Needless to say that learning a second (or third) language is becoming a progressively necessary and essential skill for anyone who wants to keep up with today’s rapidly increasing global economy. It's great for traveling, deepening your appreciation for other cultures, and building up your confidence and creativity. But what if you can’t go abroad? Is language immersion at home possible?
Become bilingual in your PJs!
It sure is! Learning a new language is a long but exciting journey that involves much more than just memorizing grammar formulas and vocabulary. In fact, one of the best ways to learn a second language is to immerse yourself in it. And while most people agree that the best way to immerse yourself in a language is to live in a native-speaking country, there are lots of ways to experience language immersion at home!
Soon you’ll be improving your thinking skills and memory, and most importantly, advancing in your career (since potential employers consider this a very valuable asset in an employee’s skill set).
Can you become fluent in a language without living in the country where it’s spoken?
There is no magic formula to learn a language quickly and become fluent. It all depends on YOU and your dedication to your goal. The mistake people make is that they count practice in years and not in hours.
For example, it’s not productive to say that you studied seven years of Spanish, and write in your resume that you have Intermediate or Advanced skills, but in reality you can hardly communicate with native speakers. This is a no-no, so be honest and don’t lie about your ability—you may be asked to prove it during a job interview.
You can learn some of a language and learn how to have a basic conversation, but it takes much longer to become natural or fluent and expand your vocabulary. So, read this out loud: “Practice is counted in hours, not in years.”
What about online language immersion? Is it effective?
Commit to your goals and language immersion at home can work for you.
Nowadays, you can educate yourself in the comfort of your own home and learn a foreign language, get a degree, or do an internship remotely. It’s an easy and comfortable way to achieve knowledge.
Online language immersion can be a great alternative to traditional methods, especially for people who can’t afford the time and money to take real courses. It allows you to manage your own time, it’s flexible, it’s more cost effective, there are no boundaries or restrictions, you learn how to be resourceful and responsible, and you can also have fun through the use of multimedia and technology.
However, we cannot deny there are some drawbacks of e-learning that it’s important to be aware of, such as feelings of isolation, lack of motivation, and perhaps lack of commitment to achieve your goals.
It also requires long hours sitting at your desk in front of your computer; this means that you have to be mindful about your posture, stretching every so often to avoid sore muscles. You may also need techniques for staying focused.
9 language immersion tips for home learning
What is immersion language learning really? Language immersion is basically just surrounding yourself with the language and absorbing parts of the culture as much as possible.
Wondering how to immerse yourself in a language at home? Here are some tips for home learning:
1. Find an online tutor or an online app
There are endless possibilities when it comes to finding online language immersion resources, and investing in a good online teacher is crucial to getting good results. Top picks across the board tend to be Babbel, Duolingo, and Lingoda, where you can learn a language for free or at a low cost.
2. Get popcorn...it’s movie time!
One of the most overlooked language immersion tips is watching TV series or movies with foreign language audio and English subtitles (or vice versa!). Plan a weekly foreign movie or show night each week. Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime all offer some top foreign language content to enjoy.
3. Listen to music, radio, and podcasts
The more exposure you have to the language being spoken, the better.
Music can be a great resource, whether you’re studiously translating the lyrics in your head or just playing songs you like in the background. Spotify and YouTube can be good resources for discovering music, podcasts, or radio stations in the target language you are aiming to master.
4. E-meet people, practice, and have fun
You made the right decision in learning a new language on your own. That is great, but sometimes, it can feel a little lonely. There’s no better way to succeed in this process than by finding an online language learning community to join.
Here some groups on Facebook where you can interact with people from other countries:
- Learn And Practice Spanish And English With Native Speakers
- Learning French
- Learning Spanish, Arabic, English, French and other Foreign Languages
- Babbel Explorers, which is a small Facebook group with lots of language-learners. It’s a closed group, but it’s another great chance to meet people who are learning the same way you are.
And if you want to find someone to talk with on a regular basis, that’s where a conversation partner comes in. Facilitated bilingual conversation is a great way to practice listening and speaking.
Joining these kinds of groups or meetups is a good way to meet native speakers. There are some online language exchange sites such as Lingoglobe you can explore.
5. Learn five new words everyday
This is one of the easiest language immersion tips, and a fantastic way to enhance your vocabulary. You can use a dictionary, open random pages of it every day, and read the entries of five random words. It’s important you write them down and try to put them into practice during the day in a sentence.
Even if your level of understanding of the English language is extensive, you should try using Vocabulary.com to back you up—there will always be new vocab lists and learning activities for you to discover.
6. Get a label maker or Post-It notes
Post-Its can do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to language immersion.
Label items around the house such as kitchen appliances, bathroom fixtures, items in your desk, everywhere! Be creative and add phrases that describe what the item is or does and don’t forget to post a positive affirmation on the mirror everyday to really shake things up.
Before you realize it, you will start memorizing those words as you walk around your house. Why not cover the house with funny and colorful Post-Its? It might just brighten your day too.
7. To read or not to read
Reading a lot helps to assimilate sentence structure, grammar rules, and vocabulary. A book, the online news, or even Instagram accounts that create content in the target language can be very useful.
One of our favorite language immersion tips? Practice pronunciation by reading these sentences out loud to hear how it sounds in your voice and accent. And if you want to go further, try recording your voice to better learn from your mistakes.
8. Bring out the journalist within you
Take every opportunity to practice your writing and enhance specific vocabulary, such as making your shopping list, writing a recipe (cook it later!) or to-do list for the day, or making your own language-learning journal. You can be as innovative as you wish and in the end you’ll have a tangible memory of this exciting journey of learning a new language.
9. Learn to laugh at yourself
You can’t learn a language without making mistakes. The funniest stories come from making mistakes and knowing how to laugh at them. If you spend the whole time stressing about learning fast and efficiently, you’ll make yourself miserable. Have fun with your mistakes and laugh with native speakers—it’s a great way to make friends!
There are many other ways to experience language immersion at home; just unleash your imagination and enjoy the experience.
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Now that you know how to immerse yourself in a language at home, you’ll begin to better understand that learning a new language takes a long time (measured in hours, not in years) and hard work.
Each person's road might be different, but the secret to succeed in this process is that you figure out what helps you learn and what works best for you.
You just need dedication, motivation, time management, and long term goals. Remember not to compare your progress to that of others or waste time chasing after unattainable success (you won’t be a language expert within a week!).
Just stay focused on your own unique language learning goals, and keep faith that it’s going to pay off BIG time. Good luck!
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