Good Ways to Immerse Yourself in Another Language

Go to a country where the foreign language you want to learn is the official tongue. Stay with a host family that doesn’t speak English to challenge yourself further. If traveling to a foreign country isn’t a realistic option, visit a community where people often speak the language and participate in cultural events. For example, if you want to learn Spanish, attend a Spanish-language church service on Sundays and participate in the “las Posadas” celebrations during the holidays. If you want to learn Chinese, visit Chinatown and practice speaking the language with shop owners and the wait staff in restaurants.

Some cultural centers, language schools and universities offer language clubs that are open to the public. In these clubs, you and others who want to learn a new language have discussions with each other and native speakers. A language club also may have a tandem-type of meeting in which everyone speaks in English for part of event so native speakers of a foreign language can practice and then the participants speak in the other language for the rest of the meeting.

Whenever possible, change the setting on the electronic devices you own to use the language you want to learn. When you do this on your computer, the names of menus and programs integrated into the system are shown in another language. The same happens when you change the preferred language in your Internet browser. You also can change the language settings on your cellphone, MP3 player and television menus.

Immerse yourself in another language by watching, listening and reading in a foreign language. Watch TV and news reports in the foreign language. When you watch a movie, adjust the settings on the DVD or video player so you hear the characters speak in a foreign language and read foreign subtitles. Read translations of your favorite books, as well as newspapers from a foreign country that you want to visit. Immerse yourself further by listening to music sung in the language you want to learn.