The Magical Mixture How to Master All Four Language Skills

The Magical Mixture How to Master All Four Language Skills The Magical Mixture: How to Master All Four Language Skills Abracadabra!  Hocus pocus!  Presto chango!Have you ever wished that you could just mix the right ingredients, say the magic words andâ€"poof!â€"be fluent in the language of your choice?Life would be so much easier.You wouldnt have to download apps, buy programs, watch videos or read books.You could just speak whatever language you wanted at will.Oh, the fantasy of it all.This goes without saying, but here goes anyway: In the real world, its just not that easy.Learning a language requires concentration, dedication and  mad skillz.  Now, while these skills may not be easy to master, they are at least easy to understand and name.Knowing what the four essential language skills are and how to use them is the first step towards reaching your goal.So, you want to know more? Good. Lets dive in. The Four Language SkillsLearning a new language can be difficult. There are so many new words, sounds, idioms  and nuances. Some days you think youve got it, and the next day nothing makes sense. An yone whos ever learned a new language is right there with you. But believe it or not, you only need  four  main skills to achieve fluency.Thats good news, right?Heres some even better news: You probably already know what they are. In order to become fluent in a language, you need to master these four basic skills:ListeningReadingWritingSpeakingWhen youre reading and listening to a language, youre using a  passive skill.  Youre consuming the language.Speaking and writing, on the other hand, are  active skills.  Youre producing the language, which requires a different mental muscle.How Much Should You Focus On Each Language Skill?How much you should focus on each language skill depends entirely on your situation, however, here are a couple of steps you can take to assess which skills you need to give extra attention to.Understand your strengths and weaknessesYoull often hear people who learn another language mention that theyre weakest in listening or speaking. This makes sense. While one is a passive skill and one an active skill, both speaking and listening are skills that fall somewhat out of your control, and so are likely to need more work. For instance, you cant control how fast or slow someone else will speak, and when youre still learning, the faster someone speaks the harder they are to understand.With speaking, the amount of control you have depends on the situation. If youre outside of a teaching/learning setting you dont (or you feel you dont) really have time to think for too long or look up words as you need them. Pressure sets in, then panic sets in, and then your confidence evaporates like a drop of water on a hot pan. We tend to want the words to come out quickly and clearly, but most of the time they dont, because we havent developed that speaking muscle just yet.Reading and writing, on the other hand, you can control. Generally, theyre both solitary activities. With both, you can go as fast or slow as youd like. You can stop and do a search fo r translations. People tend to pick up on these two skills much quicker than speaking and listening, because they can take their time developing the skills. Ironically, though, speaking and listening, the skills that we tend to covet the most, are also the skills that we try to rush, even though they often take longer to master.The scenarios mentioned above are common, but they may not apply to everyone. So think about it. What are your strengths and weaknesses?Keep building up your strengths, but dont push the weaknesses off to the side. Set goals to get them stronger. With enough consistent practice, youll see improvement.Determine your needsDepending on what your needs are,  youll need to master at least three skills if you want to be fluent (you might be able to get by without writing depending on what your situation is).Mastering all four, however, is time consuming. Before you jump into a long-term study plan, first determine what your needs are.Why are you learning? Is it for fun? Work? Family? Only you know how youll be using the language, so you should tailor your learning in a way that will be both efficient and effective. You dont want to waste time building up skills that youll never use. If you have the time, great, go for it. If not, focus more of your energy on the skills that you need the most.The Magical Mixture: How to Master All Four Language SkillsListeningThis is arguably the second-toughest skill to master, but mastering it is just a matter of daily exposure. Here are some fun and easy ways to get listening inâ€"ways that you can controlâ€"so that youll have more confidence in real-world situations.Try Duolingo Stories.Duolingo has a great relatively new feature called Duolingo Stories. Its currently available for German, Spanish, Portuguese and French, and it allows users to read along with short audio stories. You can toggle over words or phrases that you dont understand, and also play back sentences that you didnt fully grasp.Stories w ill also do periodic checks to see if youre comprehending the words that you hear. Its a great way to slowly develop your listening skills, because while the speakers here speak a little more colloquially than what you might be used to when youre working through the regular Duolingo lessons, they still speak clearly and at a moderate pace so that you dont get lost.In order to build your listening skills, go for at least one story a day. Youre going to encounter a lot of new vocabulary and phrases. Take the time to make sure you understand everything youve heard, and then when youre ready, move on to the next story.Also, a bonus for Spanish learners: Once you exhaust Duolingo Stories, you can head over to the Duolingo Spanish podcast to keep building.Listen to songs in your target language on repeat.Music is such a great way to build listening skills as a language learner. Unlike movies and television, music is something we memorize. We learn the words and we sing along. With access to countless volumes of music through YouTube and streaming services, you can spend an entire day discovering new music in your target language and strengthen your listening skills.If its your first time hearing a song, look up the lyrics online and sing along. Play the song over and over again until youre sick of it. By that time, you wont need the lyrics anymore, because youll know every word.Another great thing about learning through music is the repetition. There are millions of songs, by millions of artists, but they seem to all pick from the same pot when they write. You couldnt begin to count the number of songs that use words such as  heart, dance, love, baby, night, dream, life, time  and the list goes on.When you start exploring the work