Learn to speak a new language with confidence using bite-sized lessons from Rosetta Stone.
Learn a Language
Learning a language can be an experience that transforms your life. Not only does it open you to a world full of both professional and personal possibilities, but it also expands your thinking and can prime your confidence. As technology like the internet shrinks our world and we become members of a global community, the ability to learn a language becomes an essential part of how we interact and succeed.
Perhaps you’ve hesitated to learn a new language because you’re worried about the time commitment. Or maybe you’ve heard it’s more difficult to learn a language as an adult. Set these common misconceptions about learning languages aside because research suggests that your ability to learn a language is mostly a matter of practise, building confidence through speaking, and contextualising your learning.
Over twenty-five years of language learning experience has taught Rosetta Stone one thing: everyone has the ability to learn to read, write, and speak a language with confidence. Rosetta Stone has crafted a language learning program and award-winning mobile app that focuses on helping language learners thrive in real-world conversations. Through contextualised practise and feedback, Rosetta Stone encourages learners to begin speaking the language from the very first lesson.
Learn the Language, Not Just the Words
Many online language learning apps will promise that you can learn a language in just a few minutes a day. However, there is a significant difference between memorising vocabulary lists and speaking a language with confidence. Learning a language is about more than just the words. One of the mistakes new language learners make is treating language as an object or an end goal instead of as an experience.
Knowing dozens of phrases or hundreds of words won’t necessarily build the confidence you need to speak a language in real-world situations. It doesn’t help to spend hours drilling on vocabulary lists and verb conjugations if you can’t speak the words when you need them. Language is a living thing and can sound entirely different in its everyday usage, where colloquialisms and accents may make it hard to understand and be understood by native speakers.
That’s why Rosetta Stone designs language learning with a method called Dynamic Immersion®, which helps you acquire vocabulary and phrases in the context in which they’re used in everyday conversations. From how to ask for directions on the street to ordering a drink at a restaurant, Rosetta Stone has a singular goal to help language learners build confidence speaking so they can thrive in real-world situations that don’t follow a script.
Learning to Speak a Language With Confidence
Having the confidence to speak up in real-world conversations can be challenging for language learners. It’s not only about having the words but also about having the ability to decipher and speak a language in everyday interactions. Knowing common conversational phrases will help, but without practise speaking, you may not have the confidence to pronounce the words correctly in the moment.
If you’re looking to learn a language, the lack of feedback and interaction may have been one of your hesitations in opting for an online language learning experience. To be successful, language experts suggest finding a quality program that emphasises not just learning vocabulary and grammar rules but speaking the language and practising pronunciation. In other words, to build your confidence as a language learner, you need to know not only what to say but how to say it like a local. After all, there’s no point knowing the words if you can’t speak and understand them in conversations.
Rosetta Stone will get you speaking the language from the very first lesson with a patented speech recognition engine called TruAccent®. By comparing your voice to thousands of native speakers, TruAccent gives you real-time feedback and enables you to fine-tune your accent and gets you speaking confidently in the real world. With enough practise, you may one day have the thrilling experience of being mistaken for a local.
See how TruAccent works. Hear how to say “language snippet” from a native speaker.
How to Learn a New Language
A successful language learning experience is about the journey and not the destination. Your language learning progress and success will depend on how much time you have to devote to practise. However, there are some basic suggestions you can follow to ensure your language learning experience is an effective one and that you make the most out of the time you have to practise, whether it’s on the way to work or before you go to sleep at night.
1. Learn language in context
Studying vocabulary and conjugation rules certainly has its place in language learning, but it shouldn’t be the focus of your efforts. That’s why Rosetta Stone strives to create an immersive learning environment, where foundational concepts are taught in specific sequences that help learners make deeper connections. Instead of learning conversational phrases as static memorisation exercises, you’ll learn and practising speaking words in the context of real-world situations.
2. Say it like a local
Speaking a language is vital to building confidence and helping to cement concepts. Without feedback on your pronunciation, however, you might end up struggling to understand and be understood in conversations. Rosetta Stone goes above and beyond to encourage language learners to speak with confidence, both with a patented speech recognition engine embedded in every lesson and the opportunity to engage with tutors. Because confidence comes from practise, Live Tutoring offers a low-stress environment where language learners can receive constructive feedback from native speakers.
3. Practise language learning daily
The idiom that practise makes perfect is particularly true when it comes to language learning. The single most important thing you can do to be successful in learning a new language is simply to make practising and speaking part of your daily routine. Seek out immersive experiences in the language you are learning, like listening to podcasts or TV shows with the subtitles off. And find ways to engage native speakers, whether in person or online. In addition to Live Tutoring, Rosetta Stone also has a community of language learners online where you can practise chatting and get feedback.
