Best Way To Learn A New Language As An Adult: Simple 9-Step Guide

Are you in your 20s or 30s, even 40s-90s, and you still have the desire to learn a foreign language? Have people around you been telling you that it’s too late to learn a language at your age and it will be difficult?

I’ll convince you in this article that none of this is true.  Anybody can learn a foreign language. No matter how old you are and where you are. You don’t need to have a special talent for languages. You must only follow a good language-learning method, stay motivated, and have fun while learning.

I’ve already learned 3 foreign languages and keep learning more. Throughout the years, I’ve developed my own way of learning a language as an adult. I’d like to share it in this article and encourage you to start learning your dream language, too.

Are you ready? Let’s get into it.

Best Way To Learn A New Language As An Adult: 9-Step Guide

Here is an overview of the steps I recommend you take when learning a new language as an adult. Follow each step, get the necessary material, and don’t forget to enjoy the process; that’s essential:

1. Choose a language, write down your motivation & clear reasons
2. Select 5 topics (situations) in which you’ll learn vocabulary
3. Choose words you’ll need to communicate in each situation
4. Learn vocabulary within each topic
5. Create sentences & dialogues within each topic
6. Incorporate more resources (listening & reading)
7. Repeat the process for each topic & learn basic vocabulary
8. Practice speaking
9. Go on a trip & practice speaking in each situation

1. Choose A Language & Write Down Your Motivation & Clear Reasons

So firstly, choose one language you want to learn. It’s best to choose a language that interests you (maybe because you’re interested in the culture of the country where it’s spoken) or a language you know you’ll use in your life.

Afterward, write down your motivation and reasons why you want to learn the language in your language notebook. Once you have it, think about clear reasons why you want to learn the language. It can be for travel, a job, working abroad, or just for fun.

Your why is essential at the beginning of your language-learning journey. It’ll keep you motivated when you feel like letting it go.

2. Select 5 Topics (Situations) In Which You’ll Learn Vocabulary

When you have the motivation, reasons, and goals, let’s start with our language learning.

Then, think about at least 5 topics (situations) within which you’ll speak the foreign language. Write them down in your language notebook.

Example: Let’s say you want to learn a language for travel. Think about topics (situations) where you’ll speak the language when traveling. It can be in a hotel, in a restaurant, booking a sightseeing tour, at the airport, or in a bakery. So my topics (situations) will be:

• Hotel
• Restaurant
• Booking a sightseeing tour
• Airport
• Bakery

👉 READ ALSO: 8 Topics To Learn When Learning A New Language: For Beginners

3. Choose Words You’ll Need To Communicate In Each Situation

Once you have your topics, it’s time to start learning.

Choose one topic you want to start with. Then, think about all the words you’ll need to speak within that topic (situation). Next, write these words in your native language. After, translate these words into your target language using an online translator such as DeepL or ChatGPT.

Don’t forget to listen to the pronunciation of each word and repeat it. Knowing how to pronounce these words correctly from the beginning is important.

Focus on 10 – 20 words per day. It’s enough. Don’t stuff your brain with too many words at once because too much pressure will lead you to stop learning altogether. So less is more.

4. Learn Vocabulary Within Each Topic

Once you have your 10 – 20 words written in your native language and translated into your target language, start learning them. I have some great ideas for you to learn vocabulary. Check out my article about how to learn vocabulary fast and choose your favorite method to memorize your words.

You’ll create flashcards, play pexeso, associate words with images, and much more. These techniques will help you learn your new vocabulary in a fun and effective way.

5. Create Sentences & Dialogues Within Each Topic

After learning a lot of vocabulary within the first topic, it’s time to get more creative.
Take all the words, and try to construct a few sentences.

Best approach is to imagine you’re in that situation in a foreign country and need to speak to a local. Let’s say, you’re ordering something in a restaurant.

Write down the entire dialogue in your native language, what you would say, and what the waiter (or the person you’re talking to) would say.

Then, translate the dialogue into your target language (using ChatGPT or DeepL translator and the words you’ve learned within the topic).

👉 READ ALSO: How To Learn A Language By Yourself: My Proven Language Learning Tips

6. Incorporate More Resources (Listening & Reading)

You’ll need some good language resources to boost your language process. I recommend starting to listen to podcasts or audiobooks and also reading simple text.

Pick a podcast that talks about the topic within which you learn vocabulary.

Here are some of my favorite podcasts. Choose one, find an episode related to your topic, and listen.

✅ Coffee Break Languages
✅ LanguagePod101
✅ The Fluent Show
✅ News In Slow

You don’t have to understand it at the beginning; it’s important to be in contact with the language. And once you understand a few words that you’ve already learned, it’ll boost your motivation, you’ll see.

Incorporate some reading as well. Here are some of my favorite foreign language books for beginners or language magazines. Choose a story or a dialogue that’s again related to your topic. Whenever you come across a new word, add it to your list of words to learn in your language notebook.

If you want more fun, watch TV shows and movies. I use Lingopie to watch movies in different languages. It’s a great platform that also motivates you to learn new vocabulary as you watch. It’s like a Netflix for language learners.

➡ Check out Lingopie & watch your favorite TV shows or movies in a foreign language here.

7. Repeat The Process For Each Topic & Learn Basic Vocabulary

Follow this process (learning vocabulary in topics and constructing dialogues) for each topic you’ve chosen.

Besides, keep listening to podcasts/audiobooks and reading some books and magazines. Don’t force yourself, do whatever you feel like doing that day. If you don’t feel like memorizing new words, listen to an audiobook.

Also, learn basic vocabulary such as numbers, months, foods, directions, etc.

