How To Start Learning A New Language - The Basic Components + 5 Powerful Exercises

In this article, you will learn how to start learning a new language as a self-studier. You’ll get 3 basic principles that will help you kick-start your language journey.

The 3 Basic Components of Language Learning

If you’re new to language learning, figuring out how to start learning a new language can be quite overwhelming. What can help get some clarity is breaking down the process into its 3 basic components:

Input, output and repetition.

Here’s how it works:

1. Input: Absorb and Analyze

Choose Your Input Resource

Choose an app, book, course, or a mixture of all of them. Make sure it has:
Longer texts: The more context we have, the easier we can spot recurring structures or organize words in our head.
• An audio part: By listening while reading, you will memorize words quicker and get used to the natural sound of a language

Analyze

While reading your text, pay attention to how the elements of a sentence interact with each other. For example: How does a verb change when it’s combined with a certain subject?

Break it down to its core

Break down sentences to their easiest structure: Subject-Verb. Start by detecting that core and then work your way towards more complex structures.

2. Output: Activate

Choose Your Output Resource

Get a notebook, open a word document or use an excel table – whatever you enjoy will do the job.

Reproduce

Start reproducing what you’ve learned: Write down sentences using the core structure you’ve identified (Subject-Verb). Mix them up, using different verbs with different subjects and then gradually add more elements. That way, you activate the passive knowledge you have absorbed in step 1.

Be proactive

Don’t necessarily rely solely on your book or course. Ask yourself what you would like to express. If you would like to present yourself, learn the words and the grammar structures that help you talk about your job, city, family, or hobbies, such as: present tense, personal pronouns, modal verbs, negations etc.

3. Repeat and Grow

Find a way to incorporate language learning in your daily life. Experiment to find a pace that is intense enough to make progress but easy enough to maintain in the long run.

Read more about how to create systems on my recent blog post.

5 Powerful 30-Minute Exercises To Do In Your First Month

1. Copy a Text By Hand

Writing something by hand is a slow process – therefore, it can help you pay attention to details that you normally wouldn’t spot. And, on top of that, creating something with pen and paper can have something therapeutic, right?

2. Translate a text into your mother tongue and back

Translating something into your mother tongue helps you check if you’ve understood something. Reversing that, on the other hand, has a completely different function: Figuring out how to express something in your target language transforms passive into active #knowledge and shows you exactly what you’re able to do and what you need to practice again.

3. Write a Diary Entry

Write a small text about topics that are related to your daily life, no matter how many or little words you know. Start, for example, by presenting yourself, describing your city, family, job etc. If you don’t know a word, use Google. That way, you’re building a vocab core with the words that are most relevant to your life.

4. Write down 20 sentences using the grammar and the words you've learned

Think of structures you are able to use and mix them, using different verbs, subjects and words that you have learned, e. g. negations, question words, etc. This helps you internalize the core structure of a language, making it easier to expand from there.

5. Listen to a real-life audio – even if you don't understand it

This is something that you can do, for instance, while driving or cooking. Listen to the news, a radio channel or a Youtube video, even if you don’t understand it. If you can only get one or a couple of words, that’s already great. The more often we come across a word, the easier it is to remember it.