Wherever we go, wherever we look, we are always in a rush! We are either going to work or dropping the children off at school or both! We never seem to have enough hours in the day to get everything done.
But when learning a new language we need to slow down! Be like children learning their first words and learn little by little. Starting at the Beginners level (A1) we progress to the next level (A2) until we reach the highest level lof all, the C2 level. There are six levels in total according to the Common European Framework Reference for Languages (CEFR). And the process can take years!It´s like building a house. You start with the foundation first and then you build upwards room by room until you finish the construction with the roof.
The foundation in a language are the basics: numbers, colours, letters of the alphabet, days of the week, the seasons, etc. Building on the first room of the house is when we start learning verbs in the present tense, descriptive adjectives, plurals, the time, etc. As we add on the second room, we are ready to learn the past simple of regular verbs and irregular verbs, adverbs, comparatives and superlatives, conjunctions, etc. And we keep building on the rooms one by one until we reach the roof. Finally, we have arrived at the Advanced level of the language where phrasal verbs, adverbs of degree, future forms, mixed conditionals and sentence transformations become second nature. Depending on the capability of each student this can be the C1 Advanced level or the C2 Proficiency Level where they have mastered the language.
Bear in mind that becoming fluent in a second language takes a lot of practice, time and effort. It should never be rushed. Take as long as you need and enjoy the ride!