Urdu Learning Advice
Our Urdu learners at Zubaan have shared various advice regarding their Urdu learning journey for the benefit of other Urdu learners!
If you have more that you would like to add to further serve the Urdu learning community, please send to: info@zubaantraining.net.
“Embrace everything that comes with the language – there’s so much richness and Urdu helps unlock that. Don’t be worried about getting stuff wrong – you will probably learn more from those parts of a lesson (though it doesn’t always feel encouraging). If you can, try it out in a live setting, every Pakistani Urdu speaker I have ever met has been warm and happy to find someone trying to learn!” – Jess
“Patience and consistency, at some point brain will switch to Urdu language structure” – Lukasz
“Best way to learn a language is to stay in the country for at least weeks.” – Theresa
“If you don’t use it, you lose it. Even on the tough days- get out and go have just one conversation with someone. Really make time in your schedule to get out in the ‘real world’. One thing I like to do is ask 10 different random people the same question, like where is the fruit market? Or what do you think about this cultural idea? It gives a good opportunity to hear a lot of different ways that someone would portray and idea in another language. I did this with the second language that I learned and with Urdu, my third, as well.” – Anonymous
“Learn the Urdu script, not the transliterated version of it. It is harder in the beginning but it is worth it.”– Anonymous
At the end of each lesson, pick one or two useful phrases and post them somewhere. Based on the current lesson, I try to write a journal about my own experiences (e.g., if the topic is about food or recipes, I write a familiar recipe from my country). – Luis
“Being patient with myself and acknowledging from the start that this would be a long journey. Try to do some Urdu regularly, even if it can’t be every day, and even by just looking at objects around me and trying to remember their names in Urdu. Talk even a few sentences, as often as possible, with a Urdu native speaker.” – Sarah
“Whenever a possibility talking to native speakers [and] watching movies with original language” – Theresa
“Watching Urdu films, trying out speaking Urdu to shopkeepers and restaurant staff when I’ve noticed them speaking Urdu – people in London always seem really pleased that I try (even if I get it wrong!), sending Urdu voice notes to my friends in Pakistan and translating their replies.” – Jess
“Community time– preparing with a teacher something I might want to talk about with neighbors or friends and then going to try it out and then evaluating what went well and what didn’t and what I might need to change.” – Anonymous
“Daily flashcards (either homemade or Quizlet), practicing with native Urdu speakers, writing ten sentences a day.” – Anonymous
“Talk about your difficulties with your teacher. Give constructive feedback based on your unmet learning needs. Stay focused on the reason why you came to learn the language.” – Luis
“Being somewhat of a romantic about being fluent, as well as the immense joy I get when something clicks help keep me going. But it’s also all the other amazing things that come with learning – friends, embracing a different culture, ideas, food, music. Sometimes I do feel quite down – that I’ve not progressed, but even in the last year I feel I have come so far, and that is an encouragement to me.” – Jess
“I think the best way is to change motivation to daily routine. Routine helps a lot, you spend a lot of less energy and you don’t think too much about lack of motivation then.” – Lukasz
“Thinking of how far I already got and of my goal being fluent. Not cancelling classes.” – Theresa
“That it will be difficult for everybody, so don’t feel that you are bad. Accept that it will take time and dedication and take it as much as possible like an opportunity to understand better another culture.” – Sarah
“Think of really memorable moments I’ve had with Pakistanis in Urdu. Even just how people’s faces light up when you speak to them in Urdu.” – Anonymous
“Learning a new language is also learning another way to think about life, to deal differently with things, and it is very interesting. Pakistan is culturally so different than Europe, and learning the language means understanding it better, which makes the learning process, although difficult, really beautiful.” – Sarah
“When I get something right and my tutor is pleased! Being able to see my progress – like understanding the voice notes from my friend in Lahore – that is amazing – I couldn’t do it as well a year ago as I can now.” – Jess
“[I enjoy] conversing with the teachers and laughing with them about my own language mistakes.” – Luis
Advice from the Zubaan Staff
Below is a list of common challenges that we have seen our students and ourselves face in learning a new language with accompanying advice. Remember the language learning is hard work, so you need regular reminders and encouragements like these.
