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10 Stages of Language Learning: How to Get
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Posted on 20. May, 2013 by Transparent Language in Just Ask Alex, Language Learning

Meet Our Guest Author

Im Alex Rawlings, Im 21 years old and I study German and
Russian at Oxford University. Ive always loved learning
languages, and last year I was named Britains most
multilingual student in a competition after being tested for
fluency in eleven different languages. It doesnt stop at eleven
though, I have plans to learn plenty more! I have recently set
up a YouTube channel and am keeping a blog at www.rawlangs.com. In this article
and accompanying video I hope to answer some of the questions that you might have
about language learning and my own experiences of it. Enjoy!

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Learning languages most of us have tried to, many of us want to, all of us need to,
but why is it that it can so often seem like an impossible task? And why are some
people better at it than others?
There is one simple explanation method. How far Ive managed to get with
languages is not because Im gifted or was born with any special talent. Linguists have
proved time and time again that that just isnt a thing. Its down to the fact that Ive
been doing this for a long time, so Ive had plenty of trial and error to work out where
Ive been going wrong and what Ive been doing right. I know now what I enjoy and
what I find boring. I think that definitely by the time youre moving onto your fourth or
fifth language, you should already have a pretty clear idea of how to motivate yourself
and how you to get results.
This article is about the journey of language learning: what to do, what to expect, and

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where you can hope itll take you. Before we get started though, there are a few things
Id like to set out first. Ive written more extensively about some of the reasons for
these on my blog (www.rawlangs.com), but this is the mind-set I think you need to get
started:
1. Language learning never stops. Learning is an eternal process: no matter how far
we come, there will always be more to know.
2. Forget about fluency for a bit. For our purposes, fluency is the ability to form
sentences independently and spontaneously, and once were doing that, were
speaking the language. You can concentrate on perfecting it later.
3. Dont worry about any letters or any numbers, and dont use these to measure
your fluency. Qualifications and certificates are a whole different kettle of fish,
and are not that relevant at this stage.
Now lets get going. The world of languages awaits.

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Stage 1: Pick a language

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We know were in this for the long haul, so lets not make this decision lightly. We
need to work out why we want to learn a language, and how were going to use it.
Have we got friends and family that speak it? Will it help us in our working lives? Did
we go on holiday and fall in love with somewhere (or someone), or are planning to
make a trip there? Whatever the reasons, we need to have them. Dont just learn a
language because you started it at school. This is your chance to break free, make
your own choices and discover your own worlds. Put to rest those painful memories of
being cooped up in classrooms on Friday afternoons learning tre and avoir.

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Stage 2: Set goals

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You never leave the house and just drive for a few hours if youre hoping to get
somewhere in particular. Likewise, we cant go on our language adventure without
some idea of where wed like it to take us. Have a sit down and work out at what point
you will be satisfied with what you have achieved. Will you be happy with a smattering
of phrases and handful of verbs? Do you want to just cover most of the grammar and
see what happens next? Or will you not rest until youre watching the news, running a
business, and writing a novel in your new second tongue? This is also a good
opportunity to decide how much time youre going to be able to dedicate to studying,
and how often. The ideal that I aim for is an hour a day, 3-4 days a week, but I break
that up between around 15 minutes in the morning, half an hour in the afternoon, and
another 15 minutes in the evening to keep things fresh and interesting.

Stage 3: Make a start

Start listening to the language. Find podcasts, watch YouTube videos, listen to music,
take advantage of the vast wealth of free language resources available on the internet
these days. This is your try before you buy period, and use it to get used to the sound
of the language: the rhythm, the pronunciation, and the intonation. Learn some basic
phrases like how to greet someone and ask how they are. This will give you a great
head start before you really get going. Make a real effort to try and learn those first
few phrases and that should give you the confidence to go on to learn more. This is
also a perfect time to make sure that you like the language, and if not, to go back and
choose another.

