Reminder: practice a language today
I want to help people reach fluency. In order to become fluent, regular practice is required (obviously).
Here are some ways to practice at home:
Mimicry: Find a video in the language you are learning. Listen to a sentence, pause, and repeat what they say out loud. This is one way to work on your pronunciation at home
Active listening: Find a video in the language you are learning. Make sure it is as your level. Watch it with the subtitles on. Pause anytime you don’t understand and look up unfamiliar words in an online translator. My favourite translator is DeepL Translator.
Active reading: Find a text to read in the language you are learning. Make sure it is at your level. Start reading. Look up unfamiliar words in an online translator as you read.
Study grammar: Grab a worksheet or workbook (buy one if you don’t have one). Any will do. Fill out the exercises. If you like to study grammar, don’t pick this option. It’s so easy to spend hours studying grammar and not make any real progress toward a high degree of fluency.
Speak: Find a list of speaking topics online. Pick one. Talk about it out loud. Speak as fluently as you can. Keep practicing the same topic until you can discuss it fluently for 30-90 seconds straight.
Journal: Find a list of easy journaling topics online. Pick one. Write 150+ words about that topic in the language you’re learning. Then, go to ChatGPT and ask it to edit your writing or ask a native speaker.
If you don’t practice, you will not learn.
It’s straightforward. Go practice - you can do it! Reaching fluency is 100000% worth the effort. Trust me on that 😊
Best of luck!
Azren
Calgary Language Nerds owner
https://azrenthelanguagenerd.com