Studying a new language is no big deal when you are motivated to learn and eager to discover new cultures.
Last update: July 09, 2022
Deciding to learn English is always a winning choice on a personal and professional level. Even more so because it is the most widely spoken language in the world, for a total of about 1348 million people. Nonetheless, for some it can be intimidating to venture out to explore an entirely different world of words, sounds, and rules.
Fortunately, however, it is possible to adopt some psychological tips to facilitate and speed up the study of a new language. If learning English is among your future goals, we encourage you to keep the following recommendations in mind take full advantage of the time you invest in study.
How to learn English more fluently and naturally?
There are several reasons why you decide to learn English. From job opportunities abroad to personal goals. Regardless of the motivation, the following psychological tips will facilitate the learning of the language.
1. Finding inner strength to motivate yourself
Unlike childhood, a period in which you learn naturally and without great pressure, in adulthood it is more difficult to learn English. As a result, many adults and older people give up very early and they do not trust their cognitive faculties.
However, it is shown that the adult brain has a fascinating plasticity thanks to which it can learn a new language. It is therefore advisable not to invade the mind with negative thoughts, as this will not predispose to the acquisition of new notions.
2. Make learning English an important milestone
Making the goal of learning English a priority promotes actions aimed at expanding the vocabulary every day. For example, spend a couple of hours a day studying phonetics and grammar or have a simple conversation with a foreign friend.
“Remember that it is very important to have fun along the way and not see studying as an obligation or a duty. If you rejoice in every word learned and are enthusiastic when you manage to pronounce an entire sentence, you gain confidence and confidence, therefore you are more fluent ”.
3. Discover culture through audiovisual media
You learn how to pronounce new words correctly and in what contexts to use them as you gain more vocabulary, confidence and experience. Immersing yourself in the culture of the language being studied is a great idea for increase the confidence during a conversation.
For this purpose, you can watch movies and television programs or listen to music or the best audio books in English. It is an excellent aid to be more confident in the pronunciation of words and to discover the culture of the countries where the English language is spoken.
When you have the opportunity to travel to your favorite English-speaking country, you can put into practice what learned.
4. Psychological tips for learning English: ptalk to yourself and to others
Having a curious attitude is essential for learning a new language like English. For this reason, if you don't have friends, family or a partner to practice with, don't be ashamed and talk to yourself. This will improve pronunciation and correct sentence construction.
Conversely, if you can count on someone to practice with, let go of the shame and strive to improve every day. Don't be hard on yourself when you can't be as fluent as you would like.
Perseverance is key to perfecting a skill. Remember that no one is an expert in a given subject and they're necessary motivation and constancy to reach the set goals.
5. Leave the comfort zone
Any learning is mediated by teachings that allow us to correct mistakes and improve. Along the way, however, embarrassing situations can arise, frustration or even fear can arise.
Allow yourself to be wrong and calmly accept that you have to proceed step by step to reach the goal. This means that, despite being great professionals in certain areas, you may have to start by reading fairy tales in English before you can understand an entire literary work.
Put these psychological tips into practice to learn English
If you are looking for new job opportunities or want to reach a personal milestone, learning a foreign language such as English opens many doors and brings you closer to different people.
In light of this, we invite you to follow the recommendations presented in this article, to be consistent and to maintain a positive attitude to note the effort and time spent studying.
References
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Dehaene-Lambertz G. (2017). The human infant brain: A neural architecture able to learn language. Psychon Bull Rev. 2017 Feb;24(1):48-55. doi: 10.3758/s13423-016-1156-9. PMID: 28120318; PMCID: PMC5433546. Disponible en: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28120318/
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Li H, Qu J, Chen C, Chen Y, Xue G, Zhang L, Lu C, Mei L. (2019). Lexical learning in a new language leads to neural pattern similarity with word reading in native language. Hum Brain Mapp. 2019 Jan;40(1):98-109. doi: 10.1002/hbm.24357. Epub 2018 Aug 23. PMID: 30136328; PMCID: PMC6865609. Disponible en: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30136328/
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Steber S, Rossi S. (2021). The challenge of learning a new language in adulthood: Evidence from a multi-methodological neuroscientific approach. PLoS One. 2021 Feb 19;16(2): e0246421. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246421. PMID: 33606715; PMCID: PMC7894913. Disponible en: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33606715/
