Learning a language looks like a vast project thinking about all the factors you have to learn about that language, like vocabulary and grammar. The other thing is it requires a lot of memorization.
Being unable to take time from our day to learn that language is the biggest problem related to our busy lives.
But if we can follow the scientifically proven best times and tips to learn any language, it will help us to have good results through studying for a short time. I've also learned three languages and hope to share my experiences with you.
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What is the best time of the day to learn a language
Learning a language in the morning
many studies suggest that morning might be the most productive time to learn as it can lead to more efficient learning. It can help language learners save time, reduce stress, and become fluent faster. Unlike at other times of the day, we have natural light in the morning, and it does not lead to eye strain, so it can help make it easier to read books and study vocabulary lists or engage in reading practices without taking breaks.
Learning a language in the afternoon
You may support long-term retention if you choose the afternoon as your learning time. Several studies say learning in the afternoon may improve long-term memory recall. It is very needed if you're a language learner as memory retention is essential for everything in language learning, from vocabulary words to conjugation rules.
Also, talking in that language with your friends who know it or are learning it is beneficial. Not only with friends, but you also can find a conversation partner on the internet to talk with. Practicing this as a habit can help improve your spoken ability in that language. I usually have conversations with my friends in French(as a French learner), and it's pretty interesting. Also, we never mind how many mistakes we make, but we keep practicing and learning our language. Plus, we mainly make fun of it, making jokes and all. Do you guys have such experiences? Let me know in the comment section.
Learning a language in the evening
We're not learning a language just to pass an exam. Maybe we have to use that language for an extended time, so it is necessary to have everything about that language in our long-term memory as it helps us recall vocabulary and other things instantly. Many studies have shown that language learners who study during the evening and night have more memorization ability than other groups who study in the morning and afternoon.
Learning a language in the night
According to the research, if we try to regularly practice learning languages at night, we're more likely to remember just before we go to sleep.
According to research done by a team at Duolingo, half of the participants had learned new facts in the morning and reviewed them in the evening of the same day. While the other group learned in the night, slept, and reviewed that lesson the following day. Somehow at the end of their research, they found that participants who studied their language just before sleeping led to much better long-term retention.
Many studies suggest that playing a track related to the target language just before your sleep or while on your sleeping can help us to learn that language easier.
According to research, listening to your target language while in your sleep can help you practice your brain more efficiently. Playing a vocabulary list while in your sleep, without doing anything previously, won't help you retain that language. But it can improve the time of exposure to that language, so the brain used to be with it.
Tips to learn English more efficiently
Study for short periods
According to many researchers, learning under short time slots, also called micro-learning, is more effective than learning the same subject for an extended period because learning according to that way helps long-term memory retention. Let me give you an example through my experiences.
When I usually study for my exams, I rarely study the night before. Those days I usually face my exam in a better mood and get good results, but that memory I made the night before my exam won't last for much time, and I forget them in a few days. This is because they are stored in my short-term memory. But the information I've studied for a long time in separate short periods by completely understanding them last for an extended time. Believe me, I still remembered the things in my literature book 4 years ago.
The object of learning a language is to use it for a long time, so it's much better to learn that language using separated time slots instead of being enclosed for a long time in a row.
Do different activities at different times.
Engaging in the same subject with the same learning technique for a long time seems boring. It could make the learning process a non-pleasant activity. Especially when we're learning a language, we have lots of things to memorize(keep in mind) like grammar and vocabulary. If we continue to study as if we are only reading a textbook, we will sleep on it instead of learning the language.
But what if we engage in different activities at different times of the day? For example, we can learn grammar at a separate time of our morning schedule and listen to a target language song while having lunch. Also, we can use the evening time to memorize some vocabulary and the night time to watch a film in the targeted language.
Likewise, we can be active in our learning process during the day through different activities. You can use whatever logic makes sense to you, but over time, you might notice that you prefer to focus on different topics at different times of the day.