Is Learning Languages Difficult?
You may have heard that learning a language, especially as an adult, is challenging. In truth, anyone can learn to speak a language with confidence. However, your success and the speed with which you build confidence in speaking the language will be a factor of your commitment and the quality of your language learning program. Not all approaches to learning a language are created equal, so choose a program that’s not only a good fit for you but also is structured with an immersive methodology in mind.
Have other questions about learning a language? Here are the ones learners most frequently ask.
CAN I LEARN A LANGUAGE FOR FREE?
There’s a difference between learning language and learning words. While you can pick up some basics for free online, parroting phrases won’t help you to build towards speaking a language with confidence. To have a successful language learning experience, you’ll need more robust tools that allow you to practise speaking and provide feedback on your pronunciation. Generally, most free online tools offer units of vocabulary and grammar rules without the ability to contextualise your learning or get interactive feedback.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE ME TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE?
Often learners are anxious to begin speaking a language as quickly as possible, either because they anticipate travel to another country or for professional reasons. There are no real shortcuts in language learning, but there are ways to be more efficient. Your progress is a factor of your time commitment, so it helps to choose a language learning program that allows you to practise anytime, anywhere. Rosetta Stone has designed a language program with the busy learner in mind, providing bite-sized lessons that sync across devices. That way you can keep track of your progress and start learning on your desktop, tablet or smartphone exactly where you left off.
HOW CAN I ACCELERATE MY LANGUAGE LEARNING?
Learning a language in context, finding ways to immerse yourself in the culture, and focusing on speaking the language daily are all crucial factors in how quickly you progress towards speaking a new language with confidence. Every language learning journey is different however because every learner is different. That’s why Rosetta Stone offers several extended learning features that provide alternative ways to digest concepts, from a handy Phrasebook for conversational phrases to an Audio Companion that lets you listen to lessons offline. There are also features that provide enrichment, like the Stories option where you read aloud while listening to native speakers. No matter how you learn best, Rosetta Stone can help.
The Benefits of Learning a New Language
Learning a language can be a commitment, but it’s an endeavour that pays off in more ways than one. Being bilingual can be a boon in a world with an ever-increasing global economy and a growing, diverse and vibrant population of different languages and cultures. Once you have a positive language learning experience, you’ll find yourself wanting to learn and do more.
Here are just a few ways learning a language can make you feel on top of the world.
LEARNING LANGUAGES CAN INCREASE CULTURAL AWARENESS
Learning a new language exposes you to a variety of cultures and encourages tolerance for other races, religions, and lifestyles. There’s also evidence being bilingual may help you to have a more positive outlook on life and enables better problem solving and multi-tasking in everyday situations.
LEARNING A LANGUAGE CAN BOOST YOUR CAREER
There’s a good chance that being bilingual will give you a leg up in a tough job market or stand out in a pile of resumes. On average, those who speak a second language earn more than their colleagues, especially when it comes to high demand languages in certain industry sectors like the government, business, and technology.
Learning a language can help you make deeper connections to other concepts and fuel creativity in unexpected ways. You may find as you get more involved in speaking the language daily that it sparks inspiration in areas of your professional or personal life, helping you come up with a great marketing idea for the next campaign or centering a new design concept.
TRAVEL WITH CONFIDENCE WHEN YOU LEARN A LANGUAGE
Knowing the language means you can travel with greater comfort and confidence and have authentic experiences and conversations with locals. It can also finally inspire you to schedule that trip into more remote areas where speaking the language is a necessity, like hiking through the Pyrenees or loafing off the grid in a French Polynesian paradise.
LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE BUILDS CONFIDENCE
If you’ve never done it before, learning a new language and proving to yourself that you’re capable can be empowering. Speaking a language helps you feel on top of the world and ready to take on new challenges and in other areas of your life. Once you’ve built towards speaking confidently and feel at home in a language, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to get started on your language-learning journey.
Try Our Award-Winning App
Surround yourself with a language whenever, wherever with the Rosetta Stone app.
Download a unit and knock it out on the train or a flight. Select a 5-10 minute lesson and sneak it in while you wait in line or for your ride to show up. And explore dynamic features, like Seek and Speak, where you can point at an object in the real world and get a translation.
The best part? You don’t have to choose between app or desktop. Both come with your subscription and sync, so you can switch between devices seamlessly.
