There are more than 6.000 languages in the world. Since you can’t learn all of them at once, you can choose to learn one (perhaps two or three). Isn’t it difficult to decide which one to learn?

When you chose the language you might think that the hard part is over. On the contrary, the difficult part has just begun. After choosing a language, you don’t know how to start learning. Which methods to use, resources to find, and tips and tricks to apply.

And even if isn’t challenging enough, you don’t know what is the most important thing to learn in a language you’ve chosen. Is it grammar? After all, you have to know to use verbs in the right tense if you want to talk to people. Or perhaps vocabulary? Without knowing a decent amount of words and phrases you can’t say a thing! Maybe the spelling and pronunciation? If you don’t know to pronounce a word correctly, you are doomed.

And now, let’s dive in.

What Are The 10 Most Important Things to Learn In a Language?

Let’s suppose you don’t know a word in your target language, and you start learning it from scratch. Since it is supposed that intermediate and advanced students are already familiar with these parts of the language, the following language parts are listed as the most vital things any beginner should know. 

Pronunciation

Before you start boosting your vocabulary, learning keywords, and phrases, you should learn how to pronounce them first. Knowing the alphabet doesn’t necessarily mean that you know how to pronounce words. Learning the pronunciation rules right in the beginning helps you overcome the first obstacle and useful in the long run. 

Practice the pronunciation and be aware of it while you learn the language. Don’t be discouraged if you find it hard at first. Some sounds can be pretty challenging to pronounce right. 

The best way to practice the pronunciation properly is with the following language parts.

Greetings - Basics of Any Language

When you start learning a language from zero, the first thing you have to learn are greetings. Luckily, greeting phrases are mainly worldwide-known and easy to remember, so learning to salute is a piece of cake for any learner.

Greetings are an important part of any language. Without knowing them, you can’t speak to native speakers at all nor start any conversation.

Here are some of the salutations every beginner should learn in the first place.

• Hello
• Good morning/ afternoon/ evening
• Good night
• See you later
• Goodbye

Polite Phrases

No matter the language you are studying, being polite is essential. Besides greetings, knowing the usual phrases to express politeness is a must. 

We suggest you learn these polite phrases in your target language.

• Thank you
• Please
• Excuse me
• You’re welcome
• No problem
• Pleased to meet you

Numbers

Knowing numbers is essential because you can ask for a price, exchange money, write down a phone number or find an address. For a start, you should learn numbers from one to ten. Since numbers aren’t so hard to learn, you can make a little extra effort and learn numbers to 100.

Conjugating Verbs

No matter how many greetings and polite phrases you learn, it’s all useless if you don’t know how to use verbs. Using nouns and adjectives only doesn't mean anything, and your speaker won’t understand what you are saying. Therefore, one of the essentials is learning verbs as well as learning to conjugate them.

For a start, learn to conjugate verbs in present tenses. This way, you’ll know to talk about current things and situations.  

The second important thing about the verbs is to make a list of the verbs used every day, such as can, come, drink, eat, go, get, have, hear, make, put, see, walk, watch, etc.

After learning the basics, you can start with irregular verbs. Surely, every language has irregular verbs so as soon as you start learning them, the better chance you’ll have to talk about different things.

Questions

In cases when you don’t know every word, questions can be helpful. When you know them, such as how, who, what, where, or when, you can get the answers you need.

It’s true that using only them may seem a little strange, but if you haven’t gotten to the point to make the whole sentence, question words can help you in the moments of need.

Asking For Directions

Let’s imagine the following situation: you are in a country of your target language. You want to visit the museum, but you get lost. How can you find which way to go?

By asking for directions, of course.

Therefore, before you take a plane, you should learn words and phrases related to directions. Not only can you ask for help when you’re lost, but you can also know whether the store is open or closed, or the elevator is up or down.

Some of the following words about directions you should include in your vocabulary.

• Up, down, left, and right.
• Open, closed.
• East, West, South, North
• Entry, exit
• Near, far, here, there

Basic Information And Requests

Learn to communicate about basic things or get some common information is something you must include into necessary things to learn in your target language.

If you can’t think of it, here is the list of the phrases you should include to learn.

• I like to/ I would like to…
• I would like to go
• I speak…
• I’m sorry, I don’t speak...
• Can I have it?
• Do you speak English?
• Check, please.
• I don’t understand
• Please repeat
• Please speak more slowly.
• What does...mean?

Emergency Phrases

Even though we really hope that you won’t have to use any of the emergency phrases, it is, on the other hand, more than useful to learn them and use them in case of need.

Some of the emergency phrases are:

• Help
• Danger
• Emergency
• Fire
• Call the police, please
• I’m allergic to…
• My stomach hurts
• I have a headache

Everyday Phrases That Concern Your Interests

Learning and improving your language skills is all about communication with native speakers. Since there are so many topics for discussion, it would be useful to make a list of expressions that concern your interests and things you like.

You can also include sentences about yourself, which may include talking about your current job, school or college you’ve finished, or family.

Learn phrases you will use in casual and light conversations.

Final Thoughts

So, these were the 10 most important things you should learn in a new language. Please keep in mind that these things are basics, but that doesn’t mean that other things, such as practicing your listening skills or learning other grammar rules are irrelevant. On the contrary, every part of the language is worth learning, especially if you want to move forward to the next level of proficiency.

Also, don’t forget that one of the proven ways to learn a language online is, undoubtedly, practicing to speak with professionals, preferably native speakers. With them, you can improve your language skills on the whole.

Ready to enhance your language proficiency? Here are some excellent options for online education: Start with Babbel for engaging, well-structured lessons that are designed to be both enjoyable and easy to incorporate into your everyday life, helping you progress quickly in language acquisition. If you're seeking comprehensive language training, Udemy’s extensive courses range from fundamental to advanced topics. For those who prefer a tailored approach, Preply offers the chance to interact with native speakers, greatly improving your speaking skills. Enjoy a 50% discount on your first Preply session by using this link.

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What are the most important things to learn in a language?

Pronunciation, Greetings, Polite Phrases, Numbers, Conjugating Verbs, Questions, Directions, Basic Information, Emergency Phrases, Everyday Phrases

What's the first thing to learn in a foreign language?

Before you start boosting your vocabulary, learning keywords, and phrases, you should learn how to pronounce them first. Knowing the alphabet doesn’t necessarily mean that you know how to pronounce words. Learning the pronunciation rules right in the beginning helps you overcome the first obstacle and useful in the long run. Practice the pronunciation and be aware of it while you learn the language. Don’t be discouraged if you find it hard at first. Some sounds can be pretty challenging to pronounce right. The best way to practice pronunciation properly is with the following language parts.

What greetings should I learn first when learning another language?

Here are some of the salutations every beginner should learn in the first place: Hello, Good morning/ afternoon/ evening, Good night, See you later, Goodbye.

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