Without a doubt, the best method for language learning is language immersion, i.e staying in the place where it is spoken. However, it is not always possible to be there. And in most cases, language learning requires artificial immersion. This tool accelerates the language learning process, and passively adds new words to your language, and improves language perception skills.
- Change phone language to your target one
The phone is the most often used item for many of us. Let it teach you a language, passively.
- Change Facebook and other social networks to your target language
Same logic as with cellphone. Let even the time-killing pages work for you. Let the language surround you everywhere.
- If you play games, play them in the target language
Install the version in your target language (if exists one). If you play World Of Warcraft or another MMORPG, you can join a guild/community with players from the country where your target language is spoken. However I don’t recommend learning Slavic languages in Counter-Strike, there you can learn only bad words!
- Don’t watch films in your native language
Watch them in the language you’re learning. Watch the films that you already watched in your native language, so you will recognize new words.
- Join Whatsapp groups
There are a lot of Whatsapp groups for language learners. Find them in Facebook language communities.
- Think in your target language
When you are thinking, try thinking in the target language. Even with a tiny vocabulary, change the words from your language to ones from the target language.
- Re-read your favorite books in the target language
If you read books, you definitely have a favorite one. My favorite book is “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki, and I read this book in Russian, English, Spanish, and Serbian because I already know the text and it makes it easier to recognize words in a foreign language.
- Listen to music in the language you’re learning
Almost everybody loves music. But not everybody listens to music, not in English or their native language. There are thousands of songs that you would love. I recommend reading lyrics of favorite ones in order to identify words when listening to them. It will also help to improve vocabulary.
- Talk to native speakers or same learners in an online chat and voice chat
There are language exchange chats and groups in popular messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber, Skype, and others). Try to chat at hellolingo.com. PlusSpeak.com also has the chat, I would appreciate it if you use it. Also, try to use voice chat, because you can’t reach fluency without conversational practice.
- Do passive listening
There are different opinions on this way of learning a language. However, according to my personal experience, it works. Listen to at least 20 minutes/day of audio/video with good pronunciation. Gradually you will start to understand the speech.
- Do you take notes? Do it in your target language
When you take notes – you think, and if you take notes in the language you’re learning, you improve your thinking skills
- Avoid translation
Translate new words, but avoid translating them when you listen, read or write. Try to perceive the language without subconscious translation. You are uploading the new language into your brain, not a dictionary!
