Best way to learn another language

          In my opinion, the best and fastest way to learn a language other than your native language is to go to live in a country where that language is spoken. Find a place to live where there are no other speakers of your native language. No other people from your country. Do not speak your language at all. Take some classes in the language you are learning, but spend most of your time using the language in everyday life.  Speak the language 24/7. Use the new language for everything you do: take the bus, ask for directions, order food, go to the movies, go to parties, make friends,  read the local newspaper every day, read books and magazines, ask questions, and so on. Do this and you will be amazed how fast you will become fluent in the new language and understand the culture of the new place. This is called the immersion method. Think of the way babies learn language. It's called the immersion method.  It isn't the easiest method, but is the most effective and fastest method. What do you think?

Best Way to Learn a Second or Foreign Language?

Is there one best method to learn a language? If you are a child, I'd say it's the immersion method. Living the language, children learn a second language about the same way they learned their native language. If you are an adult (post-puberty, more or less) learning a second or foreign language, it's a different story. There are so many different variables involved, that it's hard to say what would be the best method. Here are some of the possible variables: the learner's motivation, personality type, aptitude for language learning, learning style, what language the learner is hearing and speaking outside class, how the learner views the language being learned, the teacher's personality and style, the teaching materials. These are only a few of many variables involved in language learning. So when asked what the best method is to learn a language, maybe the best answer is "it depends."

Language Learning: Input > Processing/Thinking > Output

I believe that with language learning it is important to talk about input, processing/thinking, and output. Input is listening and reading and output is speaking and writing. Processing/thinking is that complex process that occurs between taking in input (listening or reading) and preparing output (speaking and writing). I believe that in language learning input precedes and is more important than output.

Think about how a baby learns its native language. The baby spends about two years listening to what will be its native language being spoken by its parents, other adults and children, and programs on the television and radio. The baby is surrounded by this constant barrage of language pretty much all the time except when it is asleep. Then after two years the baby starts speaking its first words, and then its language begins to develop very rapidly for the next few years. By age five or six the child understands and is very fluent in its native language.

It's not that different with adults learning a language. They need to listen to the target language and read a lot in the language (input) before they are ready to start speaking and writing fluently (output). This has implications for language teaching. I tell my Spanish students to listen to as much Spanish as they can (Spanish TV channels and movies, Spanish radio stations, free Internet podcasts in Spanish) and read as much Spanish as they can (free Spanish newspapers at Mexican restaurants, books in Spanish for children and young adults, and reading Spanish sites on the Internet). I tell them not to worry if they don't understand everything they listen to and read. Just like babies, it takes a while for the input to all soak in, and then the output kicks into high gear.

Learning a Second Language

I'm teaching Spanish and English as a Second Language courses this summer at a community college. My students often ask me what I think is the best and fastest way to learn another language as an adult. My advice to them is usually along these lines: go and live in a country where they speak the language you want to learn and do not hang around with other people who speak your native language while you are there. Live as much as possible as the the people who live in that country do. Try to communicate in that language 24/7 as long as you are in the country. This is the fastest and most efficient way to learn a second language as an adult, and also learn about the culture, which is an important part of the language. This can be a frustrating and painful experience, but the best way to learn a language. It's called total immersion. I also advise students to stay away from anyone selling language programs or software packages that claim to teach you to speak a language fluently "in 48 hours" or some such short period of time. These programs are usually very expensive and don't deliver the results they promise. Anyone who has learned a second or foreign language knows that's not the way language learning works. Aside from total immersion, there are no miracle methods or shortcuts.

Can you learn a language online?

Can you learn a language online? A year ago I would have said no. Based on my background in linguistics, understanding of first and second language acquisition, experience teaching Spanish and English, and my own firsthand experience learning Spanish at the university and then while living and teaching in Mexico, I would have said that the best way to learn a language is by living in a place where that language is spoken, becoming immersed in the language and culture 24/7. I still believe that. A next best method would be to learn the language in a classroom, interacting with a good language teacher and other students actually speaking, listening to, reading and writing the language. All languages are first spoken and then written. So, in my opinion, learning to communicate verbally in a language should be the primary goal of language instruction. So how could you learn a language online?

I've changed my thinking on this question. At the community college where I teach Spanish, I recently took a course for faculty on how to teach online. I am now teaching first and second semester Spanish courses online with an excellent, highly interactive and dynamic program which includes a variety of activities on speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, and culture. There is a discussion board on which students can interact with me and the other students in Spanish. The students record themselves speaking in Spanish, and I listen to them and provide feedback. They can even arrange online chats in Spanish with their classmates.

Learning a language online might not be the ideal way to learn a language, and it might not be for everyone, but I now believe that it can be an effective way to learn a second language. Many of my students work full time, so having to attend a class on a specific day and time can be a challenge. Being able to study online on their own schedule, any time and any place, can be a major advantage.