Tips for learners
I don’t have time
- Create opportunities to immerse yourself in your target language by developing good habits such as:
- having the radio or TV on when doing other things and repeating lines after the presenter. This will help your speaking skills, particularly intonation and rhythm;
- listening to audio books or stories online, on tape or CD;
- reading magazines and newspapers few a few minutes every day and have the homepage of a magazine in the language you are learning as the opening page of your browser.
- Read short stories or a couple of pages of a novel every night before going to sleep. Remember that it is enough to understand the main events, it is not necessary to understand all the details to enjoy a story.
- Combine your hobby and the target language: cook a foreign recipe, browse the Internet, read instructions for building a model, play a computer game, listen to songs – all in the target language. For example, songs teach you pronunciation, rhythm and vocabulary in context. The lyrics of a song can provide an authentic and meaningful way to practise listening and reading comprehension, as well as an opportunity to meet unfamiliar structures and new words.
- Take notes in the target language: write down a recipe, make a shopping list or a list of things to do, keep a diary, etc.
- Make arrangements with people who share an interest in the same language to speak your target language in both formal and informal situations: in shops, banks, restaurants, over dinner, during games, etc.
