7 Ways to Learn a Foreign Language Outside Community College

by A Guest Author

Textbooks and classes are often the way that we learn foreign languages. But sometimes these can be expensive and you may be too busy to be able to spare the time sitting in a classroom for an hour every day.

Don’t fret; if you’ve got your heart set on learning a foreign language, there are a number of ways to get you started that you may have never even thought of. Below is a list of seven ways that you can learn and have fun at the same time.

1) Movies and Television

Television and movies are fun to watch, but you may not realise that they’re a great way to improve language skills too. There are so many great films produced every year by movie powerhouses such as France, Spain, Germany, Italy and many South American countries. A month of foreign movies can really help you get to grips with the language and it start to sink in.

Watching foreign films or TV shows is also a technique used by many language schools for home study. Watch them with subtitles to begin with, and then gradually you can attempt to watch them subtitle-free and see how much you understand. This is a very fun challenge when done with friends too.

2) Music

Much like television, there’s so much great foreign music out there. Whatever your tastes, you’re sure to find everything from hip-hop to folk music that’s available from your chosen country. But unlike movies and television, this can be done on the go. Just adding them to your iPod while you’re running about town or in the car can be really beneficial. You might even find some artists that you really love!

3) Visit the Country

Complete immersion in your chosen country is by far the best way to learn a foreign language. But it needn’t be a chore. Simply planning a holiday with some friends to the country whose language you plan to study will help you no end and give you the opportunity to observe it up close, listen to it, see it written and of course speak it.

4) Facebook

Why not become friends with foreign native speakers on Facebook? They can help you with your grammar, colloquial sayings and even business language training. There are hundreds of foreign language groups on the site to help you with daily quizzes too.

5) Language Exchange

If you haven’t got the money to go to classes, you can always arrange an exchange. What skills could you teach? If a Spanish speaker wants to learn how to play guitar, or paint and you can help, why not swap?

6) Read Foreign Magazines

Foreign magazines such as Vogue are a great way to pick up words that you wouldn’t necessarily learn on your own. It is also quite a fun challenge to attempt to read entire articles and pick out the words and sentences that you are familiar with.

7) Language CDs

Try burning a few language CDs on to your iPod and listening to them around town. This is something that people of all experience levels can enjoy, as CDs are available for everyone from beginners to seasoned pros. The great thing about listening to language CDs is that you pay attention when you want but you will be surrounded by the language when it’s playing.

About The Author:

Amie is a passionate blogger who writes for sites like Linguarama - Language Training providers.  She enjoys writing a wide range of blogs aimed at developing a persons foreign language skills.

This post was written by A Guest Author

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