How can you learn a foreign alphabet quickly? Well, not only quickly, but also as efficiently as possible? Implementing visual and auditory learning techniques, such as flashcards, and practicing as regularly as possible is key to learning a foreign alphabet fast and retaining it in your memory.
With many practical tips I’ve compiled from my colleagues at Ling, this ultimate guide will help you eliminate that intimidating feeling of learning a new alphabet. These tips are given by polyglots and super passionate language learners who have successfully mastered new alphabets with visual and auditory learning techniques.
So make sure to read the entire post!
And remember that consistency is the most important! Yes, when you feel like your memory is already fading, go back to practice! I promise you that consistency and repetition are the answers to quick learning.
What You Will Get From This Article:
- Practical tips on learning a foreign alphabet by the Ling Team language learners who succeeded.
- Insights from the Ling team, who have experience learning various scripts.
Table of Contents
Now, let’s get to it!
Understand The Alphabet’s Basics And Avoid Getting Overwhelmed
Research The Basics:
The first step is to understand the number of letters, shapes, and the writing direction (is it left-to-right, right-to-left, or top-to-bottom?). Get familiar with these details before you dive into your learning experience so that you can start with a good base of information about the alphabet or script.
Get Cultural Context:
Research and learn about the script’s cultural and historical context. This will add more depth to your understanding and appreciation of the language.
Familiarize Yourself With The Phonetic System And Compare Phonology:
Pay special attention to how each letter or character sounds. According to our Language Specialist, Tan Jaden, you should start by comparing your target language’s phonology or sound system with your native language.
Taking the Thai letters as an example, Thai makes a three-way distinction with bilabial sounds (b, p, ph). In contrast, English only has two (b, p). This is something you’ll need to pay extra attention to.
In addition, Jaden recommends doing an initial Google search to identify unique sounds in the language and understand their phonetic qualities. To give some examples:
- Thai: Voice Onset Time (VOT) บ /b/, ป, /p/ พ /ph/
- Vietnamese: Double Articulation, Implosive Sounds
Break It Down:
Break the alphabet down into smaller sets of letters or characters to learn little by little. This tip will be useful when dealing with an alphabet or script with too many letters or characters.
I can relate to the overwhelming feeling and urge to give up when you see that many letters that you need to learn! But instead of trying to cover everything right away, you can study 4 to 5 letters or characters at a time. Once you’ve finished the first set of letters, try with the next one. Then, review the first one again to ensure you still remember it.
Break Up Simple Words:
Another great tip from Jaden is to take easy and simple words that you’d often read in road signs as an example. Then, break those words into individual characters to build your association between alphabets and sounds. Gradually increase the complexity as you become more comfortable with the script.
Use Visual And Auditory Learning Techniques
Buy Or Create Your Own Flashcards:
This will help you practice with spaced repetition, and it’s also an engaging and entertaining part of your learning process. Your flashcards should have the letter on one side and the corresponding sound or word on the other.
Many learners have discovered how powerful combining visual and auditory techniques is in learning a new alphabet. Combining visual and auditory techniques is also one of my favorite techniques, as it helped me practice hiragana while feeling like I was playing a game.
Develop Visual Mnemonics:
Did you know that you can retain the information long-term when you associate letters with other shapes or concepts already familiar to you? This is by far my favorite memorization technique. I’d take Latin letters and their respective sounds and associate them with the letters or characters of the alphabet I’m learning.
Besides, I can also use my imagination to give a specific letter or character an image I’m familiar with and that I can associate with the letter or character.
A great example of this is how you would learn Chinese characters. One Chinese character, or Hànzì (汉字), has a meaning instead of a sound. In many cases, the shapes of the characters already tell you the meaning itself! For example, the character for rain is 雨 (yǔ), representing raindrops, making it easier to associate the meaning with its shape.
Jaden also explained how creating alphabet-image associations can significantly help with memorization.
Jaden explained that in the Thai alphabet, we have the letter ง (ngo ngu) /ng/, which resembles the letter ‘g’ of the Latin script, only with a pointed tail.
Easy to remember, right?
Another example he provided is the Thai letter ก, /k/, which looks like a chicken head, so you can think: “k, k, k, cuckoo.”
It’s all about using your creativity, too!
We have one more tip from Jaden, this time using Japanese as an example. It also requires your creativity and visual learning techniques!
Make up your own theories and stories to remember characters. For example, the hiragana letter ぴ /pi/ looks like someone with a big nose and who’s crying. So you can remember “hap’pi’ that you cried.” — I bet you will not forget what ぴ is from now on!
Contrastive Minimal Pair Method:
Another very clever tip Jaden shared is to use minimal pairs to distinguish between similar-looking characters. For example, take a look at these two Thai words: ฝัน and ฟัน. They look pretty similar, right? But let’s see an east way to distinguish between them.
In the first word, ฝัน /fǎn/ – (to dream), the loop or ‘eye’ (that little circle that you see in the ‘ฝั’) is inside, symbolizing seeing things in your brain. Meanwhile, in the word ฟัน /fan/ – (tooth), the loop or ‘eye’ (ฟั) is outside, which symbolizes making way for the tooth inside your mouth.
