Let's face it: Serbian is a hard language to learn! There are notorious grammatical cases, enclitics, personal pronouns declension and more! This image show what time would it take for native English speaker to learn different European languages.
Follow these tips to learn Serbian language properly!
Step #1 - Start with basic grammar
In order to properly start your language learning journey, you have to follow the rules of the language you are studying. Start by learning about personal pronouns, verb to be, vocabulary based around basic adjectives, nouns and verbs.
Many people try to avoid grammar completely and learn it through speaking and practical use. Sure, this method of learning language can even be better than starting with grammar, but it only works if you practice it every day and for longer periods of time. That essentially means if you have an opportunity to move to Serbia, with a little bit of help you can start making conversation with locals in no time.
Since not many people are able to simply move to another country like Serbia just to learn a language, they have to use different approach: learning basic grammar first. Very important thing is to learn how to use grammar knowledge as a tool when constructing sentences. You have to have important knowledge of gender, grammatical cases and more in order to make a sentence. Without that, you will be repeating the same old sentences you learned at the start: "Dobar dan!", "Kako si?" and similar. If you think you can't do this alone, try to find a good Serbian language tutor. With their guidance, you can learn to speak Serbian quickly! We offer Serbian language course on our website as well.
Step #2 - Practice vocabulary
Vocabulary might be one of the most annoying and boring parts of learning any language. We repeat over and over the same words, hoping they get to our heads. But it doesn't have to be this way! Try learning vocabulary that is important for you. For example: if you like playing football, try learning football vocabulary. If you like talking about movies, try to memorize words and phrases related to this topic. Include not only nouns, but adjectives, verbs and phrases as well. There are apps and websites you can use to practise your vocabulary. One of those is Quizlet.
Step #3 - Read and listen
If learning a foreign language can be hard, how come babies and children learn it so quickly? Well, children have a very good natural language learning mechanism that lets them learn it quickly. They do this by listening and repeating. You can try to do the same. Read books, especially children's books in Serbian language, if you are a beginner. Watch Serbian movies and TV shows with subtitles turned on. Try listening to the podcast in Serbian language and reading the transcript at the same time. Generally, try to expose yourself to as much Serbian language as possible, on daily a basis.
You can listen to our Serbian Language Podcast on our website or on Spotify.
Step #4 - Talk with someone in Serbian
Ever had a feeling that you understand a certain foreign language, but when you try to speak it yourself you get tongue-tied and stuck immediately? This happens when you don't practise what you learn! Many people are shy to step out of their comfort zone and really start speaking the language, even though they understand everything. On the other hand, some people just don't have anyone who know's Serbian to talk with! It is very important to break through your fear, to go a step further and find a person to practise your Serbian with! Ideally, this would be your Serbian tutor. If you don't have a tutor, there are apps like Tandem or HelloTalk.
Step #6 - Combine everything!
Try to combine grammar with vocabulary. By combining personal pronouns, verb to be, nouns and adjectives, you can make a sentence like this: "Ja sam pametan učenik." - I am a smart student.
When listening to a podcast, read transcripts at the same time, in order to visualize and understand better. When reading a book, translate sentences. Write essays about topics of your interest, or even better, try writing a diary in Serbian language.
How to learn Serbian: Reach out to us
Since Serbian can be a hard language to handle, you might need a little bit of help. We offer Serbian language courses and learning materials. You can listen to our podcast: Serbian Language Podcast and follow our Instagram page: @learn__serbian.
