I should probably start by saying that there is no universal recipe. There is no magic solution by which anyone – whoever that may be – can learn Romanian without putting in any effort. First of all because everyone is different and everyone has a set of characteristics (skills or weaknesses) that make a particular method work or not. It is also the reason why Romanian lessons for English speakers can never be the same for all participants. After all, intelligence is nothing but the ability to adapt 😊 Isn’t it?
However, the experience of working with so many students has helped us over the years to identify both the most common questions they ask themselves, or ask us, and the most common problems they face when they start learning Romanian. So we will try to help you with some…
Practical tips for those looking for Romanian lessons for beginners
Consume as much content in Romanian as possible! Whether you get along better with audio material, and here you can turn to radio, podcasts, TV, whatever, or whether you prefer written text (newspapers, books, emails, social media accounts, street signs) it’s ideal to use these things as often as possible. It will help you get familiar with pronunciation, but also with the way native speakers construct sentences. You will have the opportunity to discover new vocabulary items but also to identify words you already know used in a new context. In this way you will get used to the way you can express certain things in Romanian, which can be similar, identical or totally different from English.
Be aware of new vocabulary items! This advice may seem redundant but take our word for it: It isn’t. And unfortunately it is neglected by many. You will say: Ok, but of course I realise that I have encountered a new word, one that I already knew. Yes. Of course! But the important thing is what happens next. In online Romanian lessons, or in many other contexts, it happens that you come across a new word or a new expression and get so excited that at the moment it seems impossible to ever forget that word again. However, it is possible and most likely – apart from the situation where you are emotionally attached to the meaning or significance of that word – if you don’t have the opportunity to use it in casual conversation, in a couple of weeks you will have difficulty recognising the word if you hear or read it, despite your initial excitement. Well, that’s exactly what our advice is about. When you come across a new word, write it down somewhere – on a notebook, or maybe you prefer to use a note app on your phone. It’s best to write it down in context, in a phrase or sentence. That way, when you come back to it, you’ll immediately know what its exact meaning was and how it can be used.
Talk to real people! Find Romanian lessons nearby, use social media and join Romanian speaking groups, make friends with a native speaker. Speaking will most effectively help you progress, at a truly spectacular pace, compared to the progress of someone who doesn’t speak. That’s because speaking pushes you, forces you to find the best words to express what you feel and puts you to work, practising both vocabulary and grammar. After all, a language is nothing more than a means of communication, and it is only through communication that it develops effectively and quickly. How many times have you heard many people that study English saying: I understand English very well, but I don’t speak it very well! 😊 Here is the problem. And in the case of Romanian and English, things are the same. Speaking Romanian, trying to engage in conversations, represents a free Romanian lesson you give yourself every time you do it.
Always quality, not quantity! It may seem like a truism, doesn’t it? But it is so often neglected, and not just in language learning but in many other activities in which we invest both emotionally and financially. Instead of trying to artificially speed up and burn steps in the desire for easy and seemingly easy progress, arm yourself with patience and focus on quality. Instead of trying to learn a hundred words a day and overload yourself with information, focus on 5-10 new words that day, and repeat those, put them in context, try to use them to express things or states that these words help you with. That way, those few words will be much more likely to really stick in your mind than the 100 you’ll forget in a few days.
Grammar is your friend! You don’t have to be afraid of grammar. That’s it in a nutshell. Of course, you don’t have to fall into the other extreme either, of teachers who focus only on grammar. After all, we study grammar just to speak correctly. But the key word is to speak. We need grammar, but we won’t be able to speak Romanian really by learning grammar alone, just as we won’t be able to do it by practising vocabulary alone. The important thing is to reach a balance, which is why the online Romanian courses on www.romanianonline.com are extremely well structured, so that they alternate in a balanced way between grammar, communication and vocabulary.
Romanian lessons near me?!
Yes. Of course! Because now you can study Romanian with a native speaker teacher, who you can meet online from the comfort of your own couch. We hope we’ve helped you with some of our tips, and don’t forget that we’re always here to answer any other questions you may have about Romanian.