Live interaction is essential if you want to be able to really communicate orally in your target language. You can learn a useful amount of a language just from tapes, books, software and the like, but that’s just the beginning. Unless you have real-time conversations, your speech will always be faltering, slow, and broken.
Unfortunately, one of the most common problems with teaching yourself a language is that there seems to be no one around to talk to in that language. If you’re facing that problem, here are some ways to get around it.
Interactive Study Material
Not live, but it’s the next best thing. A variety of teach-yourself courses provide at least some chance to say a few phrases in response to something a native speaker says. In fact, that’s pretty much all Pimsleur does and it works well. The Pimsleur method takes you through dialogues, teaching each new word one syllable at a time, and adding new words and grammar to create increasingly complex conversations.
You’re encouraged to “interact” from the beginning. For example, the tape in the Japanese course might say, “Someone holds the elevator door for you. How do you say ‘thank you’ in Japanese?” There’s a pause to give you time to speak, then you hear, “It’s ‘arigato gosaimasu.’”
The Living Language series does this to some extent. This series also happens to be great for those who like thematic vocabulary lists and grammar neatly laid out in tables and charts.
Software, while mostly supplementary, can also help. Rosetta Stone is the best promoted, but seems to get rather bad reviews, so I hesitate to recommended it. If you’re looking for software, try something like Natively series, which offers the most common languages.
For a variety of interactive speaking practice, grammar exercises, and games, look into the Rocket Languages series (Rocket Spanish, Rocket French, etc.)
Long-Distance Study Partner
The Internet makes it possible to talk with people anywhere on Earth without sky-high long-distance bills. Browse around online at one of the language exchange hubs to find one with a good supply of people who speak the language you’re learning. Some places to start are:
While you can just a penpal (or “keypal”) is great for writing practice, when it comes to speaking practice, you need real-time, verbal conversation. Skype is the most common way to get that at a low cost. If you don’t have or can’t use VoIP services like Skype, try live chat via MSN chat or Yahoo chat. It won’t help with pronunciation, but it will help you practice forming sentences faster.
Real Life
Depending on how out-going you are, you don’t necessarily have to wait until you’re fully conversant in the language before you go out and try to talk to native speakers. If there are any cultural centers around, check into the kinds of programs they offer and drop in for one. Cultural centers tend to be easier to start talking with people because people tend to assume everyone there knows the language and will start speaking to you in it.
You might also look for volunteer opportunities at cultural centers, places of worship, or immigrant/refugee assistance centers. Really any place that takes volunteers may need multilingual volunteers.
If you don’t think you can afford a private tutor, consider putting out an ad (flier at the grocery store, ad on craigslist.org) looking for a language exchange partner who’s learning your language. You may not get someone who speaks your language fluently or has teaching credentials, but at least you’ll both get some free practice time in.
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