Tips on Learning A Second Language Part 1

For the next three days I am going to be participating in the Review Crew blog hop.   I chose "Tips for Learning a Second Language" as my topic to share.  This is what I will be covering  during the next 3 blog posts:

Part 1 -Learning a second language through - IMMERSION 

Part 2 -How to make learning a second language INTERESTING AND APPLICABLE

Part 3 - Great RESOURCES for learning a second language

Let's get started with...

Part 1 -Learning a second language through - IMMERSION 

Ok, so you want to get passed "Yes" and "No" in your second language and become fluent.  How do you do that?  One of the best ways is through immersing yourself in the language as much as possible.  But, how do you do that when it feels uncomfortable or there seems to be no one around that "speaks" your foreign language.  I hope to give you a few ideas today to help your students "immerse" themselves in their foreign language.  In our classroom we are learning two other languages besides our own native language, English.  Whatever foreign language you are aspiring to learn these two helpful hints are sure to help you immerse yourself.

1.  Hear the language everyday for as long as possible....You can apply this through:

 songs, radio, television, movies with subtitles, neighbors, local establishments where the language is spoken (e.g.  language schools, international food stores, etc.)

2. Speak the language everyday for as long as possible.

Make a friend who speaks the language and try to have a conversation,  use an interactive learning program, learn songs, rhymes, ditties, etc.  When you hear someone speaking your language - respond in that language:)

I challenge myself and my students to do these two steps everyday.  Since we are learning three languages (English, Spanish, & Hebrew), we break up our school days to focus on one language a day.  For example Mondays, Wed, & Fri we focus on Hebrew.  Tuesdays and Thursdays we focus on Spanish.  Since we live in Panama, we are immersed in the Spanish language that is all around us.  When we go out and about in town we make it a rule to only speak Spanish.  At home we speak English to each other.  

When we watch movies we try to watch them in either Hebrew or Spanish with English subtitles for more exposure.  I also challenge the kids as part of their homework to keep a small notebook of new words they learn or want to learn.  Everyday they add to their notebook and share with the class the new words they have learned during the week.  We try to incorporate as many fun activities as possible...like the jokes below:)

"Gym for cats"

"He has WiFi"

How do you immerse yourself or your students to learn a second language?

Remember, don't give up because persistence pays off when you are learning a second language:)

Thanks for stopping by!