The recipe for polyglots  

Learning a foreign language “because everyone learns it or to pass an official exam ” will not take long, so decide what you need to know it for. The goal can be anything: from a serious one, for example, to get a position in a prestigious firm, to an entertaining one, such as “I want to understand what Sting is singing.” The main thing is that your goal motivates you and in every possible way strengthens your desire to learn English .

At the beginning of the training, take at least a few lessons from the teacher

We have all read about how polyglots learn any language on their own. However, many polyglots blog and often indicate that they started learning the language from a teacher and, after learning the basics, moved on to self-study . We recommend that you do the same: the teacher will help you to lay a solid foundation of knowledge and, if you wish, you can build the following “floors” yourself.

Speak out loud from the first day of learning a new language.

Even if you are learning your first ten words, saying them out loud will help you memorize vocabulary better. In addition, you will gradually develop the correct pronunciation. From day one, look for people to talk to. For beginners, a professional teacher will be an ideal “partner” for the development of oral speech, and from the Pre-Intermediate level you can search for an interlocutor on language exchange sites and hone your oral skills with a native speaker.

Learn phrases, not single words

When it comes to learning words, our advice is always the same: just learn words in context. First, a word in a sentence is remembered faster than a word ripped from a sentence with a translation. Second, by studying a word in context , you will learn not only its meaning, but also the rules for its use. Many polyglots say that it is much easier and faster to learn a language by learning complete sentences. Try this tactic in English.

Get used to the sound of a new speech for you

Some polyglots advise using this technique: listen to the notes in the target language, even if you have just started learning it and understand 10-20% of what was said. They explain it by the fact that in this way you gradually get used to the peculiarities of the sound of a foreign speech , you hear what sounds and intonation are characteristic of it.

On the one hand, the reception is not bad, on the other hand, it will not suit everyone. So some people have a hard time listening to a recording where they don’t know many words. When a person understands almost nothing, they fall into a state of frustration and no longer want to learn the language. Therefore, we suggest beginners to accustom their ears to the sound of foreign speech in a different way . And after mastering a few words, start listening to the simplest podcasts, this will make it easier for you to hear native speakers speak.

Read texts in the target language

 As you read the texts, you see how the studied grammar “works” in speech and the new words “cooperate” with each other. In doing so, use your visual memory , which allows you to remember useful phrases. You can find texts in any language for beginners on the Internet, so you should start reading from the first days of learning the language. Some polyglots advise practicing parallel reading, for example reading the text in parallel in Russian and English. This is how you see how sentences are constructed in the target language.

Improve your pronunciation

Paradox : It seems that pronunciation is the least important part of learning a foreign language, but many polyglots insist that the same amount of time should be spent improving pronunciation as improving other skills. As a general rule, no one can explain the connection between correct pronunciation and good knowledge of the language, but for many polyglots, these two factors develop in direct proportion.

Therefore, Cardinal Mezzofanti had the unique ability to accurately copy the pronunciation of any foreign speech, and it was believed that it was this talent that helped him quickly find a common language with foreigners.

Exercise regularly

The main secret of the polyglot is hard work . There is not a single person among them who says: “I studied English once a week and I learned the language in 5 months”. On the contrary, polyglots are often in love with learning languages, so they spend all their free time on it. We are sure that everyone can find 3-4 hours a week to train, and if you have the opportunity to study 1 hour a day, any language will obey you.

Develop memory

The better your memory, the easier it will be to remember new words and phrases . Learning a foreign language is a great memory training in itself, and to make this training more productive, use different language learning methods. For example, solving crosswords in English is a fun and useful activity for both learning and memory.

Learning English from songs is another great practical idea: you can memorize the lyrics of your favorite song by heart, so you will memorize some useful phrases.

Have fun learning

As you have seen, everyone can learn foreign languages , regardless of “giftedness” and the number of tickets. There is nothing difficult in the advice of polyglots for language learning, all techniques are accessible to anyone and are easily applied in practice. Try to follow these guidelines and have fun learning.