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Everyone I know who has advanced skills in a foreign language spent one or more years in their target country where they had to speak the language daily, combin
by krapht 10y ago
Everyone I know who has advanced skills in a foreign language spent one or more years in their target country where they had to speak the language daily, combined with a structured language course or class.
Otherwise it is extremely difficult to get the necessary amount of daily exposure to new and novel situations where the language you want to study is used. You can try by watching a lot of foreign TV series and movies, reading books, but those are not necessarily representative of the vocabulary useful in real life.
If you are a US citizen I think the only language you could get fluent in without leaving the country would be Spanish.
- babayega2 10y agoNative in Kirundi, I've learnt English, and French at school and by watching movies in those languages. No need to go in a foreign country. And now I work for a NGO, using them in my professional life. The key is not only to read, understand, practice but also not to fear to make mistakes and get corrected. That's my experience. I've lived in Tanzania for 4 years, when I was young but with a fear of speaking Swahili the wrong way. Now I can understand and read Swahili, but responding back is so painfull. I'm waiting someone who can correct me while I speak it.