of musicians in your target language, youll come to a point where you wont need to check the lyrics as often, because youve heard the words before. You understand. From there, youll be able to pick up those words in conversation.Make sure to squeeze in music wherever you can. During your morning routine, your commute. If you have a desk job, even better. Youll be impressed with how quickly your audio comprehension improves.A good way to find songs is to search Google for popular artists in your target language, if you dont already know any, and then search for the artist on YouTube or your favorite streaming service.Theres also a wonderful website called LyricsTraining where you can make a game out of learning lyrics by listening to songs and then filling in the gaps in the lyrics. They provide music in several different languages, at all levels of learning.Watch 3-5 videos per day on  YouTube  or FluentU.YouTube videos are great for quick, controlled listening. You can find short and long video clips about pretty much anything that interests you. You can subscribe to several channels in your target language so that you learn the most current slang and colloquialisms while also staying up-to-date on culture.If theyre available, you can also easily turn on subtitles in English or in your target language, which will make it easier to follow along.If you subscribe to the channel Easy Languagesâ€"which  theres a good chance has videos in your target languageâ€"you can watch short videos of people discussing different topics with subtitles in both English and the language youre learning.FluentU is a great way to streamline this whole process, as it starts with videos and gives you essential learning features like subtitles and vocab lists right there on the site. FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language lessons. This makes it easy to browse (and track your progress with) authentic videos by topic, format and level, as well as to work on multiple skills at once (reading, listening, typing words from memory).Theres also a speed option on YouTube  (under Settings), which you may or may not know about. For a language learner, its a gift. When you slow down the speed of the videos youre able to pick up on more words and phrases, and when youre ready, you can speed it back up again to see how much youve learned. You can also make the videos go faster than normal, just to challenge yourself, and then when you go back to normal speed the native speaker wont sound so fast to you anymore.Again, find moments to fit these in. Unlike with TV and movies, you dont have to commit to a full hour or even a half hour. Just find five-to-ten-minute chunks of time to get your listening in, and youll be happy with the results once you notice how much progress youve made.ReadingWhile reading might be the most passive skill, that doesnt necessarily mean its easy. Text that may be casual reading in your native language can take double or triple the time to fully comprehend in a new language. Here are some ways to build your reading skills.Change language settings on everything.Most people spend large chunks of their time engaged with an electronic device. Use that to your advantage. If youre reading this post, then theres a good chance that youve got access to at least one, if not all, of these devices: a television, a laptop, a computer, a tablet, a cellphone, a Fitbit and the list goes on.As a language learner, youll want to take every opportunity to expose yourself to your target language, especially if you live in an area where your target language isnt widely spoken. So change your language settings to your target language on every device you can.Even if reading isnt part of your ultimate goal, this strategy is still very useful. Youll be building vocabulary with the repetition of notifications and common features that you use on your device. After a very short while, these words will be embedded in your brain the way your native language is. And any words embedded in your brain are words that you can speak.So in the end, this simple change will help a great deal.Read one news ar ticle per day.At minimum. If youre a person who spends a lot of time on your cellphone or in front of a computer, then this should be easy to do. You just have to make the effort, which isnt always so easy. And if youve ever read more than a paragraph of writing in another language you didnt know very well, then you know how trying it can be.Unlike language learning programs, where the reading material is purposefully written in easy-to-understand verbiage, online articles are written for native speakers.If youve tried it, you know that in reading an article in a foreign language youll be hit with both words youve never seen before and words that you recognize but are arranged in such odd combinations that your mental translations are nothing short of gibberish. This is why you have to read. The only way to get used to a native flow is to expose yourself to native text.Just take five minutes during your commute or your work break to pull up an article of interest in your target lang uage and start reading. You dont even have to finish it all in one shot. You can spend days on the same article if you have to. Just make sure you give yourself constant exposure, and youll see that over time the reading will become much easier.The best way to go about finding articles is to do a Google search for something like  best news sites for ___ learners.   Youll likely end up with links to websites like  FluentU that will give you a list for all the best news websites for someone at your level.Here are some lists for common languages to start you off:9 Great Resources to Learn Spanish Through the News12 News Sites to Get Your Fill of the French Press5 Friendly German News Sites That Are Just Right for Learners8 Awesome Tips for Learning Japanese with the NewsAnother option is to do a search for news in your target language.Read what the teens are reading.Books for teens and young adults are another great resource for immersing yourself in a language. The text is going to be less mature and less jargony than a journalistic article, for example, and so youll find that youll have less of a headache getting through the text.One great idea is to get a book that youve already read in your target language. For example, if youre a fan of series such as Harry Potter or The Hunger Games, youve probably read the books more than once and know the stories inside out.When reading these stories in your target language, you wont struggle so hard to figure out what youre reading, and will likely be able to easily translate words youve never seen before just because you already know the story.Whats great about books in general is the repetition. Unlike an online article, books have a lot more real estate to cover, and so youll see the same words