Categories:Categories: Language Learning

50 Fun Ways To Learn A Language That Actually Work!

If you are learning a language you would know about the countless boring ways that you can learn. I’m talking textbooks, lessons, assigned reading and dull speaking questions. You don’t have to be limited to those methods.

Take your language learning to the next level by adopting some of these fun ways to learn a language into your study routine! You won’t regret it.

1. Watch Trashy TV

Do you love watching the Bachelor, Love Island or another reality tv show?

Why not start watching the equivalent of it in the language you are learning. Simple search in google “{name of language} reality tv shows” and I’m sure you will find a gigantic list of options.

Trashy tv is a really fun way to learn a language as not only are the episodes hilarious to watch but also you are being immersed in more conversational language that you would not learn in a textbook. It will give you great experience listening to more spontaneous language in comparison to fully scripted tv show episodes.

Another genre of trashy tv are soap operas. This is also a great language learning resource as the acting is usually over the top, making it easier to understand.

If you do start watching tv as a way to language learn, you can’t just sit back and relax if you want to get the absolute maximum out of it. Make sure you actively watch the episodes by writing down new vocabulary and phrases. Personally I love making a vocabulary list in my Digital Language Learning Planner which has a great template for this.

Digital language learning planner - vocabulary revision — This is an example of a filled out vocabulary revision page from my personal language planner. You can find it in my digital language learning planner @ StudyStuff on Etsy.com

Now you can stop feeling guilty about wasting your time watching these types of shows as it is a learning tool!

2. Play The Fill In The Lyrics Game On Lyricstraining.com

If you have read any of my other articles on language learning you would know that I love the lyricstraining.com website and the app. It’s seriously so much fun!

This website has taken youtube hosted music videos and combined them with a fill in the blank listening and spelling skills game. You simple choose your favourite song in your target language, choose a difficulty for the game (the higher the difficulty, the more words you have to fill out) and then press play!

3. Watch Netflix With The Language Learning With Netflix Chrome Extension

If you have a Netflix account and also use google chrome you should try using the language learning with netflix chrome extension. It’s really helpful as it displays both english subtitles and the language of the movie subtitles at the same time. You can hover over words and then it will also display the definition of them. There are also other features that are helpful for language learners such as automatically pausing at the end of each subtitle line so you can read it and understand better. This is optional if you are a more advanced learner.

If you are interested you should read my article on How To Learn A Language By Watching Netflix here.

4. Use A Digital Language Learning Planner

As I showed you guys above with the vocabulary revision page of my digital language learning planner, there are many ways that you can make fun language learning methods a really valuable learning tool!

This planner includes pages such as:

Goal Planning Pages
Vocabulary Pages
Verb Tenses
Grammar Rules Template
Cornell Style, Lined & Grid Notes
Resource Worksheets
Daily & Study Planning
Habit Trackers
Pomodoro Study Tracker
+ much more

This planner is intended for use with an iPad pro and Apple Pencil and has hyperlinked tabs down the right hand side of the notebook. Each tab takes you to a divider page for the sections of the notebook. Every page in the notebook can be duplicated so you can use as many or as little pages as necessary.

5. Create A Foreign Music Playlist On Spotify

Music is a really fun way to learn a language. It’s great because when you find a song you love, you will listen to it on repeat. This repetition will heap your pronunciation and listening skills are you will be constantly exposed to certain words.

It is also a great idea to create a language playlist on Spotify or your preferred music app. In this way all your foreign language music will be grouped together and easy to access. You will also be able to share your favourite French, Spanish or Japanese etc. songs with all your friends.

6. Subscribe To Native Speaker YouTubers

What most people don’t realise when they have been watching youtube for a long time and have their little bubble of favourite influencers is that there are people creating content from all around the world. It’s one of the best free resources that any language learner has access to. All you need to do is simply type in a question in the language you are learning and a whole lot of YouTubers who speak the language you are learning will pop up in your search results.

YouTube like reality tv will expose you to more conversational language which is very beneficial for your studies.

