NationStates Jolt Archive

Soon, I'll be out of school, and won't be attending regular classes; I plan to visit Italy eventually, maybe this summer, but in the near future I'm trying to find a way to practice my Italian. I tried pen pals for French back in high school, but that didn't work very well, since my partners' communication was usually very sporadic.

So, my question is, what are some good ways to practice a foreign language? My perspective is, I live in an English-speaking country and don't have regular contact with anyone who speaks the language I'm learning, but go ahead and post general advice if you have a different situation or something.

Parachute out of a plane in a country speaking the language you're learning. It'll be hard for a while, but you'll thank me for it later.

Get a roommate who speaks Italian. A very patient roommate. And speak Italian to him.

Try thinking in a foreign language. Translating the vocabulary that comes to mind as you cook, walk down the street et al.

Watch a foreign film with subtitles. 10 times.

Then watch it again without subtitles. 10 times.

That should help.

What about going to sleep while listening to one of those learning tapes on it? Either that or just a have a foreign film on loop play while you sleep.

What about going to sleep while listening to one of those learning tapes on it? Either that or just a have a foreign film on loop play while you sleep.

Funny story about that. While its proven that people do retain it, that method has the problem in that peoples' brains don't know how to recall those pieces of information.

Are you at least semi-fluent? If so, go to a chatroom that uses the foreign language that interests you and start chatting (you may wish to admit that it's it your main language).

Many of these ideas could help, but make sure and repeat the words you hear, if you don't have good pronunciation that makes it very hard. For me, pronunciation was probably the hardest part.

Are you at least semi-fluent? If so, go to a chatroom that uses the foreign language that interests you and start chatting (you may wish to admit that it's it your main language).

I suppose currently I'm semi-fluent; my primary problem is that I lack a decent vocabulary (which I'm trying to fix). As such I'm hopeless at instant messaging with anyone who is fluent. Maybe an Italian forum ... if only there was a foreign equivalent to NSG ...

I suppose currently I'm semi-fluent; my primary problem is that I lack a decent vocabulary (which I'm trying to fix). As such I'm hopeless at instant messaging with anyone who is fluent. Maybe an Italian forum ... if only there was a foreign equivalent to NSG ...

If it's only the vocabulary that you want to improve, try translating songs/poems/phrases (ones that you already know in your mother tongue). I found that it helped me to recall the words that I had to look up.

Move to a country where the foreign language you wish to practice is predominant.

Read, ask and answer questions on Yahoo!Answers Italia. (http://it.answers.yahoo.com/;_ylt=AnM1FBPkUxYXAbAumXNfoIPsy6IX)

Watch a foreign film with subtitles. 10 times.

Then watch it again without subtitles. 10 times.

That should help.

My friend did something similar for German. If you need to know grammar and spelling, find a tv show you like and watch it with subtitles on in said language, if possible. It'll give you a good idea of how to write things out and usage of certain words...

find a decent Italian newspaper/news website.

Music, music always helps in keeping a foreign language fresh in your mind.

move there. that's how i learned english ;)

Italian restaurants/cafes where it might be spoken. Italian radio stations on the web. Mind you I am hopeless at languages so my advice might be crap.

Watch movies in the language you'd like to learn and listen to music in that language. That's what I do when I'm in a non-francophone country.