Get Yourself in the Right Frame of Mind
Achieving mastery of a second language is no easy task but it can happen if you are set on achieving this skill. One of the best starting points is setting your goals and being committed to trying to reach each one as you proceed.
Organisation is the Key to Steady Learning
At Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois, a team of researchers discovered that organizational skills had a significant effect on a student’s capability to finish set tasks and achieve high grades. This applies to learning a new language too. You need to have a plan and stick to it.
Reading Enhances your Language Skill
Look around for both fiction and non-fiction texts that you want to read as this will give you the required motivation to read in your targeted language. If you are not sure where to start you could try making a list of books of authors you have liked in your own language. Look around for translated copies and use this as a way of improving your skills in understanding the new language. There are plenty of online newspapers you can read to improve your understanding as well.
Ask for Feedback
Once you start to put together some of your own writing ask a native speaker of your chosen language to read it through and make corrections if they are required. If what you are writing is something crucial for a career move or getting a job in the country of the language you are learning it’s sensible to pay a professional editor to go through your work so it matches the quality required for your targeted audience.
Emphasise your Usage of Grammar
If you are using writing as your main form of communication you must get the grammar right otherwise you face the chance that your targeted reader won’t bother to continue reading. Poor grammar without a doubt gives a negative impression of how good you are at the language. Grammar learning is not an easy task and mastering it is a long and slow process.
If you are intending on applying for a job with an international company and you say you are competent in certain languages you will be asked to sit a written test to prove your ability.
Overall, determination and dedication will take you a long way in mastering both the written and spoken form of your targeted language.