If you want to learn more about how to get the most out of YouTube as a language learner, you should read my article on it here!

7. Cook A Recipe In Your Target Language

Personally I love cooking and as everyone has to cook a few meals a day, there is no better way to spend this time than to cook with a recipe in the language you are learning!

You can find heaps of free recipes online in any language. Maybe even try making a meal that originates from the country that speaks the language you are learning!

8. Speak To Siri In The Language You Are Learning

One way to practice your speaking skills, judgement free, is to speak to Siri. You easily can do this by changing the language of your phone to the language you are learning. All you need to do now is ask some simple questions like:

what is the weather going to be like today?
search up ____ on google
set a reminder for ______

Obviously you would be asking those questions in your target language, not english. 🙂

It’s a great way to pick up very specific vocabulary and also will help with your translating skills as you probably think of the questions in english and then translate.

9. Play Online Video Games

If you are an avid gamer, playing online video games that have a chatting options could be a really fun way to learn a language for you!

I know lots of people like to play minecraft, world of warcraft and fortnite. But you can play any game that is available online and you can chat on…

10. Try Online Language Learning Lessons With Rocket Languages!

Rocket Languages is an online language learning program that millions of language learners use around the world. Each course has over 120 hours of lessons that go over all the four main core areas of language learning – listening, reading, writing and speaking. The best aspect about the courses is that they use real-world conversations to teach you the most important grammar and vocabulary.

Join more than 1,212,346 people from 192 countries and learn a new language at your own pace at Rocket Languages!

Check Out The Online Courses Below:

11. Follow Native Speakers On Social Media

You probably spend a good chunk of your time each day on social media. So why don’t you start following some people who are native speakers of the language you are learning!

The connectivity that social media has brought us is amazing for language learning. You should definitely take advantage of it.

If you follow someone on instagram as an example, it’s fantastic for improving your language skills as you will be exposed to little snippets of the language each day with absolutely no effort. All you need to do is scroll through your feed or stories!

12. Sing Your Heart Out With Karaoke

Karaoke is a really fun way to learn a language for people who love singing! There are plenty of websites and also youtube videos for karaoke in nearly every language out there. Doing karaoke is a great way to improve your pronunciation as you are basically doing a shadowing activity by copying whatever the singer is saying.

13. Play Board Games In Your Target Language

Another fun way to learn a language is to play a board game. Most famous board games are international so you would be able to find versions of it online in your target language fairly easily. Think monopoly, scrabble, boggle… those sort of games.

14. Listen To Podcasts In Target Language

I listen to a podcast in French (the language I am learning currently) nearly everyday. I put them on in the background when I am doing menial tasks such as cleaning or while travelling. If you are at an intermediate level of French I highly recommend the podcast InnerFrench.

15. Change The Language Of Your Phone

In settings you can easily change the language of your phone to the one your are learning. I have done it before and I picked up a lot of digital related vocabulary that I would have not known otherwise.

16. Use A Printable Language Learning Planner

If you do not do digitally planning, do not worry as I have a printable version of my language learning planner as well. It has nearly all the same pages as the digital planner however adapted for the paper form.

You can check out more details about this listing by clicking the image below or the link in the image caption.

printable language learning planner — Find this Printable Language Learning Planner @ StudyStuff on Etsy.com

17. Browse & Be An Active Member Of Reddit

There are many sub sections of reddit including ones for specific languages for language learners as well as ones in foreign languages used by native speakers. You could scroll through reddit in these sections and read things or even become an active member by writing responses to people’s questions.

18. Challenge Your Friends To Get The Highest Streak In DuoLingo

If you have ever set foot in the world of language learning, you would have heard about Duolingo. I remember when I first started learning french, I used Duolingo everyday. I think I had a streak of over 250 days of learning but then I went on holiday and I was without wifi and reception and lost my streak 🙁

If you have friends who are also learning a language, you should friend them on Duolingo and have a challenge to see who can get the highest streak. It’s a fantastic way to motivate everyone involved to achieve their language learning goals.