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Stage 4: Get a course

Were wading into serious territory now. There are plenty of inexpensive, well-written
courses available on Amazon and at the bookstore. If you dont want to spend money,
your local library will probably have a surprisingly good selection. Strike a balance
between picking out the bits that you find the most relevant for your language goals,
but also trust in the courses ability to guide you through it all. Personally I dont focus
too much on vocab at this stage that becomes a lot easier once youve got a better
grasp of how the language works. Try and keep to your work schedule, but take things
easy. Languages are fun, remember! Its really important to take breaks to let
everything sink in as well. Make sure youve looked over everything as many times as
possible before you move on to the next units. My acid test is to make sure I can
completely understand the dialogues just by listening to them, and that I can form my
own sentences with the new vocabulary Ive learnt. But dont forget: youre not
performing magic, youre learning, and that needs patience!

Stage 5: Extra material

Youve reached this stage when youre starting to feel confident with what youve
learnt so far. Youre getting a clear idea of the basic structures, youve got a decent
vocabulary of 100-150 words, and its time to start supplementing your course with
some independent learning. Find kids TV shows on YouTube, read childrens stories
online, get hold of anything that can provide you with clear and basic vocabulary for
you to learn as well. It might also be time to make more of a push for vocabulary now,
so you can talk about more topics and put to use your knowledge of grammar.

Stage 6: Navigate your first mid-language crisis

Unfortunately this happens. I get these when Ive started to get a good knowledge of
the present, past and future tenses, a decent vocabulary, and can have basic
conversations with a native speaker. At this point you might become complacent and
get bored with the language. You might think that youve done enough to get by in the
situations that youll need it for. But dont be fooled. Youre only half way there. Think
about making some changes to your schedule, tackling some new topics, remind
yourself of the goals you set out in Stage 2 and work out what youll have to do to get
there. In an ideal world, youd also move onto Stage 7.

Stage 7: Visit the country

Obviously this can be easier or harder for you depending on where you live and your
financial situation, but it is an essential pilgrimage for every serious language learner.
Its also your reward: see how your new language skills make everything easier from
taxi journeys to restaurants, from bizarre transport announcements to chance
acquaintances. Be prepared to hear words and phrases that your course never told
you about (but dont be angry at it! It really did have your best interests at heart.)
Learn the limits of what youve achieved so far, and use that as your inspiration to go
on to learn more. Sure, you can buy a metro ticket and ask for directions to the post
office, but can you talk to locals like you could back home? Youve got a foot in the
door of your new culture, but are you really in the club?
If a foreign trip is really out of the question, check out some of the numerous free
language exchange websites. Youll find someone to exchange emails with, maybe
have a few chats with on Skype, and thatll be invaluable for making sure youre not

going wrong with your learning!

Stage 8: The confidence plateau

This is similar to Stage 6, but its reached at a much more advanced point in our
studies. Lets say youve finished your course and you now feel like you can speak the
language fairly well. You can even talk about exciting topics such as the environment.
This is the point where many people might just put their feet up and decide that they
can leave making further progress to simple osmosis. But now is not a time to stall.
We need to be much cleverer about how we approach our learning, and remember
that we are nowhere near finished. Remember, language learning never stops: theres
always more to learn. Its now all down to the crucial next two stages. These are what
will take us that extra mile.

Stage 9: Immerse yourself in film, TV and news

We can stop watching just the kids stuff now and start becoming proper grown-ups in
our new language. Watch soaps, watch chat shows, watch the news. If you dont have
a satellite connection, there is still plenty available online. Pay attention to how the
language used varies in those different contexts. Take advantage of the range of
different topics that are discussed, and think of other words that youd find useful to
know. Keep a good dictionary and a notepad next to you and write down, say, 10-20
new words each time, and crucially, the context in which you heard them. Go away
and learn these, then come back and do it again.

