Kato Lomb, a hungarian polyglot was one of the first people who worked in simultaneous interpretation, spoke 16 languages – most of them she learnt as an autodidact – and travelled all around the world. Have you ever thought about learning more languages – or did our previous post inspire you to do so? Here are 8 of her tips for you!
1. Do it every day
If you only have 10 minutes, say a 10 minute long monologue in the language you want to learn.
2. Don’t stop, rather change
If you are losing your enthusiasm, look for another way of learning: reading instead of listening to music, or talking instead of reading. Or vice versa.
3. Words – with context
Never try to learn just words. Always memorize them in a context.
4. Keep your eyes open
When walking on the street, try to translate everything you see into the language you are learning. For example, if you see an ad on the window of a shop, when walking by, try to translate what you saw.
5. Do it right
Once you learn something, make sure it is correct – ask a teacher to check it, or find trustworthy sources to avoid learning something falsely.
6. Imagine it as a building
Learning a new language is like building a house: you have to make the walls stable, therefore you have to support them from all sides. Meaning: read, listen, talk, watch movies, and so on.
7. … speaking of speaking…
… don’t be afraid to speak!
8. Watch the idioms!
All the idioms you memorize, do it in first-person, singular! For example: “I’m just kidding.” Oh wait. Why do you think she said that? Let us know your guesses in a comment!
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