reappear several times throughout your reading. You probably wont even be midway through before some words are embedded in your brain.So if youre not ready to jump into the (sometimes) more advanced-level reading of professiona l articles, then slowly work your way through a middle-grade to young adult book. Its how we built our native language reading skills in the first place, so theres no shame in it.WritingThis is probably the skill youll use least as a language learner, unless your job requires it. It can be just as important as any of the other skills, though, so check out three ways to get more writing time in.Make your to-do list a little more interesting.A lot of us cant get by without making a checklist of all the things we have to do in our day. We all have such busy schedules and its hard to keep track without a to-do list. Well, if youre a language learner, language practice is probably on that list. So, why not get your practice in at the start of your day?When making your list of things-to-do for the day, or for the week, however you organize your time, try writing all of your tasks in your target language. Not only is it a good way to practice, but its also a great way to wake up your brain (for more language learning later in the day *wink wink*).Find an online pen pal.It sounds old-fashioned, but having a pen pal in 2018 isnt the same as having a pen pal in, lets say, 1998. You wont be writing letters and mailing them to some far-off country, at least, not unless you choose to. Today, you can find a pen pal online and have a dialogue from anywhere at anytime.Depending on the relationship you have with your pen pal, you can go back and forth in emails, or maybe youll communicate through one of many websites or apps. A written exchange with a pen pal helps you actually  see your mistakes.Sometimes, its easier to correct yourself when you have a visual of where things went wrong. With speaking, even when were corrected, oftentimes it can go in one ear and out the other, because our minds are still trying to get through the rest of the sentence.You can find pen pals online through websites such as Interpals and My Language Exchange. For more websites, click here.Write s hort stories.Dont panic. No one is suggesting that you become the next Raymond Carver or Margaret Atwood. However, tapping into your creative side is a fun way to break up some of the monotony of typical language practice. You can literally write stories about anything.They can be as long or as short as you want, and the most beautiful part of it all is that no one ever has to see them.Writing stories will help you think about the language in a different way. Youll get the chance to explore words and topics that you might not use, or think to use, in everyday conversations. Youll be thinking in similes and metaphors, and playing with word combinations.You might notice a huge boost in your confidence. Most people are afraid to write stories in their native language, so imagine the triumph youll feel after having done it in a foreign one.Try starting this on a day off or when youve got at least two or three hours to spare. Youll want to be able to take your time, so it doesnt have to be completed in one day. Maybe set a goal to finish a story in a week, and do a small bit every day. As long as youre putting pen to paperâ€"or fingers to keyboardâ€"youll be progressing.SpeakingThe holy grail for language learners, right? More than anything else, we learn new languages because we want to be able to speak them. If youre not sure how you can get more speaking time in, the three suggestions below should set you on the right path.Find a partner on iTalki.The language exchange website iTalki has three different options for partnering up with a language buddy. You can either pair up with a member of the iTalki community, a tutor or a teacher. Pairing up with a member of the community is free, and if youre on a tight budget, then this might be your best option.The only downside to having a language exchange partner is that you have to split speaking time. The most typical arrangement is thirty minutes apiece for each language.When you have tutor or a teacher, its all abou t you. While these options cost moneyâ€"the tutor being the less-structured, but budget-friendlier optionâ€"youll have someone whos one-hundred-percent invested in you. With a tutor or a teacher, you can set a regular schedule, so that every week youre guaranteed to have  at least one day where you get to practice for however long youve arranged it with your instructor.Join a local language Meetup.And make sure its active. Youll want to join a group that has regular events, because that way you know youre dealing with people who are serious about learning and practice. Its great to be able to learn with a group of other learners. In Meetup groups, you can find people at all levels and engage in dialogue on any topic in a safe and non-judgmental environment.A lot of times the Meetup groups gather in locations where theres food or drink, and many times at venues with a cultural link to the language youre learning for a more immersive experience. So if you want to break up some of the loneliness of learning solo and share your frustrations and triumphs with like-minded companions, log on to Meetup and find a group that fits your needs.Go directly to the source.If you like to read tips about the best way to go about learning a language, youre almost always going to find  immersion on the list. Theres a reason for that. Its the most effective way to learn. Of course, its not the most practical, and so we offer workarounds.So, to say it straight, if you have the time, money and opportunity to travel to a country where your target language is spoken, then go, stay at least three months and have the time of your life. When you come back home, youll be a lot more fluent than when you left.If you cant leave the country, then immerse yourself locally. If you live in a big city, or near a big city, you have access to so many different cultural communities. If your target language is Spanish, hang out in the Hispanic neighborhoods, go to the restaurants, read, listen, spea k.But, you may be thinking, What if my foreign language is French, German, Urdu, etc.? Some communities are going to be easier to access than others, depending where you live. However, thats what the internet is for. Do a search and you can find whats available within a comfortable distance from home.If you still cant find what youre looking for nearby, thats okay. You can use some of the suggestions above such as YouTube, FluentU, pen pals or language exchange to get an immersive experience.Its a challenge to learn a language, but what a great one!Find ways to make it fun and interesting and it wont feel like learning at all.You can do this, so get out there and start strengthening those skills!