8. Practice Speaking

Congratulations. You’ve learned a lot and made a big step in language learning. Whenever you feel comfortable and have learned the basics of your foreign language, it’s time to practice speaking.

Speaking is one of the most important skills of language learning. I recommend you start practicing it as soon as possible. The trick here is to learn basic vocabulary such as greetings, sentence structure, colors, food and drinks, and adjectives. You can learn all of this on your own.

And, of course, learn words within the topics (situations) you chose at the beginning. Once you know these basics, it’s time to practice speaking.

I practice speaking on iTalki. It’s an online platform with many native speakers, so you can choose a tutor that fits you best and schedule a lesson with him.

Afterward, I suggest telling him about what you’ve learned and going through the dialogues you constructed for yourself. Ask him to practice speaking within each situation.

It’ll help you overcome your fear of speaking before you want to talk to locals.

➡ Check out iTalki & practice speaking with natives here.

9. Go On A Trip & Practice Speaking In Each Situation

Amazing. Congratulations. You’ve now made it. You have done everything to learn your foreign language.

When you feel like you’re ready to advance your language learning, go to the country where your language is spoken and practice it with locals.

Travel to the country where the foreign language is spoken and practice in the situations you initially wrote down in your language travel notebook. Practice the vocabulary in each topic (the situation you chose).

Book a hotel online in a foreign language. Go to the airport and speak in the language. After, do check-in in a hotel speaking the language. And order food in a restaurant in your foreign language. You’ll see how satisfying it is.

If you need inspiration for things to do in European countries, check out my travel itineraries. I designed them for a few days in each country so that you can get the most out of your trip.

Benefits Of Learning A Language As An Adult

Here are a few benefits you’ll gain if you start learning your dream language, based on my own experience:

• keeps you excited about life as an adult
• trains your brain
• adds a hobby to your life
• motivates you and makes you proud of your achievements
• expand your network & make new friends
• makes you more open-minded

I believe that learning languages as an adult makes you more excited about your life overall. Sometimes, as adults, we fall into the trap of just going to work and catering to our family’s needs, which is fine, but we also need to think of ourselves. So learning a new language adds a new hobby and makes your life more interesting.

Speaking another language always trains your brain, which is important for your well-being and overall health. It makes you more open-minded and respectful towards other cultures.

Lastly, it creates opportunities and expands your network. If you speak other languages, you’ll get closer to people. You can travel to the country, experience something you (which brings you joy), and even make new friends as an adult, which is often more difficult than when you’re a child.

Knowing a foreign language just brings your life to the next level, so go ahead and follow your dream of learning. It’ll pay off 100%.

👉 READ ALSO: 7 Benefits Of Learning A Foreign Language For Travel

Best App To Learn A New Language As An Adult

Memrise, Babbel, Lingopie, and iTalki are the best apps for learning a new language as an adult. If you want to learn new vocabulary, go for Memrise or Babbel.

Incorporate Lingopie to listen to the pronunciation and watch movies in foreign languages.

And practice speaking on iTalki, which is the most essential step to achieving your goals in the language.

BONUS: What To Learn In A New Language: Complete Guide For Beginners

If you want to go even more into detail of what to learn in a new language, I’ve written a separate article about the topics and things I recommend you learn.

I’ve designed an exact schedule for the first 8 weeks of your language journey when you’re just starting. Each week contains exact things to learn (such as greetings, basic verbs, and words), so you can cover the basics as a beginner.

Click on the image below and extend your knowledge of what exactly to learn:

Get My Language Travel Notebook

I’ve also created a language notebook to keep track of new vocabulary you want to learn. Whenever you come across a word you want to learn, mark it and return to it when you forget it or need to remember it.

Click on the image below to get the language travel notebook:

Free Downloadable Sheets: 100 Words & Phrases To Learn As A Beginner

I’ve also created a sheet with 100 basic words and phrases I suggest you learn as a complete beginner. It contains basic phrases on various topics.

You can download it by clicking on the image below for free:

FAQs

I’ve also answered some of the frequently asked questions about language learning as adults. So check my answers below:

Can I Become Fluent In A Language As An Adult?

Yes, you can. It’s best to have a clear reason for learning the language and make the learning process interesting. Incorporate resources that make it more fun, and don’t overload yourself with too much learning. Less is more.

How Long Does It Take The Average Adult To Learn A New Language?

2 years. It also depends on which language you want to learn. But we are all busy as adults, and I find that 2 years is generally a good time to accomplish your language learning goals.

What Is The Easiest Language To Learn As An Adult?

Spanish is the easiest language to learn as an adult. Mainly because the sentences and speaking are easy, compared to other languages, and it’s a Latin language, so if your native language is the Latin language (which for most people is), it’ll be easier for you to learn thanks to a similar structure and words.

What Is The Hardest Language To Learn As An Adult?

Chinese and Finnish are the hardest languages to learn, especially as an adult. You’ll most probably have to learn new writing and characters (with Chinese), and Finnish comes from a completely different language group than most of the languages, so it makes it more difficult to grasp the structure.

Best Way To Learn A Language For Free

Learning vocabulary in topics and situations where you know you’ll use the language later makes the language-learning process more practical and easier to grasp. It will also motivate you, as you know that once you learn it, you’ll get to use it in real life.

WRAP-UP: Best Way To Learn A New Language As An Adult

This is my approach to learning languages as an adult. Don’t forget to make it fun; the more fun it is, the more efficient you’ll be. Book that trip to another country; it’ll motivate you to learn even more. Have something to look forward to and celebrate every small achievement. Don’t be too harsh on yourself; if you can’t keep up with your goals, take it easy.

If you have any questions or need help learning languages, contact me at info(at)voicesoftravel.com.

Happy Learning!