Practice Makes Fluent! 7 Language Learning Challenges You Can Do Every Day

Practice Makes Fluent! 7 Language Learning Challenges You Can Do Every Day Practice Makes Fluent! 7 Language Learning Challenges You Can Do Every Day We try it every New Year.This year, Ill make use of that gym membership.This year, Ill finally clean out the garage.This year, Ill learn to cook something besides toast.You know the rest of the story.By February, most of us are back to our old habits.Thats usually because resolutions are big goals, and its hard to work towards them every single day.If youve decided to learn a languageâ€"either back in January or just yesterdayâ€"youve got a big goal ahead of you, too. But with strategic language learning challenges, its much easier than you might think to make consistent progress towards fluency.In this post, well show you seven smart ideas to give yourself a language challenge every day. Even though they dont require tons of time and preparation, they can have a big impact on your language skills before the next New Year rolls around! How to Launch Your Language Learning ChallengeBuy a language workbook. You can purchase textbooks and workbooks for various languages from Amazon  o r try your local bookstore. These books can give you straightforward grammar explanations that you can then apply in your language challenges. They also generally lay out a language learning plan chapter-by-chapter, so theyre helpful for bringing some structure to your studies.Download a language app.  This is a  fun, motivating tool to use in a challenge because the apps automatically create new material and lessons for you to use every day. Many of them offer  daily reminders at a specific time, so you dont forget to practice.FluentU is a fun, comprehensive learning app to get started with.  FluentU teaches you authentic language skills with real videos like movie trailers, music videos, inspiring talks and more. Each video comes with interactive captions that you can click to learn new words definitions and pronunciations while you watch.  There are also flashcards and exercises to help you remember your new vocabulary.The videos are organized by genre and learning level, so its easy to find one that works for you. Theyre usually a few minutes long and can be watched on your browser or through the mobile app, making it perfect for some language practice on your lunch break, when youre waiting in line at the store, whenever! There are currently programs for Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, French, Russian and several other major languagesâ€"check out the full video library for free with a FluentU trial.Get a goal-tracking journal.  In the front or back of your journal, keep a list of long- and short-term goals. Short-term goals could be: ordering at a restaurant in your target language or mastering a specific set of vocabulary. Long-term goals could be: building a 1,000-word vocabulary or finishing a novel in your target language.By writing out your goals, you can look back on what study methods you like best and make the most progress with.Schedule language learning into your agenda. Make  sure you have a specific time of day dedicated to working on your target l anguage. Consider what time or times of day youre most alert, so youll get the most out of your learning. Just like going to the gym, you can decide if you want to get up early and work out or wait until after work. After a while, itll become a habit.Its also a good idea to write down what skill or language task you want to spend each session working on. Be sure to mix it up to build well-rounded skills. For example, I like using an app daily to work on grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, doing a writing exercise once or twice a week, plus sometimes Ill watch a show in the language Im working on to mix things up. Thats what works best for me, my lifestyle and my learning.Practice Makes Fluent! 7 Language Learning Challenges You Can Do Every DayListen and RepeatDownload short clips in your target language to listen to daily and repeat whats being said. Start with only a few seconds at a time so you can concentrate on each sound and gradually build up to longer and longer clips.Her e are some great places you can find audio clips in your target language:Podcasts are a fantastic way to find bite-sized, natural audio in your target language that you can carry anywhere on your phone. You can try authentic foreign podcasts or podcasts created especially for language learners.Check out these resources to find songs in your target language, including several with built-in study tools.Dictations  are recordings of someone reading or speaking for a short amount of time in another language, and are commonly used in language classes to practice writing and pronunciation. A good place to find dictations is YouTubeâ€"just type the language youre learning plus dictation in the search bar.Using a mixture of audio sources will give you more of a variety of words and sounds to absorb.Write in a Language JournalThe purpose of a language journal is for you to actively use your new vocabulary and to learn how to express yourself in your target language. Keeping a foreign languag e dictionary handy during this exercise is also helpful, in case you need to look up a few