How I Learn Foreign Languages?

As a bachelor's graduate in Foreign Languages, I want to share some insights from my personal and academic journey with my motivated readers. I hope this post can be especially helpful for young readers who are still deciding on their path and may give them a clearer understanding of their own situation.

If you don't know me yet, my name is Angela, I am 27 and I grew up in southern Germany. As a child of Italian immigrants, I was exposed to multiple languages very early in life. This passion only deepened over the years and accompanied me through my studies. Today, I want to share my story and also touch on the question how I learn languages.

I grew up in a bilingual household. My family is scattered across Europe and at home we spoke exclusively Italian, still do. I grew up learning German and absorbed bits of other languages like French, Romanian and English. Most of the time we speak three languages and I am always the German speaker. For this reason, I consider German my first native language, even though  Italian is my second native language. I taught myself German from a very young age, which required a lot of patience and self-discipline. What helped me back then were visual media like TV shows and my favorite characters in a fun story. These tools broke the ice for me.

Some people might argue that this is not the right way, that you need proper grammar and exercises. I disagree. Bombarding young foreign-language learners with grammar rules only overwhelms them. Everyone learns at their own pace. Grammar, in my view, comes second. First, focus on cultural understanding and experimenting with words. Only then the learner is ready for grammar. Pressure, perfectionism and criticism only scare students off. My experience as a language learner has made this very clear.

In middle school, I remember asking myself how I would ever reach the level of fluency and professionalism that teachers have. I had doubts: "I cannot do it. I am not good enough. I will never get there." This is exactly what society often does to young people when it comes to languages. Talented students lose confidence because they feel the system has failed them. My answer today is that you will reach that level eventually, as long as you commit yourself. Effort, not talent, is what matters. Anyone who wants it can achieve it. Sure, some people have a natural affinity for languages, but that does not mean only they can succeed.

Another misconception I want to address is the idea of language packages. We have all seen crash courses, right? Many are unnecessary, especially because people need languages in different contexts. A business English course will not teach you vocabulary for travel, art or casual conversation. Instead of focusing on speed, focus on the quality of your learning. Do not let anyone force a single method on you. Want to learn with an app? Chat with a pen pal? Play a game in that language? Go for it. Personalized learning works best, especially in languages. For me, reading a thousand-page book would not have helped much. I prefer  interactive apps and methods that engage me actively.

So, how do I learn languages? By setting my own pace and choosing methods that work for me and sticking to them. In school and exams, grammar is unavoidable, but outside of that, find ways that keep you motivated. Without passion, nothing works.

For example, you can buy a book of French sentence examples or short stories. It does not matter if your level is perfect, you will still enjoy it and learn along the way by figuring out the language as you go. You do not need to be at any level, you just need to give yourself the courage to say, I am doing this now. 

I am not a native Spanish speaker, but I can still attend a Spanish-language evening. Often, we are our own biggest obstacle, letting bad teachers or others dictate what we can or cannot do. Language is not just about communication, it is about feeling. Let yourself feel it. Those who can do that will become true language masters.

I hope this gives you a fresh perspective on language learning.