USING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING (PART II)

ARE YOU LEARNING SOCIALLY? YOU SHOULD.

Social media shouldn’t be a reason to loss our time if we know how to use it properly, that’s why we bring you the second part of the 10 great ways to use social media for language learning, so you can have the tools to practice your language skills in a social way. If you missed part 1, you can read it here.

6. Voice messages:

The importance of audio in language learning cannot be emphasized enough. Audio learning is said to be one of the ‘hacks’ of learning faster. Whatsapp has the inbuilt feature of voice messaging. We can put this to good use by making ‘audio only’ groups. No typing, only speaking. Audio based social networks such as Hubbub can also be used. Listening to native Spanish speakers teaches you the real pronunciations of words and entire sentences. You get the hang of speaking in Spanish. You have the advantage of thinking, framing a sentence well and then speaking it in one go without the pressure of immediate conversation.

7. Video calls:

The next step to voice messages is calls. Free internet calls can not only connect you with your relatives and friends around the world, but also interesting people you can learn Spanish from. After I had the first conversation with my language exchange partner on Whatsapp, I felt highly motivated to learn more sentences before our next communication. Video calling does much more. When you see a person speaking, you imbibe their facial movements. You can see their gestures, their expressions. It is the next best thing to really meeting with a person. This is how languages are supposed to be used. Face to face, being as expressive as you can to get your ideas out.

Related: 10 Great ways to use social media for language learning

8. YouTube:

Ok, we have been studying really hard and we need a break. Maybe some cute video or a song on YouTube? While this might help you unwind, there is one more thing you can do. There are scores of channels on YouTube that are dedicated to language learning in a fun way. You just need to search. A good starting point can be children’s videos in Spanish, or a Spanish song with English subtitles. You can also watch series such as extr@, which are made solely for the purpose of teaching languages, but are still quite entertaining. Many users upload weekly vocabulary of languages, which you can learn.

9. Instagram:

This is quite an unusual way to learn a language, but undeniably fun. Your first thoughts will surely be to follow language users on Instagram and connect with other Spanish learners. Good! You are getting a hang of this. While this is definitely what you must do, let’s get more creative. A blogger named Lindsay (lindsaydoeslanguages.com) started an Instagram initiative called the ‘Instagram Language Challenge’ with the tag #iglc. Every month, she posts a prompt of 28 words you need to use and make sentences out of it. Then either post the sentence in a pic or post a video of you saying it, one each day! By the end of the month, you will be able to speak 28 complete sentences, and would have definitely grown your Spanish vocabulary.

10. Snapchat:

This medium is undoubtedly fun to use for learning a language. Think you and your language partner are up for it? One pic of you with a scene or an object daily and a caption in Spanish. If you are feeling more adventurous, a video a day!

You can get feedback on your pronunciation and sentences right in Snapchat, maybe along with a few laughs on your funny pose!

These ways to learn are indeed more interesting than the regular book study or classes. You need not stick to these uses too. With a bit of creativity, you can have more fun. Weekly competitions on Facebook? Rapping in Spanish and posting on YouTube? Testing your skills on Quizup? A twitter #iglc? Writing stories together on Whatsapp? There is no limit to your imagination!

I must add here that it is very hard to ‘teach’ a language on any of these platforms. So if you join in any of these social groups but don’t do any learning yourself, you will make very less progress. All these mediums of learning work on the basis of making the process of YOU learning a language fun. New words won’t magically start appearing in your mind the next time you Skype with Carla!

Why these methods work is because there is an inner desire in every person to help. We all have innate good in us, which makes us help others in whichever way we can. Wikipedia was formed on this very principal. Nobody got anything by typing out pages of information they knew without any incentive. So, by connecting with people the world over, and just by asking for help, you will be surprised by how much you get. You will know how friendly the world really is.

Let’s learn languages how humans are meant to: Socially!

Do you have any other way to learn socially? Share it with us! Please leave your comments below 🙂