10 Unconventional Language Learning Ideas You Have To Try

Adult language learners most often cite that their number one language learning shortcoming is the lack of time they feel they have to commit to their projects.

It can be difficult to balance work, family, school, errands, hobbies and other interests with learning a new language.To boot; even when we manage to make time, we often find ourselves out of energy, unmotivated or just plain bored with the learning methods we typically use.

There’s no reason why learning a language needs to be a colossal yawnfest.

We can combat the tears of manic boredom with the gamification of our projects and the integration of learning into everyday activities.

Check out some of these somewhat more unconventional language learning strategies designed to help you both save time and keep things light.

1. Study In The Shower

I don’t know about you, but I always manage to do some of my best thinking in the shower. You can read more about that here.

Perhaps its just the relaxing nature of the hot water, but time and time again, I manage to carry on conversations with myself in German, or think of blog ideas, or just generally clear my thoughts so that I can approach my problems from a new angle.

The problem with shower thoughts, however, is that they’re a lot like dreams – we so often manage to forget them the moment we set foot outside into the merciless, icy clutches of the bathroom.

With arm hair and nipples erect, our thoughts turn to how inadequately warm our towels are and how much of a Lovecraftian nightmare it is to pull pants up over damp legs; our brilliant plans and schemes spiraling down the drain with the bathwater.

That, however, is exactly why some entrepreneurial genius invented this thing. It’s really just a notepad for your shower, and any serious language learner should buy one.

Not only is this great for recording your thoughts before they fly out your ears; if you’re learning a language with a new writing system, such as the trifecta of brushstroke terror that is Japanese, it becomes a marvelous opportunity to practice your characters while your brain is buzzing with heightened thought processes.

Want to make it even more fun?  Bathtub Crayons. ‘

Bath crayons! That’s right; you no longer have to draw with your finger on the steamy glass, just to watch it disappear like that invisible lemon ink shit you played with in 3rd grade.

These ridiculously cheap children’s bath toys allow you to draw all over your shower or bathtub walls just like a little kid, and it just washes right off, so mom won’t get mad. Combine that with your language studies and you know you’re doing something horribly right.

You know you want to.

Just don’t get them mixed up with the sharpies.

 

2. Create a”Swear Jar”

I mentioned this idea a few months ago in another post, but I feel like it’s good enough to go over again. The swear jar takes its name from the traditional jar in which someone who belts out something profane in the home or at work or whatever is supposed to stick a dollar or a quarter or some other agreed upon amount or token for some later communal purpose. The idea being to dissuade certain behavior through financial loss.

Once you’ve mastered some fundamentals, it’s time to get serious about creating as immersive a learning environment as possible.

This works best if you’re learning with a roommate, friend, significant other or other family members as you can help enforce each other’s mishaps..

Grab a big-ass jar, and during select times (or all the time if you’re really feeling like the Titan of Tongues) commit to only using and speaking your target language.

Any time that you break the rules you place a dollar (or whatever, a cookie if you really want) into the jar and record this slip-up on a piece of paper (or whatever, a stone tablet if you really want…)

At some predetermined time or after some predetermined number of mistakes, the participant(s)1If you’re working with someone else, grab a second jar. Duh. with the fewest slips can claim the entire jar as their own.

Alternatively you could put this money towards language learning materials or that  that you’ve been trying to save up for.

This may also be a really fun monthly activity for foreign language or ESL teachers to use in their classrooms or conversation groups. I haven’t personally used it in a classroom setting, but I’d be extremely curious to know how it works out if anyone’s interested in giving it a shot! If you’ve done something like this before, definitely leave a comment with your experiences!

 

3. Video Games

I don’t really pretend to hide just how hopelessly and inexorably into gaming I am. If I’m not doing LATG things I’m probably slaughtering little pixelated Roman soldiers by the thousands or building horrible spaceships filled with zombies.

Or something.

And lets face it – geek chic is in and a huge portion of the language learning community is nerdier than purple duct tape overalls. There’re few things more motivating than accepting the local baron’s quest to clear out the mine of skeletons just to misinterpret his words and end up wandering around aimlessly in the Dark Forest and running into the witch’s cabin only to be turned into a lemur and eaten with a side of leeks.

Leeks!

Maybe gaming isn’t your thing, but if it is you’re sitting on a treasure trove of new vocabulary just waiting to be conquered at sword-point.

