Four Ways to Learn Haitian Creole Faster
In this lesson you will learn how the following methods help you learn Haitian Creole faster
1. Greeting Haitians as often as possible.
2. Going to gatherings, meeting places or events where Haitians meet.
3. Not being be afraid to make mistakes.
1 - Greet Haitians as Often as Possible
Greeting others as often as you can will make it easier to start a conversation with Haitians. Of course, as you know, the more genuine conversations you have when learning a language, the better you will get.
When you see Haitians respond nicely to you as you greet and start a conversation with them, it will boost your confidence and you will feel more comfortable to have more conversations.
2 - Go to Places Haitians Meet
- For best results, go to a gathering or event that is done in Haitian Creole. This puts you in a situation where you need to listen Haitian Creole and perhaps even speak with others in Haitian Creole.
Common Places You Can Meet Haitians
Note: If social settings are overwhelming to you, consider speaking with a native Creole speaker one-on-one online via services like iTalki or Preply.
1. Areas with a lot of Haitians (Southeast Florida, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boston, New York, etc.)
2. Haitian Restaurants
3. Haitian Creole Gatherings
4. Spanish / Asian / Caribbean Markets
3 - Learn Just a Few Basic Words
- Start by memorizing about 50 words in Haitian Creole.
While 50 words may not seem many, that's more than enough for you to start a basic conversations.
Knowing just a few greetings and some words will give you more confidence to speak with Haitians, which will then allow you to be more immersed in learning Creole. As you can see, this quickly creates a great feedback loop that allows you to learn Creole faster and faster.
Useful Words to Learn as a Beginner
1. The Greetings
2. Introducing Yourself and and Others
3. Numbers (0-10 and then counting by 10s, reaching to 100)
4. Colors
5. Basic Pronouns (I He, She, etc.)
4 - Don't be Afraid to Make Mistakes
- Haitians often get excited when others learn their language. Don't let your accent, fear of making of mistakes or your lack of proficiency prevent you from speaking Creole to Haitians.
At times people can be afraid of making mistakes and dealing with embarrassment, so they avoid speaking Creole as much as they could have.
But such thinking does more harm than good, becuase it prevents you from practicing speaking Haitian Creole with others, which is what will actually help immserse upi into the language and help you learn even faster.
But, as explained earlier, if you find such social situations start easy, perhaps with friends who speak Haitian Creole or by using paid online services like Preply or iTalki to speak one-on-one with someone who speaks Haitian Creole natively.