Tips for finding more time to practice a foreign language
Also, studying while doing house chores can give you much pleasure. Just think you can listen to the song in your target language on the treadmill while making a meal and also in the bathroom. I mostly try this one in the kitchen and other Leisure time activities like gardening.
You also can use social media to learn a foreign language. Usually, a person spends over 2 hours on social media daily, but I know you use it more than that. You just want to find people who know that language and chat with them.
If you share this post with your friends and tell them what language you are learning, you will definitely find a person to communicate with.
You also can say goodbye to social media and start using language learning apps. Using a language learning app can be more efficient because you will learn instead of chatting.
The other thing you can do is try little tricks. For example, you can set your phone, computer emails, and all to your target learning language. It probably helps you stay with your language and gives you more space to practice.
How many hours a day should I learn a language?
The most straightforward answer for this is as much as possible. However, at least 45-90 minutes per day should be dedicated to learning a new language because the more you interact with a language by studying it, using it, reading it, or listening to it, the less foreign it will seem to you.
The time you can spend learning a foreign language depends on what you are and how your daily routine is. Everyone's busy running around trying to finish work and complete assignments, and sometimes we don't have much time to sleep well. But is it that hard to have time to learn a language? Honestly, you don't need much time a day to reach fluency.
We'll take a simple example. Think about what if we can wake up 15 minutes earlier than you usually do and try to memorize some vocabulary. Actually that would be perfect for the start of the day. Also, you can listen to some podcast or a song related to your target language while on your way to work, and it would be a great listening experience. Actually, we can do many things without planning extra time, such as watching a YouTube video.
How to find more time to learn a language
Learning a language is not like studying a subject like science or math because we have to use it practically. It's more than just studying a book and getting the best score by facing a language test. We have to use it constantly and speak with others using that language.
Activities like watching movies, listening to songs, and reading novels are hobbies, and they also increase our language skills. Look how simple it is that you don't want to arrange a separate time. You only have to do is continue your daily work in the language you are learning. Most of us sleep while traveling on the bus, but we can use that time to listen to something in the language we need to learn, right?
You can use sticky notes as flashcards to learn vocabulary on the go.
Is Learning A Language While Sleeping Possible?
So here I'm going to share with you some information I have found through scientific research based on this. Acquisition of information while asleep, which is also called Sleep-learning, is a topic that has a limited number of scientific research. Unfortunately, not much evidence exists to prove that it's a suitable learning method.
Research has been done by a few researchers from Northwestern University based on this, and there they taught participants two simple songs, one of which was then played back to the test subjects during a period of deep, slow-wave sleep. However, at the end of their research, they found that the participants recalled the song they had heard while asleep more vividly than the other tune.
So wouldn't it be great to learn a language while sleeping and wake up fluent? Actually, it's not relatively that easy. According to many psychologists, they say it's nearly impossible to learn new things while on sleep. The reason is while sleeping, the brain does not seem to make associations and try to learn words from context. So it's hard for the subconscious to learn them.
Many studies say the sleeping period is a better time for reviewing previously learned words, making it easier to remember while asleep. But one of the disadvantages of learning while asleep is reducing sleep quality. Honestly, it's pretty hard to sleep while a recording plays in your ears all night. I'm uncomfortable with that because I always care about my sleep.
Conclusion
Learning a language is an active process. Don't ever mind how many mistakes you made while speaking that language. Just try speaking. We are not geniuses, we all make mistakes, and that's how we learn. the other important thing is to make sure to enjoy your learning.
Everybody has a unique way of learning, and Hundreds of people have hundreds of methods of approaching their targets. So you might also have unique ways of learning a language other than I mentioned above. So if you don't mind, let me know in the comments below.
Actually, we have no shortcuts to learning any foreign language. So we simply find ways how to enjoy the process. That's how we forward the learning process from a boring school subject to a pleasant activity that you don't mind doing every day.
The truth is we need to have a bit of patience during this process. We cannot learn a language within a short period, like 2 months. Still, it is possible to make a visible improvement in 2 months leading us to continue our learning process. Most of all, I believe that "there is nothing that motivates us more than our own success."
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