Most big name video games right now support at least three to five additional languages. These are most commonly Spanish, German, Russian, French and Japanese. Some of the games lack full audio support, but just reading the subtitles engages your brain in a meaningful way while you waste your time doing something you’d be doing anyway.

Unfortunately if you’re not learning one of these languages, or a select few others that manage to make the cut from time to time, this may not be the best strategy for you.

There are still certain games, such as Minecraft, that offer support in an absolutely absurd number of languages including but not even remotely limited to Cornish, Manx Gaelic, Esperanto and even Pirate.

I find that this strategy works due to the often highly repetitive nature of many video games. It’s kind of like flash cards except a lot cooler.

While much of the vocabulary in certain games is rather niche, you never know when the zombie apocalypse could begin and when it does it’ll really pay off to know how to yell “QUICK, TOSS ME THE CHAINSAW!” in French.

So put on your cape and your wizard hat and change your game settings to your target language!

 

4. Try Teaching

An idea probably best reserved for more advanced learners – teaching your new language to a beginner might be just the reinforcement you need to not only keep your own motivation up but to build speaking confidence and motivation in others.

There are actually plenty of resources available for those interested in reaching out to others in a teaching capacity. A quick Google search will reveal all sorts of tutoring opportunities with both paid and volunteer organizations.

The website iTalki in particular allows users to teach online video chat courses and actually make a little bit of money while they’re at it. I’m not entirely sure what their policy is on non-native speakers, but chances are if you’re going to try to make money teaching a language you’re going to need the skills to back it up – so this probably isn’t the route to take if you’re a total language greenhorn.

 

5. Look For Foreign Language Recipes

Food is the great unifier. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, chances are pretty good that you eat.

One of the most enjoyable topics that I encountered while running ESL conversation groups was food, not only because everyone can relate, but because it often resulted in some amazing dishes from around the world showing up in conversation groups and by extension my face.

Learners frequently compare and trade recipes, bring in an assortment of entrees and deserts from all over the world and everyone generally has a good time.

It’s all well and good to eat foreign food prepared by a foreigner, but what about trying to cook your own foreign dishes using recipes written in your target language? 

You can probably find any number of foreign language recipes simply by running a few Google searches.

If that doesn’t work, you can always try connecting with other language learners and trading recipes directly. If you’re learning via a language exchange on Skype, have your partner(s) write you some of their favorite dishes and email or IM them to one another.

Just keep in mind that if you’re American, chances are the recipe you’re receiving uses The Metric System! Luckily, there are tons of conversion tools out there. Here’s one of my favorites for Android users.

I’ve experienced this joy firsthand. As my wife is Spanish and the best food in the world is Iberian, I have had to go looking for more authentic recipes than those you’ll find on those random mommy cooking blogs that litter the Internet like a plague of pasta. This means reading in Spanish, which is not my strongest. My German, much stronger, is used frequently as well, but I mostly avoid German food. It’s not necessarily true that German food is bad, per se, but let’s face it, nobody has ever moved to Germany for its porky potato cuisine.

Cleavers, knives, complicated foreign measurements, broiling hot surfaces and limited proficiency in the recipe’s language – don’t worry,

I’m sure you’ll be fine.

 

6.Create a Grocery List

This extraordinarily easy language hack turns what is normally a mundane task into a bonafide safari of veggie spelunking.

Just write your grocery list in the language you’re learning. Most smart phones have grocery list or notepad apps that allow you to write your list using an alternative keyboard – this may be a decent alternative to writing by hand if your handwriting is poor or if the mobile option is simply more appealing to you.

You can download any number of language dictionaries or translator apps to your phone. As you do your shopping and inevitably come across items you either forgot, or suddenly decide that you need to have, you can do a quick search for the word and actually add it to your list.

This is a great way to expand your food vocabulary and make your shopping trip a little bit more interesting.

Note that making foreign dishes comes with its own unique challenges beyond the language. It’s often really hard to find the right ingredients and sometimes you have to ad lib. If you live in a decent-sized city you can also usually find a small ethnic grocery store (or sometimes not so small) that carries some of the spices or exotic legumes you need for that Tunisian thing you want to try. Try running your Google search in your target language, if you can, as it may turn up better results.

