{"id":8853,"date":"2023-09-06T23:57:46","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T03:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/?p=8853"},"modified":"2025-01-24T23:28:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-25T04:28:54","slug":"learn-a-language-in-6-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/learn-a-language-in-6-months\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Learn a Language in 6 Months (According to Experts)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can you really learn a language in just half a year? In my experience, yes, and experts like Chris Lonsdale<\/a>, Benny Lewis<\/a> and Tim Ferriss<\/a> would agree.<\/p>\n

In this post I’ll highlight tips for your own six-month language learning journey and the most important themes from each of these three experts.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

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What Should You Do to Learn a Language in 6 Months?<\/h2>\n

Step 1: Start Using Your Target Language Today<\/h3>\n

This is something all of our experts agree on, but it might sound counterintuitive to beginner language learners. How can you start using a language before you’ve learned any of it?<\/p>\n

In all languages, you already have some words you can access, and when you’re speaking face-to-face or online<\/a>\u00a0with someone you can use hands, facial expressions, noises, props and so on to get your meaning across<\/strong>. As you’ll see below, this idea comes from Chris Lonsdale.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I had a very memorable conversation with a Korean learner of English in Seville, who was using limited vocabulary to explain to us the history of a particular Korean liquor. It was (intentionally) hysterically funny, so don’t worry about your speaking partner getting irritated!<\/p>\n

Find a native speaker near you, take a trip or go online to find chat buddies.<\/strong> It doesn\u2019t matter if you make mistakes\u2014you will!\u2014as this is all part of the process of learning. As you begin to speak, you’ll get familiar with building sentences, listening to the sound of the language and hearing common phrases and expressions.<\/p>\n

Step 2: Familiarize Yourself with the Core Language<\/h3>\n

A common theme from our expert friends is that you need to focus your early learning on core language.<\/strong> In English, for example, this would include functional words like\u00a0and, the, a<\/em>,\u00a0pronouns, such as\u00a0she<\/em>,\u00a0I<\/em>,\u00a0they<\/em>\u00a0and the most commonly used verbs like\u00a0to have<\/em>,\u00a0to be<\/em> and to do<\/em>.<\/p>\n

When you’re in the early stages of learning a language, there will be a steep upward curve as you start to see how you go from saying single words to sentences, and learning these words will form the basis of that.<\/p>\n

How do you know which words to learn? Learn the most common words first<\/strong>. Tim Ferriss lists the 100 most common words<\/a> in written and spoken English, which you can use if you’re an English learner, or otherwise compare to key words in your target language.<\/p>\n

You could also try searching for your target language with the term “common words” on Memrise<\/a>, a digital flashcard app. There are many such lists covering Spanish<\/a>, Korean<\/a>, French<\/a>, Dutch<\/a> and much more.<\/p>\n

All the while, you should be going back to step one: whenever you learn something new, incorporate it into your speaking<\/strong>. For example, in Italian I’ve been trying to correctly use phrases featuring the word\u00a0ecco<\/em>, which is similar to the French\u00a0voila. <\/em>This means I’ve recently been walking around like a child, pointing at things and shouting \u201cThere it is!\u201d Now I think I\u2019ve got it.<\/p>\n

Step 3: Set SMART Goals<\/h3>\n

While a lot of learning will happen naturally as you speak and listen and read and write, you can\u2019t take that for granted. You’ll of course have to put in effort.<\/p>\n

Moreover, set SMART goals<\/strong>. It’s one thing to say you want to be fluent in six months, but what does fluency mean for you?<\/a><\/p>\n

I can give you an example of a goal I set myself last fall. By Christmas, I wanted to be able to hold a full conversation with my Italian girlfriend\u2019s five-year-old niece. So, it was:<\/p>\n