Pretty clever way of analyzing, associating, and differentiating similar letters/characters!
Learn With Songs And Rhymes:
Songs and rhythms are catchy, so they naturally help memorize sequences and sounds of an alphabet more engagingly. That’s why we usually learn the English alphabet with an alphabet song. Songs provide a rhythmic and enjoyable way to internalize sounds and letter combinations.
Here’s a tip from Asa, our Language Content Specialist at Ling, who has experience learning the Korean and Thai alphabets. Considering that she loves music, she took the opportunity to practice the Korean alphabet by printing song lyrics and adding the Latin alphabet next to each Korean letter. It was effective for her, and so it was for me, as I’ve used the same technique for learning Hangeul.
“Since I’m a visual learner, I prefer to put things into practice right away. It is more effective for me to learn what the characters are, just be aware of them, not necessarily have to memorize them. I would familiarize myself with these characters by deciphering existing texts. My favorite is song lyrics. Simply because I love singing. It’s the most fun and engaging medium for me. For example, when learning the Korean alphabet (Hangeul), I printed out as many song lyrics as possible. Then, I wrote down the Latin script under each word. Of course, I peaked at my Hangeul sheet at first, but with consistent practice, these characters were planted in my head, and naturally, I memorized them. The most important thing is finding the most fun method so you don’t feel like you’re learning under pressure.” – Asa, Language Content Specialist at Ling
Listening Exercises:
Find recordings of native speakers pronouncing each letter, and then get recordings of native speakers pronouncing some essential words. Listening to those recordings will help you recognize the sounds and the correct pronunciation.
Be consistent in this step, as listening is one of the most essential skills you should develop, and it will significantly help you understand a new alphabet or script, especially if you’re dealing with tone language.
If you feel lost, try using the Ling app, which offers comprehensive and easy pronunciation guides with audio by native speakers for you to train your listening skills.
Repeat After Me:
Speaking is often a real challenge for a language learner. Does your voice sound quite weird to your ears when speaking a foreign language? Because that’s how I feel when I listen to my voice in Korean or Thai, but I know I must listen to how I pronounce a letter or word to recognize where I’ve made a mistake.
Don’t feel scared about it! We strongly advise reinforcing your auditory and muscle memory by repeating letters repeatedly, recording them, and then hearing them again.
You should initially have a recorded reference from a native speaker to ensure you know exactly how to pronounce each word, and then repeat after them. Listen to your own recording, and repeat once more until you get it 100%!
Start Reading And Writing
Practice Writing Each Letter:
Writing practice is a powerful way of learning a new alphabet, as it allows you to understand the tracing process and shapes of a letter or character. As you repeat every letter or character on lined paper, you can master the correct proportions and spacing soon enough. I’d suggest not skipping this step!
A study by Steber S, Rossi S (2021) published in PLOS showed that mastering an alphabet is essential for developing skills such as reading and spelling. It lays the groundwork for phonetic awareness and helps learners grasp the relationship between letters and sounds, which is fundamental for obtaining language proficiency.
Write Simple Texts:
Once ready, you can start writing simple texts from children’s books or reading material with simpler vocabulary and structures. Writing by hand or with a tracing method on your phone or tablet improves memory.
It allows you to engage more deeply with what you are trying to memorize, leading to better retention and understanding. Handwriting is, in fact, much more efficient than typing! Why? Because it involves motor and cognitive skills that aren’t necessarily used when typing.
Practice By Immersion And Stay Motivated
Set Short-Term And Long-Term Goals:
If your goal is to learn a new foreign alphabet, but you don’t specify how long it will take to achieve, it might be too simple and complex as a goal.
Set concrete goals that help you have a clear direction and sense of your accomplishment as you progress. Were you able to recognize most of the letters? Reward yourself! You should celebrate every single time you achieve something in your learning journey. If you have set goals and milestones, there should be a reward to motivate you.
Join Language Communities:
Join language learning communities, both online and offline. For example, you can try out platforms like Reddit, language forums, and local meetups, which offer support and encouragement for your learning while you make friends with common language interests.
We are also building a community of language learners at Ling in Discord, where you can meet people from different countries and backgrounds and practice your target language together. Join our community of language learners today!
Immerse Yourself In The Language 100%:
Surround yourself with the language as much as possible. Change your phone and computer settings to the target language, and follow social media accounts in the target language. Anything that can help you feel closer to that language and its alphabet will help you improve.
I suggest engaging with native content like books, starting from beginner-level and then moving to movies with subtitles in your target language. Let’s not forget Asa’s tip on using song lyrics as well!
This will allow you to immerse yourself in the culture and language and get used to reading the alphabet.
Then, you can practice chatting with native speakers to reinforce what you’ve learned. Be open to any feedback you might get from them, and get ready to implement it the next time you chat with them.
How A Polyglot Learns Different Alphabets? Tim Keeley’s Tips For Lingers:
“The first non-Latin script I learned was the Cyrillic alphabet, used for Slavic languages like Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, and Serbian (with slight variations). I found it incredibly useful to practice by reading a sentence and then writing it down, glancing at the text when needed, and not stopping until I could do it without looking. This method helped reinforce my familiarity with the script and improved my writing skills simultaneously.
