Anyone can learn a foreign language from scratch. It is true that some are more talented and can do it much more easily, while others need more time to achieve the same results. Also, for some, a particular method works flawlessly while others struggle to identify the learning method that suits them best. Just as with learning anything from scratch, there are many relevant aspects to learning a new language that can make it a quick and successful process, or a difficult one. Perhaps one of the most important aspects is motivation. As long as you stay motivated and always look towards the end goal of what you want to achieve, everything will be much easier.
Some things never change
Although we are surrounded by so much technology, and it helps us in so many aspects of our daily lives, including when learning a new language, some things never change and it’s good not to give up the classic methods we can apply. When you start learning Romanian, one of the most important elements is vocabulary, and here it can help a lot to simply use a notebook in which to write down new words by hand. The physical effort of writing them down and the concentration you need to keep to pay attention to spelling and meaning will help you memorize those words more easily. Not to mention that this process also fixes very well in your mind the different ways of transcribing certain sounds, as is the case with the Romanian language.
Let the music surround you and learn Romanian the easy way
Music is one of the best resources you can use when learning Romanian. Listen to songs in Romanian and don’t be discouraged if the lyrics seem very complicated at first. Be patient, persist regularly and you will find that, little by little, as information accumulates from the other sources you use, you understand more and more of the lyrics. Also, don’t be saddened if at first you discover that the lyrics of a song have a completely different meaning than you thought, based on your vocabulary at the time.
Something interesting on TV?
These days it’s extremely easy to access content on TV in different languages. Whether you choose a program in Romanian, and use subtitles in your native language, or watch a program in a language you already know and select subtitles in the Romanian language, it’s a very effective way of both building up general vocabulary and discovering specific features, identifying common phrases that people use in Romanian in everyday conversation. Many people consider cartoons to be a good choice because, by addressing children, they would have a simpler vocabulary. However, this is often not true, precisely because cartoons are aimed at children who speak the language natively, and the vocabulary there may be more difficult to understand or irrelevant to a normal beginner’s conversation.
Friends online
Connect online with other people who have the same goal as you, to learn Romanian. By joining such a community you’ll find plenty of useful resources, learn from the advice of those who have already been through your experience and, beyond that, be pushed to try communicating in your new language. Also, a very good starting point can be an online course, where you will gain both one of the handiest language learning solutions and a community of friends who will be there for you, as mentioned above.
Where should I travel this summer?
There’s no doubt that one of the best ways to learn Romanian is to travel to Romania and spend as much time as possible with people who are native speakers of this language. This way you will also learn things that are not found in textbooks, common phrases, and expressions that native speakers use in their everyday conversations. If you do manage to make such a journey, keep in mind that the more you step out of your comfort zone and let go of your shyness, the more you will learn because you will find yourself in situations that will force you to use your new knowledge of the language as much and as effectively as possible.
Don’t be afraid to speak up
While we’re on the subject of your comfort zone and going beyond it, never be afraid to open your mouth and speak as much as possible in Romanian. Of course, you will make mistakes at first. But don’t forget that you are learning from scratch and eventually even native speakers make mistakes, precisely because they were born with that language and you are learning it from scratch. However, native speakers will be flattered in any part of the world when someone makes the effort to learn their language. You have nothing to be ashamed of, no one will laugh at you even if you make mistakes. The fact that you still don’t speak Romanian perfectly is proof that you actually already know at least one other language, and the one you are learning now is a new one. This effort commands respect in the eyes of others so… dare!
And if the language you are thinking of learning is Romanian, consider this platform – www.romanianonline.com – as it is the best solution for learning Romanian online.