Learning Languages the Fun & Easy Way: Playing Video Games

As with everything, if you have fun learning it, you're more likely to remember it. That's the approach you should take to language-learning.

This is where schools fail. How many among us studied a foreign language in school but can't speak, write, read or understand any of it now? That's how it was for me when I left primary school at 16 and couldn't speak a word of French. Couldn't do anything with the language but say “please”, “thank you”, and “vous les vous coucher avec moi” (and I didn't learn the latter in school)!

As I got older, and technology improved, I was able to find better ways of picking up languages – more sustaining ways. I realised that, in order for me to enjoy studying languages, I had to, in a sense, not study them. At least, it had to feel as though I wasn't actively studying.

This is just one of the things I use daily to help me along:

Playing the Nintendo DS:

It's perfect for language-learning. I have the first version of this console; an old, clunky thing, but it does the job. Nintendo games come in many languages, they're often cheap to buy secondhand, and relatively easy to obtain online from places like Amazon and eBay.

Professor Layton is one of the games I've been playing, in both Spanish and German. This series, in particular, is great because both the text and audio are in the target language. This means you can listen and read along at the same time.

It's a mystery game with lots of puzzles and an interesting, suspenseful storyline that sucks you in. You won't even know you're learning, but it will all be sinking in naturally.

Pokemon is also another good one, though there's no spoken dialogue. There's plenty of written dialogue, however. A great way to improve your reading skills without having to pick up a book.

What you need in order to do this cheaply:

• The oldest, cheapest Nintendo DS you can find! Seriously, if you don't already have one, you can pick one up for around £20 ($25) on eBay. The DS Lite is also pretty cheap, maybe $10 more, and less clunky.
• Games. If your target language has its own eBay or Amazon store, do a search for games on there.
• Chill out time. This isn't going to feel like a chore, feel like studying, or be boring. If you already like playing games, you'll enjoy playing them in a foreign language.