5 Tips to Fluency.

“She wanted to hold foreign syllables like mints on her tongue until they dissolved into fluency.”
― Anthony Marra, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

Every language learner's dream is to attain a certain level of fluency. Blend in with the pack. Laugh at jokes and listen to the news. This is a difficult task especially if you are learning outside the country of your target language. Here are five tips to aid your journey to fluency.

Find your why

People want to learn a language within the shortest possible time. One month, Three months or six months. It is possible to learn the basics of any language within this time frame if your reason is strong enough and you work hard at it. However, fluency is a function of interest and purpose. This will help you focus and motivate you to seek out topics of interest to aid your learning.

Learn the accent.

The first step to sounding authentic in your target language is learning the sounds. The alphabet. Keywords or phrases. Listen to audio material and practice the way they are pronounced. Read out loud or record your voice and play it back . How does it sound? Do this daily and you're bound to see a difference in a few weeks.

Watch movies with subtitles.

So there's no one around you to talk to? That shouldn’t stop you from improving your language learning. Watching movies or series in French on Netflix or YouTube is a good way to improve your listening skills. Ensure the subtitles are in your target language (French, Spanish, Arabic etc). If you master the art of active listening, it will improve your vocabulary and in the long run help with your speaking skills. Nothing worse than being tongue-tied in the middle of a conversation!

Listen to Songs

Did you know you can listen to other language songs on Spotify? Simply search for French/ German/ Spanish etc music and a whole playlist will appear. The great thing about Spotify is the songs come along with the lyrics. This is great to sing along with the music.

Express yourself

Many apps can help with communication with native speakers. HelloTalk is one of the many apps out there that connects you with native speakers. Practice daily with a contact to increase your chances of gaining fluency in no time.