How to Learn Luxembourgish from Scratch and Reach Level A2

IN Learning Tips, Sproochentest

In this article I will answer a question I often get asked by email:

“I want to sit in the upcoming future the Luxembourgish Language Test to acquire the citizenship, called the Sproochentest. But I have no time to go to a language school twice a week. So here is my question:

How should I start learning Luxembourgish from scratch

and reach the required level A2 within several months by self-study?

Here is what I recommend:

Get a strong foundation in the basics first (Level A1 )
Join a course/program that combines self-study with speaking sessions
Listen to all the audios, watch all the videos of the course
Practice and memorise vocabulary with flashcards
Practice speaking by participating to weekly group sessions
Once you’ve completed A1 consolidate your knowledge with an A2 course in the same way

1.

What I would basically suggest, and this is my standard advise for someone starting learning Luxembourgish: you need to get a solid grasp of the basics, as quickly as possible.

I do not recommend to take traditional large group classes as a beginner. WHY?

BECAUSE:

the problem with group classes is that you are drip fed information in an artificial order over the course of the curriculum. So you are taught how to say I, you, she, he .. in lesson 1 and you are probably not taught how to actually build your own sentences, how to order your words in a sentence, how spoken Luxembourgish actually sounds before lesson 20 or even 30 and I will take you 6 months to reach one level.

But actually

you should take ownership of your learning journey and being able to build your own phrases, to be able to pronounce words correctly and to be able to understand natural spoken Luxembourgish from the very beginning

So my approach to learn Luxembourgish and any language is that you need to get a good overview of all of the main grammatical elements, of the sounds of the language and to actively practice speaking.

2.

To study Luxembourgish the right way from the very start, I have created the Hybrid Online Courses

A1 Foundation & A2 Consolidation

You are going to learn the most important you need to know about Luxembourgish grammar, sentence construction and pronunciation, core vocabulary in easy to manage daily lessons.

Once you have got a picture of the Luxembourgish language, then you can start studying in a more in depth way and everything you learn will be faster, because you’ve got this big framework, that you already understand about the language and you are not just scrambling around in the dark. Having to pick up every bit of information you can and piece it together. You have to create this awareness of understanding all of these different grammar points and how they work together.

So, what I would suggest to learn Luxembourgish is that you get started with the hybrid online course A1 Foundation and just go through it from the beginning to the end. Do one chapter a week, participate to a weekly speaking session and then continue until you reach the end of the course.

3.

Go to the lessons and spend most of the time watching the videos and listening to the dialogues. Listen to the audios and read along at the same time. Match the spoken words with the written words,

4.

Also practice and memorise vocabulary and your new learnt phrases with online flashcards. These flashcards help you to follow your progress, tracking the words you are familiar with, the words you know, and those you still need to learn.

Play with the language and have fun while learning!

Your only aim is to get to the end of that book or course. Let’s say that you do 5 lessons a week and your online course has got 40 lessons or, then you could finish it in 2 months.

This Hybrid Course Will Help You to Get Started Today!

Once you have reached level A1 you should take your Luxembourgish immediately to the level A2. And I recommend that you follow the exact same learning journey as for A1.

5. Start Speaking From Week One

By joining a hybrid course you are going to practise what you have studied during the week in the course. The coach will help you practise the stuff from the course by asking you questions. He or she can then help you with your pronunciation or the word order or any other stuff you are struggling with.

So that you just get started to speak, get used to getting the word out of your mouth, you are getting rid of the fear of speaking or the anxiety with someone and so you keep that up and then gradually you are getting used to speaking Luxembourgish.

Again, all this time don’t worry about how fluent you are, don’t worry not being able to follow a conversation between native speakers at this stage, all that comes with time. Your main focus needs just to be to build up this foundation, spend time with the language as regularly as possible.

The Key is Consistency

Work on it everyday.

If you can keep that up, then in the next few months you will have reached level A2 and already be confident in the language, not to the point that you are highly fluent in the language but you feel that you speak Luxembourgish now.

That’s my advise. I hope that was helpful.

If you have a question you would like to ask me email me at annebeffort@gmail.com