|
| Testimonials |
"This way of learning a language made complete sense to me. Working with the SpeakEZ German course, I was able to understand more in 2 weeks than in five years of German in school!"
-- Asbj�rn Finsnes
"The way in which this method is presented provided me with language that will suit me in a foreign country instead of a collection of unusable vocabulary words.
Those who have studied languages realize that looking-up individual words cannot convey a language in the correct manner. Becoming fluent means being able to verbalize ideas ; not learning technical rules and identifying the Past Predicate Indicative.
The audio part of this method has been my favorite portion of the learning process. Not only is the pronunciation slow and clear, but it is presented so that I remember the flow of sentences and concepts.
Thank you for the opportunity to work with this amazing program; it has been a blessing for me."
-- Destiny Yarbro, College Student
|
|
Talk To Me! Finding Conversation Partners In Your New Language
by Nathalie V. Fairbanks
When you learn a new language, you tend to stick to a relatively comfortable environment: the classroom, your teacher, your fellow students, and your learning materials.
Yet there's nothing more thrilling than to speak to someone in your new language and to have a real conversation!
So here are a few ideas on how to get in touch with native speakers of the language you are learning:
1. Contact the international student center of your local college or university. Some of them actually have a list of students who would like to learn your language and would be happy to talk to you in their language as an exchange. Take some exchange students on a tour of your city or your area!
2. Volunteer your time at a local organization that offers help to the immigrant population of your target language.
3. Put a note up at the consulate or embassy of your target country. There are always people who move to your country who could use someone to give them an orientation. Show a newcomer where you shop, which products you like, how to open a checking account, and all the things that you take for granted but that can be a nightmare for a new immigrant.
One thing to keep in mind though is that you'll not necessarily jive with someone just because you'd like to speak her language. There is only so much conversational material in inquiring about someone's family, education and home country when you don't feel a connection to the person. I'm always amazed at people who come to me and say: "I met this German girl - you should meet her!" with the assumption that just because we grew up in the same country, we'd be best friends!
Usually, there is goodwill on both sides to make it work, but inevitably, you'll run into personalities that appeal to you, and some that just don't. That's why I prefer the idea of finding someone who shares one of your interests, so you actually have something to talk about that's meaningful to you... and to your partner.
Here are a few ideas: play sports together, cook, play music, meet other parents who have kids in the same age group as yours, etc.
That's not to say that you necessarily need to find native speakers to talk to. If you are a beginner, it can be hard for a native speaker to understand what you're trying to say. Then he responds, and you have no clue as to what he just said... Unless you're doing a language exchange, this can get old really quickly!
So why not talk to someone else who is as committed as you are to learning to speak? Yes, you might end up with your own "secret language," much like twins do, but mostly, you'll do well. It's probably easier if you don't share a native language, but even that is not detrimental.
My personal experience in that area is very encouraging. I spent a year as an exchange student in New Jersey some 13 years ago. We were three students from Berlin who had received a scholarship for a U.S. Master's Program: Ivonne, Markus and me. It would have been easy for us to just keep speaking German amongst ourselves and to only speak English in class or with fellow students.
Ivonne had a brilliant idea: starting on the plane crossing the Atlantic, we would speak English only. It was VERY awkward at first, especially since we were used to speaking German, and our English was a bit unpolished, to say the least. We didn't know many of the common terms relating to university studies, yet we stuck to our plan. I remember how people listening to us would shake their heads!
I know it did wonders for our English skills. It allowed us to keep our brains tuned to one language and to get used to thinking in English, as opposed to switching back and forth. I highly recommend it!
A great resource to find speakers of just about any language is www.meetup.com. The advantage of meeting with a group of people who are interested in speaking the same language is that you have better chances of finding someone who's on your wavelength.
Meetup.com is prevalent in English-speaking countries, but the rest of the world is catching on. If there is no group in your area, why don't you sign up and start one?
SPANISH
http://spanish.meetup.com/about/
FRENCH
http://french.meetup.com/about/
GERMAN
http://german.meetup.com/about/
CHINESE
http://chinese.meetup.com/about/
etc.
Go and check it out!
© 2008 Nathalie V. Fairbanks
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE? You may, as long as you include this blurb with it: SpeakEZ Languages publishes "Language Learning Express," a free bi-weekly e-zine for language learners who are eager to discover the secrets of efficient language learning, transition seamlessly into a new culture and have fun on the way. Get your FREE subscription and your FREE e-book now at http://www.SpeakEZLanguages.com.
|
