Implement new skills

About a month before, I published an article about learning. There are many methods that are useful and helpful, however, there is not any information about a significant thing. After the next English grammar session, I realized that I forgot common rules again. All techniques which I described are useless without the one thing that is implementation.

The method is quite easy. We must just implement our skills in our daily life. I know, easier said than done, but it is possible if we really want to learn something new. I have been still learning English and I am going to give you pieces of advice on learning a new language, but they will be also useful for other skills.

Thinking

The first essential thing is changing your thinking. Even if you don’t know a new language enough, you should try to think in this language. A conversation with yourself is one of the greatest ideas because you can do it through the whole day. If you want to say something and you don’t know an appropriate word, look up the word in a dictionary and write it down. After a few weeks, months, you will be able to think only in this language during a conversation and you will not translate sentences in your mind.

Change the language of your device

You must change the language on your all devices. Due to this step, you will do everything using a new skill. To be honest, we spent a lot of time with our smartphones, computers etc. If we are forced to using a new language, we will get only benefits.

Make notes

This is my own experiment. When I have to write something down, I do it in English. It takes me more time, but it causes additional situations to think in English and writing in English. Furthermore, as scientists proved, handwriting is better for learning new skills because the brain is more exploited.

Talk to somebody

It is probably the most significant piece of advice, you must talk out loudly. Except for my weekly English lessons, I schedule weekly meetings with my brothers. We just talk about some articles which we read or some videos which we watched. Sometimes it is simply a free conversation. Because of it, I can use new words which I have learned, practice pronunciation, grammar structures and an accent. An additional perk is making a stronger bond with my siblings.

Watch, listen and read

How much time do you sacrifice for watching Netflix? How many hours do you listen to music everyday? How many posts do you read every hour on social media? Instead of it, I recommend watching at least one TV series in a new language (you can use subtitles but also in a new language) or a movie once per week or two.

When it comes to listening, you can find a plethora of captivating podcasts in streaming services, however, I truly recommend the app Audible. There are millions of books in each genre and a lot of them are reading by authors or lectors with pleasant voices. I have been using Audible for 3 years and it is still my favourite app. I listen to books during running, walking, commute, dishwashing or preparing meals. I even stop counting how many books I have listened to.

Instead of scrolling social media, you can read an article or a blog post about something you are interested in. If you change language in your browser, it will not be a problem to find something in that particular language.

Have fun

You need not treat learning too seriously. Find joy in learning new skills, have fun when you use them, laugh at yourself when you made a mistake. This is a key, if you treat learning as above, the whole process will be pleasant and more effective. One of the funniest things I sometimes do just for fun is ordering coffee and ice creams in McDrive (in English of course). It is also challenging for me but after all, I always laugh as loud as I can. I don’t know why it is so funny for me :)

Implementing new skills is more valuable than we think. The brain is more susceptible to learning new things if we use them in our daily life. Just look at children, they implement everything new in their lives even if they don’t know how to use new skills correctly. It is the next takeaway, we know how things work and what they are intended for. We are afraid of making mistakes. Maybe if we were more like children, we might be more willing to implement new skills.