A Practical Guide to Learning a New Language

From frustration to fluency in 18 months: lessons from my journey of immersion, discipline, and connection

1.5 years ago I barely spoke a word of Spanish. Today, I’m confidently conducting business meetings with clients across Latin America. I’m seamlessly navigating daily life in Spanish-speaking countries with ease.

Before you think I’m going to sell you a silver bullet and a shortcut for learning a new language in months, let me preface by saying that like, anything worthwhile, it takes time, effort, and commitment. But what the past 1.5 years taught me is that with the right systems and a true desire to learn, you can really achieve anything.

So here we go, a few practical tips that I hope will help you learn the next language.

1. Before you begin, understand your motivations and tie them to a goal

I’ve seen many people fall into the trap of having the best intentions and excitement about learning a new language, to fizzle out after a few weeks or months. This tip comes before even starting to learn: You need to have ‘why.’ The thing that helps you overcome the inevitable hump.

My why was born out of something simple: frustration. As a very communicative and social person, much of the way I present myself is through my words. When I visited Argentina for the first time, I felt that there was a deep and rich culture that was widely inaccessible to me, and the reason was singular: I didn’t speak Spanish.

I would find myself in incredible environments, surrounded by amazing and interesting people. And while they made valiant efforts to communicate in my tongue, I felt embarrassed to be in their country and forcing them to speak MY language.

Your ‘why’ can be anything. It can be a desire to live in a new place, connect to a culture or person, have more success dating, job opportunities. But the ‘why’ must be real and something you connect with on a deep level.

2. Surround yourself with people who are a few steps ahead of you

They say that if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.

Learning a new language is a journey, not a destination, and having peers who have trodden the same path can show you the way. Arguably, you can often learn more from someone who’s actively learning, than from a native speaker who grew up with the language as their mother tongue.

I was lucky enough to meet a friend in my early days of living in Argentina. A Dutch guy who had started learning Spanish about six months earlier. He distilled his learnings for me and helped set me on the right path. We didn’t necesarily converse and practice the language together, but he showed me some of the ropes, recommended a good language school, and showed me what I could be if I applied myself over the coming months.

3. Immersion, Immersion, Immersion

Necessity is the mother of invention. - Plato.

And nothing creates necessity than being surrounded by an environment where nobody speaks your language. Humans are social beings. We sent men to the moon due to our ability to communicate and cooperate. Being dropped into a foreign country, and surrounded by another language forces you to learn.

It’s easy to hide amongst expat communities and never have to learn a word of the local language, but. Embrace the discomfort and immerse.

I had the opportunity of going to Punta del Este for a technology conference with a group of Argentinians. We rented an airbnb, and I was the only non-native Spanish speaker. Every day I was surrounded by Spanish on all sides. It as exhausting, but it was also one of the most valuable and immersive experience I’ve had.

4. Habits > Motivation

No matter how motivated you are, if you don’t create the system to learn, you never will. For me, that involved tying a financial incentive to the learning process. For almost 6 months, even once I returned home to Canada, I had a Spanish lesson every Wednesday from 5-6pm. Even on days when I was tired, or busy with work, I kept that hour sacred. I’d already paid for it, after all.

Having this routine and habit allowed me to continue making progress, even when I was away from LATAM.

5. Build real connections with native speakers

Let’s be real, having an Porteña* girlfriend accelerated my Spanish learning. A LOT.

But I also built a community of friends in Buenos Aires, all tied to my interests. I have friends from basketball, the tech ecosystem, cafes, music, and more. Connecting with these people deepened my experience and brought the culture and language to life. It allowed me to connect with both them and Spanish on a profound level.

It’s not hard to create your community! Just be you! Follow your passions and interests and there are bound to be other people who share it with you.

*"Porteña" is the Spanish word for a female resident of a port city, most commonly referring to a woman from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

6. Listen to music and consume media

Finding Latin artists that I liked and connected with helped immensely. Read the lyrics, connect with them, understand them. You need to continue to immerse yourself in all aspects of the culture. You think understanding rappers in english is difficult, try listening to Bad Bunny and picking out each word. “Ey, Tití me preguntó si tengo mucha' novia’. Mucha' novia.”

Or while at the gym, read the news headlines. Grab a newspaper in the local language and try and figure out how sentences are structured. You understand a lot more from context than you think.

7. Embrace feeling like an idiot

So many people fall short due to fear. The fear of looking stupid.

You have to embrace looking and sounding stupid. It’s inevitable. And it’s also the only way to learn. Practice with locals, order a coffee in the local language, strike up a conversation with the bus driver, say hello to your neighbours, approach that girl at the bar. Nine times out of ten, you’ll be embraced and appreciated for trying to speak their language, for making an effort. You’ll be met with a smile and they might even correct you, which is invaluable feedback. You must practice speaking and listening. It’s the only way to progress.

Conclusion:

Being that immigrant who could barely speak the language gave me an immense amount of respect for people with english as their second language. You inevitably feel less than, you feel dumb, and you don’t feel like yourself. Things feel unnatural, and everyday conversations exhaust you. But once you cross the chasm and gain comfort, the whole world opens up

Learning another language showed me the kindness of the world and the passion people have for their culture. If you show a bit of interest and effort, the whole world will embrace you with open arms.

Open up your mind, your heart, your eyes. Open your ears. And most importantly, open up your mouth and start speaking a new language.