In the last decade, there has been an increased interest in learning English as a second language. It may have been partially triggered by the European Commission’s Paper that emphasized the importance of learning another tongue. The paper was released in 1991.

However, as early as 1974, Europeans have been encouraged—sometimes even forced by the curriculum—to learn another language. Only two countries, Ireland and Great Britan, did not require students to learn a language not predominantly spoken in their own country. In fact, in some countries, students learn as much as three foreign languages. These countries include Belgium’s Flemish Community, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Finland, Sweden, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia and Slovakia

Here are some learning methods that the students have used to learn another language:

Code Switching

Most students use code switching as a learning method when they are trying to master a language. It is often frowned upon by teachers, but it is instinctive—and in the students’ point of view, practical.

In code switching the student tries to speak the foreign language as much as they can, but then switches to their mother tongue when they stumble on a phrase or word they can’t translate.

One advantage of code of code switching is that it builds confidence and motivates them to learn more. Instead of feeling frustrated that they “can’t speak” the language, they are encouraged to try to communicate as much as possible—their anxiety assured by the psychological safety net that if they stumble, they can use their own language.It also feeds their excitement by letting them practice the language early on, rather than waiting till the time that they “feel adept”.

Blended learning

This method mixes face to face instruction with practice using the internet or the computer. It has been increasingly popular in the last five years, thanks in part to the development of technology and how affordable computer equipment has become.

Private tutorials

One of the best ways of learning a language is to receive private instruction from a native English speaker. However, this presumes that the instructor is as good at teaching as he is at speaking English (and this is not always the case). Really good tutors can also charge a high fee for their services. However, the benefit is that the classes are given at the student’s pace, thus guaranteeing that he masters all the basics before going on to the next level.