Stage 10: Read literature, do translations and writing exercises

We are so close to the pinnacle now. Youve got a big vocabulary, sturdy grammar and
a good familiarity with the culture (particularly through Stages 7 and 9). This is your
motivation to keep going. Start reading literature. If possible, pick a book youve
already read in translation in English and that you know well (and really like). Dont
start looking up every unfamiliar word unless youve got a death wish, just look up
those that are vital for understanding whats going on, so you enjoy reading it. Again,
write them down and learn them as in Stage 9. Many e-books are free, and e-readers
can often be installed with dictionaries that will tell you what words mean as you go
along. Reading isnt for everyone though, and it also isnt everything. Have a go at
translating newspaper articles, speeches and things on Wikipedia both into and out of
your target language. Play around with nuances of meaning and different registers.
Go online onto one of the huge language learning community sites and find someone
to check it all over for you. Equally, set yourself writing exercises: try keeping a short
diary in your new language, write opinion pieces, obituaries, anything thatll get you
using advanced vocabulary. Initially this stage is hard youll find you need words that
youd never hear or use in speech normally. But this is also the most rewarding part.
By now you can proudly and deservedly take your seat, and conduct the rest of your
studies from the warmth and comfort of the inside of the language club.

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About Transparent Language

Transparent Language is a leading provider of best-practice language
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12 Responses to 10 Stages of Language Learning: How to

Get Started and Keep Going
Laura Harris 20 May 2013 at 7:36 pm #
I have been trying to learn French for a few years. I want to
become fluent, but in reading the above, I have found many
different areas that I could use to give me the extra help, I so need.
thank you for this Web page.
Reply

Anon 21 May 2013 at 12:09 pm #

Ive been studying German at the university level for about four
years, and will soon begin my masters in German. I consider
myself proficient, but not fluent (I dislike the word fluent).
Anyway, I find it helpful to listen to online streams of German radio
stations. My tastes in music are very strange, so I prefer to listen to
German news and talk radio, similar to NPR in the US. Ive found
several stations, I particularly like NDR Infonacht and B5 Aktuell
ARD. Just Google around for them (and others). You can also
sometimes find German language films at your local library. For
instance, my library has: Das Leben der Anderen and Lola rennt. It
may also have Der Untergang. You can also find several German
language short films on YouTube. Der Schwarzfahrer, for instance
is a critically acclaimed short film on YouTube. The title is actually
a wordplay that you will get after seeing the film. Das kleine Nazi is
also good (dont worry, its not actually about Nazism).
Reply

Margaret Nahmias 21 May 2013 at 7:25 pm #

I agree about the levels thought they are only useful in academic
setting to judge what you need to learn In real life natives will judge
you by your ability to communicate.
Reply

David Huish 21 May 2013 at 9:53 pm #

Hi congratulations on all of the languages! Im currently studying a
Ba. in Russian and French at the University of Manchester and
can also speak Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese and will
commence Polish next year! Your language learning tips were very
useful but how do you have the time to learn so many, it takes me
a good year or so to achieve a relatively basic command in any
language??
Thanks
Reply

Ron Peek 25 May 2013 at 11:25 pm #

Hi Alex, another nice piece, well written and encouraging.
Reply

jerome 27 May 2013 at 3:16 am #

Hi.
This article was really useful break ing down each stages v.nicely..
I learnt french. As you said as I started communicating with basic
phrases wit people I met in usa. This improved my confidencen
desire to learn more.. Now m ready to spend 1 hr everyday
learning french n planning to seek friends on line to communicate.
MERCI BEAUCOUP
cest utile.
Reply

lingholic 27 May 2013 at 3:46 am #

Fantastic post Alex! I really think the steps youve outlined here
can help people to set some goals and have some kind of
roadmap to their studies. Personally, though, I would probably go
ahead with Stage 9 quite a bit earlier. Going to the country that
speaks your target language is a tremendous motivator, but it can
also be a wake-up call if youve only been studying the language
through textbooks. Thats why I think having access to as much
native content as possible (such as movies, YT videos, etc.) is
important, especially in the intermediate stages.
And as you said, through experience you get to know your own
learning style and what it is you enjoy and dislike. Every single
language learner out there has to keep this in mind! Do what you
enjoy, and especially in the intermediate and advanced stages
vary the material you work with so as to keep yourself motivated
and avoid what Alex fittingly calls the mid-language crisis
Reply

Martin 27 May 2014 at 4:23 am #

Great article Alex! Really helpful.
Reply

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