 

7. Pandora, Spotify or Rhapsody (Internet Radio)

We all know how great listening to music in our new language can be a great way to learn, (maybe) but you can actually find a lot of foreign language content on the various popular Internet radio systems currently available.

Internet Radio – for those of you who don’t already use it – allows you to customize your playlists as well as discover similar music to things you’ve liked in the past. Likewise many systems these days will gradually come to learn what you dislike as well and will avoid similar artists or songs.

To start finding great new foreign music all you have to do is discover a few bands or artists that you enjoy. You can use YouTube or Google to shop around for a favorite or two, and then run a search on the radio program of your choosing.

Pandora, for example, will then attempt to find other music similar to whatever you searched for, thus building your library and expanding your musical horizons.

The three most popular Internet radio stations are Pandora, Spotify and Rhapsody.

8. 100 Photos

This was another activity that I mentioned a few months back;  it is worth revisiting because it has always been a favorite.

I call this exercise 100 photos, but you can call it whatever you please. It consists of grabbing a camera (or your camera phone) and heading outside into the wild.

I know, scary stuff.

Actually, try not to make it too wild. Go somewhere you’re somewhat familiar with – down town, into the woods, or even just walk around your home. Take a collection of photographs of anything and everything that strikes you as interesting – or mundane for that matter.

You could even combine this with number 6 and take photos of your exploits raiding the grocery store.

Regardless of where you find inspiration, take your new collection of photos home and either upload them to your computer, leave them on your phone, print them off or have them developed if you’re using film like a Flintstone.

Alternatively for the lazy among you, you can simply use an existing photo album, such as those embarrassing college pictures filled with glazed faces and dixie cups  you keep hidden on your Facebook page set to “Only me”.

Personally I find that having a physical copy of the photographs helps.
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Choose a photo at random from your album and, with a timer, give yourself 30 seconds to describe out loud the photograph in as much detail – in your target language of course- as possible. Try to gloss over mistakes and cram as much vocabulary and description into the time limit as possible.

As soon as the timer is up, grab another picture and repeat the process.

You don’t have to do all 100 photos in one sitting – that’d be a lot to digest, but maybe try 10 to 15 or so.

This exercise is great because it really draws extra attention to your snap recall ability. With time, you’ll get faster and more creative as you really reinforce vocabulary you’re working on and dredge up older words you thought you had forgotten.

 

9. Creative Writing

Taking notes is boring. I’m horrible at it myself and take every opportunity not to do it, even if it really is one of the best ways to learn.

But we can make writing in our new language much more interesting by getting creative.

It doesn’t matter if you have the storytelling capacity of a mime, you can still write a super short story – maybe even as short as 2 or 3 sentences, about anything you like.

There’s also poetry. Just listing rhyming words and then trying to pair them up in interesting ways can really expand your own perceptions of your current lexicon.

What I mean by this is that as you write – regardless of how much or in depth it may be, you are actively discovering new ways to use old words. Chances are if you’ve been studying a language for a few months, you’ve already learned the most common 1,000 words. 1,000 words may sound like a lot – and it is a lot- but you’d be amazed at how many words you actually know and the incredible number of ways you can use them.

Combining 1,000 words in new and unique ways will open up tens of thousands of new pathways for conversation later on.

 

10. Scavenger Hunts

In the same spirit as the grocery list, why not take things a step further and create for yourself a linguistic adventure that takes you all over town?

Create a list for yourself, a friend, or even an entire class, and set out to locate each of the items on the list. The area in which this hunt is conducted can be as large as a city or the entirety of a vacation destination or as small as a single room or bucket full of odds and ends.

A scavenger hunt is an incredibly scale-able exercise that can be created for virtually any level. Advanced learners can create complex and abstract requirements such as ‘a painting of an old man’ or ‘an airplane landing on a runway’ and newer learners can hunt for squirrels and celery.

Another great group activity – you can conduct this search with a friend or family, making sure to spend as much time communicating between yourselves in your new language as possible.

Consider pairing this adventure with the swear jar to really make things challenging.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for something new to help maximize your learning efficiency without significantly interrupting the flow of your busy schedule, or looking for great ways to add some excitement back into a stagnating language project, give some (or all) of these a try!

After you’ve tried some of these strategies, please leave a comment and let me know how it went!

What are some other nifty tips, tricks and activities that you like to use in your projects?

 

Header image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay