I picked up my son at a birthday party last week. What a pleasure to be able to speak in German with the parents.

Habits pay off. After 30 minutes every day for almost one year next to my full-time job, I can handle a simple conversation in a new language.

Having learned three languages as an adult (English, German, and Italian) in addition to my full-time job, I’ve developed and fine-tuned my methodology. With each language, it’s becoming easier.

Most people have already learned a language. Often it’s linked to unfortunate school experiences.

You regularly hear people stating, “I’m terrible at languages.”

I don’t believe that. You just haven’t found the method that works for you.

Research and technology in this domain are opening new ways to learn.
It has never been as easy as it is today to learn a new language.

And you should take advantage of it to develop your mind, career, and confidence.

I speak five languages (at different levels), and three of them were learned as an adult.

I’ll share with you how to learn a new language with a full-time job.

Why learn a new language?

A new project

Learning a new language is a large project. Think about it, you need to acquire vocabulary, syntax, grammar, listening, speaking and writing skills. It’s like entering a new world from scratch.

So clearly, it’s not easy.

And that’s the first advantage. It immerses you in a complex project, and you need to manage many areas.
Professional life is also full of complexity. Knowing how to deal with a difficult subject develops your competence.

It’s a long-time deal. You never stop learning a language, even your mother tongue. The journey is the fulfillment.

Learning is energy

When you buy a new toy, you generally feel a burst of energy that does not last. When you engage yourself in a learning project, the satisfaction and skills remain with you forever.

More connections

Through the adventure, you will meet people, you will create new relationships. And as those connections are linked to a positive experience, you often create new friendships. Think of a digital teacher with whom you have two classes of 30 min per week (what I do when I can already speak); you sometimes talk more to him than to your old friends. And with digital technology, you have many options until you find the teacher you want to work with.

Professional career

In today’s world, most professionals will speak their native tongue and English. But the market opportunities are much more significant. Being able to speak more languages (even not at a perfect level), is a huge advantage.

Today, companies try to merge their operations. Being able to speak additional languages is now an “unfair advantage”. (Check How to get promoted. What have I learned?)

The method I use

Having learned three languages as an adult (English, German, and Italian), I’ve developed and fine-tuned my methodology. With each language, it’s becoming easier. I still have the plan in the long term to add a new one.

Assimil

Wikipedia defines them as “a French company, founded by Alphonse Chérel in 1929. It creates and publishes foreign language courses, which began with their first book Anglais Sans Peine (“English Without Toil”). Since then, the company has expanded into numerous other languages and continues to publish today.”

I’m always starting from there. It takes you from scratch to the A2/B1 level. But the real reason is, “I just love it.” It’s fun, easy, and efficient. The principle: you do one lesson per day for 90 days. That’s it.

How does it work? You listen to a text (I do in the car, usually in the evening).
You do the exercises (I do it in the morning).
Once a week, you have a review of the past week.
When you arrive at the 50th lesson, you continue with the next one (51), but you start reviewing the first one again.

This smooth process (assimilation) brings quick results in a fun way.

Digital tool

In parallel or just after, depending on my bandwidth, I start using two apps.

Duolingo
I do at least two lessons per day. (15 min). At the time I’m writing this article, I have a streak of more than 1,756 days.

LingQ
It’s an app created by Steve Kaufman, a polyglot that speaks more than 15 languages. All is learned around the idea of “content input,” which means seeking content you like.

The app is perfect when you start to have enough vocabulary to read content you enjoy. In the beginning, you can start with the range available and, in particular, the “LingQ Mini-Stories.”

Anki
This is the place where I keep all the vocabulary I want to review. It’s a flashcard system using the concept of “spaced repetition software.”

As soon as you can read

Find content that interests you. I usually look for a blog on a topic I’m interested in. I then import the content in LingQ and do my morning reading there. (15 min). As of this writing, I have a 920-day streak.
Later I select a book I have already read in French or English, and I reread it in the language I’m trying to learn. As the last step, I start reading a book I’ve never read directly in the new language. Even if I don’t understand everything. I read on the Kindle where I can quickly check a word or translate a sentence.

In parallel to the reading, I listen a lot.

I distinguish two parts — active and passive listening.
I do the active part at the beginning of the journey with Assimil and Pimsleur.

When I’m more comfortable, I move to the passive part. I do it in the car when I travel, iron, vacuum. Usually, I take the book I’m reading in the audible format, and I listen to it.

Writing

I write a few sentences every morning. In order not to add to my routine (see here). I just transform my journaling experience into the language I learned. I use Languagetool and Deepl to help me correct my text.
I usually buy one good grammar textbook and I don’t revise the grammar. I’m just checking the book when I observe that I’m always making the same errors to understand the explanation. It works much better for me than studying all the grammar concepts randomly.

Speaking

When I have acquired the basics and can start to express myself a bit. I’m starting to use Italki 2 times, 30 minutes a week.
I’m testing a few teachers until I find the right one. I found amazing teachers for German and Italian.

As soon as I have the occasion to, I practice in real life.
It’s essential to define what your primary goal is.
My main goal is to be able to communicate orally. It’s more critical for me to convey my message even with mistakes (I do a lot) than to speak very slowly to say everything correctly.
Everyone has their own target. Based on your interest, you can adapt your learning.

Resources recommended

• The Way of the Linguist: A Language Learning Odyssey Kindle Edition
• Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World
• Sprachenlernen leichtgemacht!: Die Birkenbihl-Methode Fremdsprachen zu lernen

My personal experiences

The method above has helped me to make tremendous progress in Italian and German. I concentrated each time one year in one language. I started Italian from scratch, and at the end of my one year focus, I was able to do a speech (prepared) in front of 70 people.

This year, I’m concentrating on German. I can manage a private discussion, read a book, listen to a podcast, and understand quite everything.

My weak point is impatience. I could practice in real life much more. But when I’m in a business setting, I do the small talk in the targeted language, and I’m too impatient to continue. As I’m in management, most of my counterparts also speak English, so I don’t make enough effort to stay in the learned language.

Overall, the journey has brought me a lot of benefits.

Direct effects

I have progressed in my career, thanks to my ability to learn languages quickly. I have built great connections, met interesting people, and made new friends.

The ripple effects

I have developed my ” consistency, persistence and discipline” muscles. I’ve developed new routines (see article) and improved my productivity in general.

I increased my knowledge of “meta-learning,” which helps me to understand how I learn. I can then apply it to any other field.
I developed my self-esteem and self-confidence. Keeping promises to myself, doing the work every day, seeing progress procures me joy and fulfillment.

I believe in leading by example, so I’m happy to see that my son started on his own to learn Japanese when he was nine years old.

Whatever you do, I warmly encourage you to learn a new language. We are all here to learn and grow. Acquiring a new language creates opportunities and brings personal satisfaction.

What will your next language be?

PS: if you want to go further, I’ll detail my methodology in the free guide below.