19. Date In Your Target Language

Maybe you are single and ready to mingle??? Anyway you could totally go on a dating app looking for someone who speaks the language you are learning. Maybe they in return want to improve their english skills.

20. Use Camera Translation Apps

There are not only text-to-text translation apps nowadays but also image-to-text translation apps! They are super fun as you can point your camera at anything and it will give you the name of the object in any language that you want!

21. Eat At An Authentic Restaurant

Learn more about the food and culture by going to an authentic restaurant. You might even be able to test out your speaking skills if the waiters also speak the language!

22. Learn Some Nursery Rhymes

Every language has some nursery rhymes or stories that are passed down from generation to generation to children. Take a quick google search and see if there are any ones in the language you are learning.

This is a great exercise for a beginner as this type of content is made for children so it should be easy to understand.

23. Watch A TV Show/Movie And Pretend To Be One Of The Characters

A really fun way to actively learn while watching foreign language TV is to pretend to be one of the characters. Before watching an episode choose a character. Then for every single line they say either listen to the line, pause and then repeat it or do a shadowing exercise where you repeat at the same time they say things (kind of like karaoke).

You might be interest in my article where I explain how to become fluent by watching foreign language movies!

24. Follow An Exercise Video In Your Target Language

Personally I find language learning really fun when I can combine an activity that I have to do daily with language learning. I don’t think there is any better way to learn than to follow exercise videos in your target language.

By doing this you get a workout and learn some new phrases! And it is probably beneficial for your memory as there have been many studies on how exercising can improve the brain and your ability to learn.

25. Chat To A Native Speaker Online

There are lots of online chatting platforms and apps that connect language learners together to improve their skills. Most work in a way where you get paired with someone who is a native speaker of the language you are learning and they also want to learn english or another language you are fluent in. You would spend 15 minutes talking to them in english and then another 15 minutes practising the language you are learning.

These are some famous language chatting platforms that you could try out:

26. Read Articles Online About Your Favourite Topics

Your imagination is honestly your limit when it comes to finding language learning resources online. If you need some extra reading practice and want to make it more fun than reading extracts from a textbook you should start reading articles online about your favourite topics and hobbies.

The more engaging the things you read, the more likely you will continue reading and improving your skills.

27. Watch The Daily News In Your Target Language

This is another example of a way that you can weave language learning into your daily routine without much effort. Most countries have a channel which is dedicated to international news in lots of different languages or you could find it online.

28. Practice Your Writing Skills In A Diary

Keeping a diary is a fun way to practice your writing skills and improving your expressions and ability to talk about yourself. You could recount what you did for the day or just write down some thoughts.

29. Learn Some Tongue Twisters

Tongue twisters are hard for native speakers to say but if you master them, you would be able to impress a lot of people! Otherwise, it is just a really hilarious activity to do.

30. Read A Famous Novel Series e.g Harry Potter etc. In Your Target Language

It’s a really good idea to read things in a foreign language that you already know the basic plot line of in english. In this way you can focus on expressions, words and phrases rather than learning the plot line while reading.

31. Learn Some Sayings

Every language has lots of bizarre sayings. For instance in English we say things like ‘over the moon’ to express that we are super happy. While these sayings are not bizarre for us, they can be quite weird for foreigners as their literal translation is nothing like the real one.

To really extend yourself in your language acquisition, you should totally learn some unusual sayings. Then if you ever hear them in the street or on a movie you will know exactly what is being said.

32. Watch Disney Movies In The Language You Are Learning

This fun language learning idea is similar to the harry potter reading one. Everyone knows the basic plot lines of Disney movies, so watching it in the language you are learning will not be a ginormous challenge. In this way, you can focus on new words and phrases rather than the storyline.

33. Try Some Creative Writing e.g. A Poem Or Short Story

If you have a passion for creative writing, doing some in the language you are learning could be a really fun way to learn a language for you. Maybe even read some creative writing for inspiration and then try to emulate it.