words.Begin by writing a short introductory paragraph about yourself, such as where youre from, how old you are, what you like to do on weekends, etc. You can also simply record your plans for the day (if youre writing in the morning) or what happened each day (if youre writing at night). For more formal writing practice, try writing letters or emails to friends.Something else I like to do is write about something I love, like my dog or my family. Its hard to get bored or lose focus on topics like that! You could also write about an activity, like swimming or hiking, to pick up  specialized vocabulary thats important to you.Watch Subtitled MediaWatching foreign language TV and movies is a fun way to get listening practice. But dont just kick your feet up and zone out. Put on those subtitles to help you follow the script while learning new words and phrases.Again, FluentU is a useful resource h ere because the subtitles are crafted especially for language learners. Just click any word you dont recognize for an in-context definition, visual learning aid, native pronunciation and links to other videos that use the word. Plus, there are English-translated captions that you can easily toggle on or off depending on how difficult you want your challenge to be.Record YourselfTry recording yourself on your phone, reading aloud or just talking, then play it back to see what words you still need to work on pronouncing. While it can be a little cringe-worthy to hear yourself speak aloud in another language (or even your native language!) its really helpful in catching your bad pronunciation habits. I also find  this really helpful for eliminating hesitations and ums when Im speaking.One of the simplest ways to find speaking material for this exercise is to simply take something youve written in your language journal and record yourself reading it out loud. You can also find  a news a rticle online from the country whose language youre learning.Want real native speakers to correct your recordings and catch the mistakes youre not even aware of? Submit your recordings to HiNative, an app that connects you with native speakers who can answer your questions and help you improve.Memorize a Word of the DayTry to master one new word or phrase a day. Dont just memorize its definitionâ€"try to use it in a sentence, either in your head throughout the day or in writing in your language journal. This is a simple and efficient way to make sure your vocabulary is always growing.News articles are again a great source for this activity since they use everyday language thats relevant to todays speakers. Anytime you encounter a word in an article that you dont know, make it your word of the day. You can also simply open up a dictionary to a random page and look for a new, useful word. As time goes on, increase the difficulty of the words you want to master.Listen to AudiobooksThe benefit of listening to books is that you get added context from the person reading the book. Their voice acting wont just help you better understand the plot of the story, but also intonation and stress in your target language. Theyre also a great supplement to the shorter listening activity we discussed aboveâ€"as you fall into the adventure, romance or mystery of a good book, itll be easier and easier to listen for longer lengths of time.Plus, you can listen to an audiobook while youre doing anything, from cleaning up the house to driving!Start with something easy, like childrens books or books youve already read (Harry Potter is a particular favorite among beginner language learners).Heres where to find audiobooks for every stage of your language learning journey.Switch Your Tech SettingsIf you have a smartphone or tablet, try adding a foreign language keyboard that you can type in when surfing online, writing notes to yourself or posting on social media.You can also switch all the language settings on your phone, tablet or email to another language. Its a little thing that can help you get used to reading in your target language every day.Here are instructions to change an Apple devices language settings. Heres your guide if you have an Android device.Pushing yourself to practice every day can help you learn the basics of the language faster because youre really working to cement those concepts in your brain. And if you forget a day, no worries, because like any skill, language is a process. Remember that the whole point of any challenge is to improve a skill, not to become fluent overnight. This is meant to be challenging, but its also meant to be fun, so pushing through any obstacles will be worth it in the long run. And One More ThingYou can start challenging yourself with FluentU today. FluentU makes it possible to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, news and inspiring talks.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that rea l people speak them. FluentU has a wide variety of videos, like movie trailers, funny commercials and web series, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse ScreenFluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover over or tap on the subtitles to instantly view definitions.FluentU Interactive TranscriptsYou can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs quiz mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.