5 Things to Know Before Self-Teaching Your First Language

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Self-teaching is a world away from the classroom. Not only do you get to teach yourself the information, but you also have to self-motivate and find your own resources. Nevertheless, self-teaching a language can be one of the most enjoyable hobbies out there, which also gives you a new skill which can be used both in the workplace and in your social life! Here are 5 things to know before you begin.

1. It's never too early to try. Whether you're learning in order to speak to someone, read a book in the language, or just for fun, it's never too early to try to say, read, write or listen to resources in the language. The more you do each of these things, the more you will become comfortable with them, even if it's scary or very difficult to begin with. You can record an audio message for a friend, write a diary or use your language however you want - practice makes perfect, and mistakes are just a part of the process!

2. Consistency is key. It's great when you're really enthusiastic when you've just started learning - you learn so much in the first few hours, and go from knowing nothing at all to being able to introduce yourself or even have a basic conversation about a specific topic. But at the end of a long working day or when you don't feel like you're making such fast progress, it can be difficult not to just skip a day on the promise that you'll work harder tomorrow. But tomorrow can easily become 'sometime' which becomes 'one day', and you won't have progress beyond the first stage. On the other hand, committing to study every day by listening to music in that language, watching a TV show, doing grammar exercises or any other method will gradually make your new hobby into a part of your life that you wouldn't be without. Not every day has to be an intense study day, and something will always help you progress more than doing nothing will, right?!

3. 10 minutes practicing is worth 30 minutes memorising. It's always tempting to spend all our study time trying to get vocabulary and grammatical rules into our heads. Doing grammar exercises and using the language to chat to friends can be so much more tiring. Yet, using the language is why we start learning in the first place, and practicing using our new skills is the best way to enssure that we fully understand. So, however daunting it may be, you'll never regret spending time practicing your language!

4. You can learn in your own way. Studytube and studygram are great because they inspire us to get learning and keep going. From study with me videos to aesthetics desk pictures, they create a community around language learning which can really help us. But that doesn't mean that you have to study languages in exactly the same way as the people you're watching, or even to how you studied them at school. If you're learning for fun, use the methods you find fun. If you're learning for another reason, you can identify the techniques that are the most effective for you individually. (comment your favourite language learning methods below!)

5. Choose one main information source, and stick with it. With the internet and libraries and so many resources around us, it might seem logical to dip in and out of lots of different textbooks and apps to find our favourites. And whilst this might end with us knowing what we like in a language learning resource, it also prevents us from gaining continuity or from seeing our progress. So go for it and buy a textbook if you'd like, but you don't need to buy all of them. Every day that you're learning will make you better with your language, and having a singular main resource doesn't change that.

So there you have it, 5 things to know before you start self-teaching! Congratulations for starting your language learning journey, and I hope to hear about your progress soon in the comments!