The Thai language was the first truly challenging script I encountered. I used the same practice method as with Cyrillic, but with an important addition: do not rely solely on transliterations. There are few set standards for Thai transliterations, and I found the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) used for Thai to be quite confusing. Instead, focus on learning the script directly to avoid these pitfalls. Listen to the pronunciation of letters and words on a YouTube video, for example (there are many for teaching the Thai script), and practice writing. It’s a journey that requires perseverance, but the sense of achievement when you can read and write in Thai is unparalleled.
Later, I embarked on the journey of learning to read and write Japanese and Chinese. The key here is consistent daily practice. It might seem daunting at first, but with regular effort, it will become more manageable and even enjoyable over time. Remember, every small step you take is a step closer to fluency, and the progress you make will inspire you to keep going.”
Frequently Asked Questions About Learning Foreign Alphabets
Which Are The Easiest Languages With Non-Latin Alphabets?
Korean – Hangul (한글)
The Korean alphabet is considered one of the most logical writing systems in the world! In the Korea Herald, Hangul was described as “similar to the sounds of nature,” as it is a voiceless consonant system, or in other words, you don’t need your vocal cords to produce the sounds. Hangul is considered easy because it has some simple characters (14 consonants and 10 vowels), which can be learned in a day. Each letter represents a specific sound, making it very simple to understand and pronounce. Many Korean learners, including myself, have acknowledged the efficiency of using Hangul to read Korean instead of transcriptions.
Japanese – Hiragana (ひらがな) And Katakana (カタカナ)
These two Japanese writing systems are phonetic alphabets, meaning that each character represents one sound. They’re much simpler than Kanji and are possible to learn in a short period (just get ready to practice a lot!). You’d need to learn 46 characters representing different syllables for each system.
If you have a passion for Japanese, don’t be scared or intimidated; give it a try! The Ling app has an excellent and fun feature where you can practice writing in Japanese by tracing the character with your fingers on your phone. In addition, it allows you to listen to the pronunciation of the letter recorded by a native speaker to associate the sound while practicing how to write it. Try Ling now!
Various Languages Across Euroasia- Cyrillic
The Cyrillic alphabet has 33 letters, many of which resemble Latin letters, so it is already an advantage for those who use the Latin script. Many Russian learners I’ve talked to have the same opinions as Korean learners regarding learning the alphabet instead of relying on transliterations. Reading a language in its own alphabet makes much more sense and helps you pronounce the sounds correctly.
What Is The Best Way To Memorize A New Script Or Foreign Alphabet?
The best way is to implement memory techniques and be as consistent as possible. Mnemonic devices or memory techniques definitely help you retain information faster, so put those tips into practice!
“Repetition is key. Writing each letter multiple times while pronouncing it aloud is very effective. I also use mnemonic devices to connect letters with familiar shapes or sounds, which makes memorization easier and more enjoyable.”
Veruska Anconitano, Founder of InclusivitEasy
There’s another great tip from Asa, our Language Content Specialist. When learning Thai, specifically, Asa selected a word in Thai and then started analyzing how that word is written to understand what consonants and vowels are used. Eventually, she became familiar with the consonants and knew in which words those consonants were used.
Asa found that this way was much more effective than trying to memorize every single vowel and consonant individually (there are just too many!). Such a great tip that you can apply when you try to learn any alphabet.
What Are The Best Apps Or Resources To Learn A New Alphabet?
Using the right apps can make learning new alphabets fun and engaging. Drops is a fantastic option because it focuses on alphabet practice with visually appealing exercises and clear audio pronunciations. Another great platform is the Ling app, which helps you learn the alphabet of over 50 languages through interactive games and exercises and includes native speaker audio to nail the pronunciation.
Jaden also suggests watching YouTube videos, especially videos made by phoneticians and linguists, to learn how to pronounce the unique sounds of your target language.
While doing so, you should focus on how to use your tongue, vocal cords, and lungs.
Then try to understand how many letters represent one sound, and how different sounds are represented by the same letter in the language.
For example:
- One-to-many representation in English; the /k/ sound: <c> (cat), <k> (kite), <ck> (back), <ch> (chorus)
- Many-to-one representation in English; the <ch> spelling: ‘/tʃ/’ (chair), ‘/ʃ/’ (chef), ‘/k/’ (chorus)
Are You Ready To Learn A New Script With Our Tips?
Learning a language with a different alphabet or script is very challenging but immensely rewarding. By combining visual, auditory, and practical techniques, staying consistent, and leveraging technology such as language learning apps like the Ling app, you can master a new alphabet and open up a whole world of cultural and linguistic opportunities.
Remember, don’t feel discouraged if you don’t learn as fast as others. Trust the process and be patient with yourself. Learning a foreign alphabet gives you the power to understand the language and its people on a much deeper level, enhancing your linguistic and cultural immersion.
So, if you want to start, don’t hold back! Ling is here to support you, making learning new alphabets a piece of cake!
