The way to get free lessons is to set up a language exchange with a native speaker of the language you want to learn. The US and Canada are full of immigrants who want to learn English. They may study grammar all day but lack the ability to speak.
Taking classes is the traditional route. But, for a variety of reasons, this may not be your best option. Maybe you don’t have the time or money, or maybe you don’t want to take the risk of having a bad class or teacher. You are in luck – there are plenty of ways to learn any language you want, for free (or close to it).
People often talk and write about language as being more than just a means of expression. Often language allows the idea to exist in the first place.
One of the most vivid illustrations of this was in George Orwell’s 1984. In the book, the totalitarian government was creating a new language. Called Newspeak, it eliminated many words, like “freedom,” with the idea that if the word didn’t exist, then the concept wouldn’t exist.Don’t be surprised if you have studied Spanish for years and then one day you are in the middle of a party somewhere in Mexico and you have no idea what anyone is saying.
You don’t even have to be in Mexico for this to happen. But if you learned Spanish in public schools in the US, like me, and then traveled to Mexico (or the part of your town where the really good tacos are), then you must know what I’m talking about. Mexicans from all walks of life use a huge amount of slang.
