Nobody Knows How to Learn a Language

The answer is no secret but it's hard to achieve. The fastest way to learn a new language fluently is to speak it, constantly.

Yes, it's easier for children to acquire a new language but they learn it because they are constantly forced to use it.

I've known a number of people that have lived in a foreign country yet they did not learn the language. Why? Because they could get away with using English most of the time. They were never forced to speak it. They could get away with only speaking it a little. And if they got in trouble they could always ask someone for help.

The stress caused by having to come up with the proper word combination helps immensely. We tend to remember what caused us stress. Also, repetition will always help in acquiring new words.

So, basically, start a learning program but make sure you practice every day by speaking with someone that's fluent in your new language ASAP and let them correct you as needed. Also, NEVER speak your native language with that person. Only use the language you want to learn with him or her.

Do not start book studying, grammar and such, until you have a good grasp of the language. Reading a new language will reinforce accents since we tend to read with our language in mind.

The more you have to think in the language you are trying to learn the faster you will reach fluency.

>>> Because they could get away with using English most of the time. They were never forced to speak it.

I live in a foreign country and this is my life, while english is not really the best here - I've had literally zero issues with either speaking english or having some help every now and then (like for 'official matters').

>>> The stress caused by having to come up with the proper word combination helps immensely. We tend to remember what caused us stress.

I also think this is very accurate, most of the words I know are really set in stone from these kinds of occasions. Some specific event happened related to the word, maybe I misspoke something and it was pointed out. And so on.

Figure out the most common 3000 words and memorize those. Practice the grammar. Read news papers in the language and try to summarize the articles in your own words. Watch YouTube videos in the language. Start speaking to native speakers. It’s not too crazy, school really dated your time. It’s funny, early on, in school you learn words like “apple” but these words don’t come up all that often.

> In theory, formal language instruction is precisely the right way to learn a new language.

Surely that's not true: otherwise, children wouldn't have learned their native tongue(s) the way they famously do.

Not sure what kind of theory the author's been immersing themselves with. When I was studying for a language tutor, along my linguistics program, the context was put forth as the most important part of learning anything, let alone a language.

> I studied French in elementary school — supposedly the “ideal” age to learn a new language, according to some people — and somehow continued to get As and Bs while retaining almost no ability to speak the language at all.

Perhaps they haven't because language acquisition, like most any mental skill¹, requires an interest to maintain, let alone improve. My suspicion is this is also why people dislike maths so much: because it's a tenuous process that requires considerate effort to develop. Without a passion for it – often gained either through a natural aptitude or an inspirational teacher – it might be difficult, in those two fields, or in any other of similar requirements, to obtain and retain the skills necessary.

¹ I have a sneaking suspicion – and might well be wrong – that, in physical skills, muscle memory or related mechanisms may affect retention. There've been studies suggesting that writing things down helps memorization, which is a rather "muscle" activity. Perhaps the latter is related to the former?

I’d mostly agree with this, but I’m not sure the stress element is necessary. I learned a second language while living overseas. Most of the people in my office spoke good English, and I’d just speak their language as much as I could, filling in my gaps with English. I’d ask when I didn’t understand something, or when I wanted help forming a sentence. There was a fair bit of code-switching to begin with, but I had a good conversational grasp after a year.