Tony’s Top Ten Tips for Learning a New Language

I have been trying to learn Spanish for a while now. My dream is to be fluent some day. I would love to maybe even teach English in a bilingual school in Central America. I’ve been trying a lot of different things to learn more. It has been helping a lot. I even got the opportunity to translate my teammates testimony for her at our youth event. That was such an incredible feelings, but being an adrenaline junky, I can’t stop thinking about how to have more of that. I can have a pretty basic conversation and translate for my friends pretty well if they keep it in present tense, but I want to be fluent. I was speaking to a woman about my Spanish the other day. I told her that I have trouble knowing which is past tense, which is present, and which is future. Her six year old overheard and with the sweetest and more endearing smile came over to explain to me that, “past is when it already happened before, present is right now, and future is not yet, like maybe tomorrow. Now do you understand?” While I am incredibly thankful that he cleared that up for me, I still have so much more to learn.

So I asked our ministry host, Tony, what he thought the best way to learn a new language was. I have heard things like full immersion, watching TV in the language, etc. But since he had learned English so fluently later in life, I was curious to hear his input. I figured that he must know the best way. Honestly, I thought he was going to say reading or something, I had no idea he was going to go into depth like this, but hey, it’s Tony, we should come to expect these quirky rants that both make you laugh at the ridiculousness but also make you think. The perfect mixture of wisdom and goofiness that I love. So here it is, Tony’s Top Ten Tips for Learning a New Language.

1. Heart

The first tip is to have heart. He said that in whatever you do, it is important to have your heart fully in it. You have to be passionate about what you are doing. You have to have a good reason for learning this new language, that reason has to push you. The “why” behind it all will keep you going when you feel like quitting.

2. Mirror

The second tip is to practice in front of the mirror every morning. I thought this one was really wise. I said, “Oh yeah, so that you can see how your mouth is pronouncing each word and to grow in confidence as well.” Tony replied, “No, it’s because no one wants to learn alone. In the mirror you will have a friend to learn with.” 

3. Opportunities

The third tip is to make the most out of every opportunity to learn. Seek out chances to practice the new language or even just to hear it being spoken. He spoke of people going to sleep listening to the radio in the new language just to be hearing it more. Talk with locals, listen to locals. If you see a street sign in a different language, read it out loud, try to figure out what it is saying. Practice just for fun.

4. Dictionary

Tip number four is to get a really good bilingual dictionary. He specifically recommended the kind that has a definition of the word. He went into quite a lot of depth as to how important it is for the dictionary to have the definition of the word. Last night, I was trying to read a children’s book in Spanish to learn more. I kept having to pause to ask Tony what specific words meant from across the kitchen. He said that though that is fun, it would be easier if I had a dictionary and could do it on my own. I asked if he only said that because I was annoying him so much asking what words meant, but he replied, “No, no, I am really enjoying the book you are reading. Please continue reading it to me.” It’s Diary of A Wimpy Kid. 

5. Grace

The fifth rule is to not be afraid to be wrong. “Please, please, please, just keep trying, even when you are wrong.” He says that everyone is so concerned all the time with being perfect, but in reality “no one speaks perfectly, even in their first language”. Have grace with yourself. No one is expecting you to wake up fluent one day. This is something I have been working on a lot. God is teaching me to have grace with myself. Thanks for the reminder, Tony. Thanks for Tony, God.

6. Pray

Number six is to pray about it. Tony said that he prayed every morning for the Lord to give him more understanding of English. He didn’t just pray and expect it to come out of nowhere. He still worked hard at it. He planted the seed and trusted that the Lord would bring the harvest. He wanted to learn this new language to serve the Lord, God blessed that. 

7. Travel

Tip seven is to travel to a place that speaks that language. This could be a country, a town, or even just a neighborhood. For example, if you really want to learn Chinese, Chinatown would be a great place to start. Go somewhere that you can overhear the language everywhere you go. He also said it would be helpful to get a job in that place. Being in a situation where you either have to understand what someone is saying or get fired, it helps. Tony worked at Target in Florida for 5 months on a work visa to help him learn. 

8. Everyday

Tony’s eighth tip is to work at it every single day. He even spoke of someone who practiced all day sometimes. “I am not a fanatic like this, but maybe you will be”. As often as you can practice, you should. I told him that I was afraid of losing my Spanish when we headed over to Asia because I won’t be hearing it everyday. He said, “Oh no, this is not an option. You must continue, every day, no matter what, every day.” So I guess that part was pretty serious. 

9. Friends

Tip number nine, “The last one, wait no”. This tip is to call a friend or family member that speaks this language every day. If you don’t have a friend that speaks the language, find one. Make a friend that you can call every morning to talk with in the language that you would like to learn. Practicing with someone that you care about is very important. They will have grace with you and want to help you learn so that you guys can communicate better. 

10. El Final

The last and most important tip in Tony’s opinion, “This one is for you, Kaley, are you ready?” Rule number ten is “You need to find a boyfriend that speaks this new language”. He claims that would be the best way for me to learn. “You care about people, I see this. And when people like someone, they hang on their every word, what a great way to learn!” I said, “Tony, so your advice for me is to get a boyfriend?” Tony replied, “Yes, of course, as quickly as you can.” His heart is good. Similar to the ninth tip, he feels like this is important because when you care about someone you will want to be able to communicate well with them. Similar to the first rule, it is all about where your heart it. 

So if you are looking to learn a new language, feel free to give “Tony’s Top Ten Tips for Learning a New Language” a try. Or just buy Rosetta Stone, I heard that’s good too. Tony’s way is much more fun though. 

-K