by KristinieC

It’s never been easier to study a foreign language than it is today. Taking a foreign language course online, using the advanced resources and technology of the internet, gives you the freedom to study at your own pace, and in your own way, by following a course that fits your learning style.

But how do you find the right course for you?

You may be choosing to learn a foreign language for the first time; you may have tried often to learn another language before but failed; you may be in a position where you have to learn a new language – for work or because you live abroad – and you can’t afford not to succeed. So it’s important that you don’t waste any of your time following a course that’s not going to help you succeed.

There are many courses available through the internet – some free, some with a price-tag – but how do you choose the right one to invest your time and money in?

There are a number of factors that you have to take into account while you are doing your research, and they are explained below, but the most important thing you need to remember, before and during your study, is that everyone, and I mean everyone, is capable of learning multiple languages. That includes you. So ultimately, whatever foreign language course you choose, the capacity to learn a language successfully is already within you – believe that now!

Everyone has the capacity to learn anything – but not everyone learns in the same way. The first deciding factor when choosing a foreign language course online, is to choose a course who’s method matches your “individual” learning temperament and aptitude , and that means you need to decide how “YOU” prefer to learn, and understand what works for you.

Let’s look at temperaments. Are you the structured type, who prefers routine, everything set out for you whereby you can follow instructions through, step for step, exact and to the letter? Or are you an improviser, who can pick bits of this and bits of that, and put them together in your own way, playing around to see what works and what doesn’t, where specific rules are not as important as the results you get? Or are you a theorist, who needs to understand the details of “how” and “why” before you can learn and use the information on offer?

These are the three main temperament types you could fall under – which one applies to you? Further, you have to think about how you usually prefer to attain information and knowledge – “actively”, through participation and learning by “doing”; or “passively”, focusing more on the visual and verbal receiving of knowledge through reading and hearing? Or, quite probably a combination of both.

And what of your “learning aptitude”? Are you more sensitive to visual information or auditive – a picture person, a word person, a sound person? Understanding these factors and the traits that are the strongest within you, is helpful when deciding whether a particular method will feed you the information the way you need to be fed. The advantages of online courses is that they can offer so much in the way of learning aids – with room for self-study, visual and audio exercises, interactive programs, personal mentors and even class-room situations. But not all courses use all methods.

Lets look now at a few more “personal” factors that you need to think about before you start investing in your study:

Patience: You have the capacity to learn any language, but will you have the patience to follow a course through to the end and reach your goal. If you’ve tried before and failed, then it’s most likely that the method you were using wasn’t suited to you, and it wasn’t enjoyable enough to stick with. Find an interesting method and you’ll find that the rewards are continuous, so your patience – or lack of – will be satisfied on a regular basis.
Motivation: Does it lie outside of you – you need to learn a language for your work for example; or will you have to be motivated from within. Self-motivation is often difficult without building some measure of passion for what you are doing, so try to define the benefits learning a language is going to give you.
Learning goal: Why learn another language… for fun, for holidays, for work, for living abroad, as part of a broader study, for personal fulfillment and growth…?
Commitment: Any method you use will work if you stick with it… if you are truly committed to making it work for you. Do you give up too easy, too quickly?
Time: Some courses specialize in quick results, but they will most likely require more intensive study. You have to weigh up the pros and cons depending on your personal situation and wishes.
Experience: If you already have some success with language-learning, you’ll have a better insight into the methods and courses that are suited to you, and you’ll have the personal confirmation of your abilities; but if this is your first attempt, or one of many failed attempts, you won’t be so certain, and you may even have strong doubts. Many of the more popular courses offer trial lessons, so you should take advantage of those and just have some fun without the pressure of commitment.

And finally, think about how you view learning in general. Are you a perfectionist who can’t do things by half; or someone who has no qualms about doing things just-good-enough? Are you someone who makes it hard for yourself, or easy? Knowing this can certainly be a major factor in just how far you need to go with your language-learning.

As I mentioned at the start of this article, choosing a foreign language course online gives you the freedom and opportunity to learn any language in your own way and at your own pace. Learning a second language, or multiple languages has never been easier, or more important than now, in this fast-growing multi-national world. Here’s to your success.