by discovering new music, going shopping in that language, or watching movies.
Passive exposure only gets you so far. Speaking and writing, even badly, is how to lock in what you’ve absorbed. Keeping a language diary, working with a tandem partner, or even practicing conversation with Babbel Speak can cement what you’ve learned.
Don’t Be Afraid to Mistakes
Being afraid of saying the wrong thing can stop you from practicing speaking, but making mistakes is the only way to learn. Communication isn’t always perfect, either. Things said with minor mistakes or accents still function and get the point across, but it’s important to know what your point is first. Take the time to jot down what you want to say before you say it. This can build confidence to speak from a script. Eventually, you won’t need the training wheels anymore.
Once you understand how language learning works, you can pick techniques that hold your interest and play to your strengths. What’s most important is that you stay engaged and don’t get bored before you reach your goal. Grammar is important for full fluency, but you don’t have to start from there. Vocabulary will get you speaking faster than worrying about speaking with perfect grammar. Regular practice is necessary for maintaining language retention.
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The Best Language Learning Methods To Try
There are plenty of language learning methods to choose from. The best one is the one that you'll actually stick to. Flashcards, podcasts, tandem partners, and watching films or series can support your goal of learning a new language.
Flashcards
Use flashcards to build your vocabulary. Paper flashcards might seem old school, but they are a tried-and-true way to build vocabulary. If making paper flashcards: When you come across a new word, take note, then turn your list into flashcards. Remember to keep your flashcards as simple as possible– less is more.
Babbel uses spaced repetition via flashcards and lesson reviews to teach you words relevant to your language learning goals and the lessons that you’re currently focused on. With the spacing effect, your brain is forced to recall a word just before it would forget it, helping you commit it to long-term memory.
Podcasts
Consider your favorite topics and find a podcast about them. Try watching the news in a country that speaks your target language. Maybe you can find a pop culture podcast and listen to it at half speed. Slowing audio down gives your brain time to process sounds and words it hasn't yet learned, to recognise at natural speed.
Babbel also offers podcasts specifically designed for language learners. Immersion through listening helps you to retain more of what you learn. This also keeps you engaged with the language by incorporating it into your hobbies and day-to-day activities.
The Buddy System
As polyglot Matthew Youlden explains, real conversation practice with a partner can motivate you to learn more. A tandem partner (someone who speaks your target language natively and who is actively trying to learn your native language) is a very valuable resource. You can find a tandem partner through community events, conversation groups, or message boards.
Maybe you are lucky enough to know someone whom you’re very eager to communicate with in their native language. In any case, real conversation practice can point you to natural vocabulary and expressions that you would want to use in your everyday life.
Watch Something
Films are one of the most enjoyable ways to immerse yourself in another language. Reading the subtitles while listening to the original version of a movie or series is a good start. Or, try listening to a dubbed version of a film or series that you already know very well.
Once you’re comfortable enough with a language, try changing the operating language of your phone or the operating language of different apps. The key with any of these methods is consistency: a little every day beats a single two-hour class once a week.
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Language Learning Success Stories From Real Users
Almost like real immersion. Practical dialogues that will be useful when I’ll have conversations in Italian.
Babbel has helped me to get a good grasp of the language in a fun and challenging way. I enjoy the dialogues and scenarios, which include helpful phrases that can be used in various situations.
Expert Tips To Get Conversational With Babbel
Know Your Motivation
According to Babbel's language teachers, knowing your motivation is one of the most important first steps to getting conversational. Before you get started, it’s important to ask yourself: Why do you want to learn this language? It’s helpful to remember why you’re putting in the effort to begin with.
Having small, achievable goals can get you conversational faster and help you adapt your approach based on what you want to do. Learning a language for work looks different from learning a language to sing a song, or to communicate with your partner’s family, so your approach to learning the language should reflect that. Babbel builds a personalized learning path that matches what you need most.
Stay Humble
Everyone has to start somewhere. Babbel’s lessons are only 10-15 minutes long, and you will start speaking from day one. With Babbel, you practice pronunciation and sentence building early and often. Getting basic pronunciation down is the first touchstone on your path to speaking a full sentence.
Humility and consistency will take you far, so don’t be afraid of saying the wrong thing, especially if it’s your first time saying it. Native speakers always appreciate the effort, even when it’s imperfect. They might even correct your errors.
When you’re learning to speak another language, overcoming your fear of saying something wrong and embracing the discomfort of making mistakes is part of the process. Leaving your comfort zone will take you to the next level, and mistakes are simply learning opportunities. Being able to laugh at yourself, reaching out to ask for directions, or trying something relatively low-risk, like ordering food, can help you build the skills necessary to get comfortable speaking. Find a comfortable way to practice.
Stay Consistent
Staying consistent is key. Ten minutes every day beats two hours a week. This is what makes Babbel’s short, expert-designed lessons so useful. A time-consuming, intensive language course is not the most accessible option, but staying consistent will help you to retain information and give you the confidence to express yourself in another language. It’s not studying, it’s a habit to build muscle memory. Showing up every day, even when you only have ten minutes, keeps you immersed.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Language Learning
The 5 C’s of learning a new language are: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities. We express meaning through communication. Meaning is shaped by culture, and language provides insight into cultural perspectives. Cultural awareness is an underrated tool for learning a new language. When learning a new language, learning about places where the language is spoken can give you a more practical perspective of how to communicate in your target language.
Your target language can build connections that expand your knowledge of other disciplines. Comparisons help you to develop insights into the nature of language and culture. Learning a new language helps you to participate in multilingual communities, becoming a global citizen.
Basic greetings and phrases like “I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” are very helpful when first learning to speak in a new language. Other useful phrases can include: “how do you say… in [your target language].” Basic numbers and etiquette, especially according to relevant cultural norms, are important to building your understanding of a new language.
How to introduce yourself and speak about yourself and your background is also typically the first way to start speaking. If you can say simple things about who you are and where you’re from, you can already start to connect with people across language barriers.
There's no bad age to learn a language. Children can absorb languages more naturally as their brains are developing, but adults have their own advantages: motivation, life context, a fully developed brain, and the ability to set clear goals. The ability to strategize is a strength for adults who want to learn a language. According to Babbel's language teachers, knowing why you want to learn matters more than when you start. In any case, consistency and immersion are more important than age. The best time to start is now.
Staying motivated and consistent will take you the furthest when learning a new language. If progress feels too slow, remember why you’re learning to stay committed. Results don’t happen overnight, but showing up every day will eventually turn your effort into communication. Think of language learning like going to the gym: you won't see results after one day, but three months of showing up consistently make an impact. Motivation gets you started, but habit is what keeps you going.
The top five most spoken languages in the world (judged by native speakers) are Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi, and Arabic. Being able to speak one of the most common languages in the world opens the door for you to connect with billions of people across every continent. It’s a valuable addition to your skillset, and it brings people together.