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Language Learning That Sticks: Science-Backed Tips You Can Use Today
Evidence-based strategies to improve your language learning retention, focus, and fluency.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re forgetting everything five minutes after studying, you’re not alone. Language learning apps, textbooks, and flashcards can only take you so far — and without the right methods, it’s easy to burn out or give up. But what if you could learn in a way that sticks?
We’ll break down science-backed techniques that help you remember more, stay motivated, and make real, lasting progress — whether you’re learning Spanish, Russian, or any language in between.
How Long Does It Take To Learn a Language?
Becoming proficient in another language involves many different elements. This is because your experience is different from everyone else who is learning the language. However, remember that with these languages, it is for those who start as native English speakers.
Category | Languages | How Long Does It Take? |
|---|---|---|
Category I | Danish, Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish | 24-30 weeks (552-690 class hours) |
Category II | German, Haitian Creole, Indonesian, Malay, Swahili | 36 weeks (828 class hours) |
Category III | Albanian, Amharic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Bulgarian, Burmese, Czech, Dari, Estonian, Farsi, Finnish, Georgian, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Kazakh, Khmer, Kurdish, Kyrgyz, Lao, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Mongolian, Nepali, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovak, Slovenian, Tajiki, Thai, Turkish, Turkmen, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, Vietnamese. | 44 weeks (1,012 class hours) |
Category IV | Arabic, Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Mandarin), Japanese, Korean. | 88 weeks (2200 class hours) |
Science-Backed Tips You Can Use
Although there are many ways to learn languages, understanding the science-backed tips is also important. These tips will help you understand how to learn languages, with some real science used to speed up the process.
As you focus on the science-backed techniques, you can make even quicker progress and retain everything you do. Using these evidence-based strategies draws from research on cognitive science, linguistics and memory studies.
Don't try too hard with the grammar
As you’re learning, especially as an adult, it is important to remember that it can be harder to learn grammar, especially in comparison to children. As a part of the science, one possible issue is that adults’ more advanced cognitive abilities may hinder their language learning.
A 2014 study led by Amy Finn at MIT found that the more adults consciously focused on the structure and elements of an artificial language, like root words, prefixes, and suffixes, the worse their performance became. "At least in the artificial language we designed, trying too hard made learning its morphology more difficult," Finn explained.
Choose The Right Time of Day (Or Night)
The best time to learn a language is when you become most alert and focused, which is when your brain becomes the most receptive to new information. Whilst some of you might find it optimal to study in the morning, others prefer the evenings. This is where experimentation is important.
In the morning, between 10 am and 2 pm, this is when your body has its natural chronotype and can be the best time to learn. In the evenings, between 5 pm and 9 pm shows the analytical part of the brain is most active, which makes it better for memorisation and language learning.
On the other hand, if you learn before bed, there are studies which suggest that learning right before sleep can improve long-term memory.
Take Long Breaks
When you’re learning languages, regardless of the difficulty, taking a long break is important for long-term retention and fluency, as this allows the brain to process and remember the information.
If you space out learning, including taking breaks, it helps solidify memories and can even lead to the “returner learner effect”, where you feel a stronger grasp after taking a longer break.
Speak, Speak, Speak
Speaking is one of the crucial elements in language learning because it actively integrates knowledge, strengthens memory and improves the real-world applications. A study that is crucial for showing this is by Elise W. M. Hopman and Maryellen C. MacDonald of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
This study shows that those who speak outperform those who rely solely on comprehension exercises. This forces learners to use vocabulary and grammar, which enhances fluency and confidence.