34. Learn Some Jokes

It is difficult to be funny in english, so if you learn some jokes in the language you are learning, you could really impress the locals!

35. Talk To Your Pets When No One Else Is Around

My favourite way to practise my speaking skills is to talk to my dog when I am home alone. It is a judgement free way to practise new phrases that I have learned for the week. I highly recommend it 🙂

36. Learn All The Swear Words

You have probably already done this before you could even formulate a full sentence in the language you are learning but maybe it is time for a refresher? It will come in handy one day.

37. Make Aesthetic Language Notes

Make your language notes more fun by making them super pretty! Adding some colour can make them more engaging and motivate yourself to learn as well.

If you love look at aesthetic notes, why not learn how to take them by reading my article on how to take aesthetic notes on an iPad.

38. Use Sticky Notes To Label Items In Your House With Vocabulary

When I first started learning french I labelled lots of my household items with sticky notes that had the french word for fridge or desk etc. on it. I actually learned all the vocabulary as each time I went past the pieces of furniture I was reminded of the word and it was reinforced through the visual image of it.

39. Find A Friend Who Knows The Language And Only Speak In It

If you have a friend who fluently speaks the language you are learning what are you doing still speaking english with them?

Start speaking your target language and only your target language! Free language lessons!!!

40. Write Your Shopping Lists & Reminders In Your Target Language

Again this is another example of a simple way that you can incorporate language learning into your daily routine without much effort. Challenge yourself to learn food related vocabulary and then write your shopping list. You could totally make your language learning shopping list with my meal planner printable pack here!

41. Challenge Yourself To Learn The 1000 Most Common Words Of The Language

This fun way to learn a language is pretty self explanatory, but the benefit of learning the 1000 most common words is that they are very likely to come up in dialogue and writing. All in all, it’s a great way to kick start your language learning journey.

42. Try Vlogging In The Language You Are Learning

It might be a but embarrasing at first but if you start filming yourself speaking the language you are learning, you will become so much more confident in it. You don’t have to post these videos online, they are more a personal language learning tool.

Also if you do this for a while and then look back at your old videos you are sure to see big progress which is very motivating to continue learning.

43. Go Travelling If Possible

If you have the means to go overseas to the country where the language you are learning is spoken you should definitely take the opportunity. Immersing yourself where you only speak the language is the fastest way that you will make progress and take giant leaps towards your goal of fluency.

44. Learn Vocabulary With Spaced Repetition & Leitner Boxes

This might not be the funnest way to learn a language, but there is no way around not memorising vocabulary. I like to use the printable leitner boxes and flashcards that I designed to learn new vocabulary in the most efficient way possible that is backed with scientific research surrounding long term memory.

Read my article on how to effectively learn vocabulary with flashcards here!

45. Join A Local Language Learning Group

Another fun and more social way to learn a language is to become a member of a local language learning group. Most places have some type of language learning program held at a community centre. Maybe the next time you are in town, you should enquire about something like this. And if there isn’t a group, there’s no reason why you can’t start one yourself!

46. Shop In Ethnic Grocery Stores

This is another way that you can immerse yourself in the culture of the place where the language you are learning is spoken. Maybe you could buy some produce and try making the signature dish of the country.

47. Read Some Children’s Books In Your Target Language

If you are a beginner at language learning, reading children’s books is a great way to get started. This is because the language is very simple and there are also images to help you understand.

48. Research The Culture

Another fun way to language learn is to just simply research the culture and enrich your understanding of it.

49. Spend Heaps Of Time On Online Chatting Platforms

There are two main types of ways that you can chat with people online with the purpose of language learning. One is video calling as I talked about above, and the other is messaging. Most of the video calling apps/websites that I linked above also have messaging options if you are interested in checking them out.

50. Join A FaceBook Group/Online Community With People Who Are Also Learning The Language

The final fun way to learn a language is to join a facebook group or online community that is dedicated to helping people who are learning the same language as you. This is a great way to connect with other people who have the same language learning hobby as you.

Join A Live Online Language Learning Class With Real Teachers On Lingoda!