Elements of Effective Independent Language Learning

3. Human Resources

These past couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to experience what many second language speakers discover when they return to their first language origins: Second language atrophy! I called a good friend in Japan and felt myself really floundering. Then, a good friend who was a missionary at the same time I was, called me to talk some Japanese (Thanks, John). I found myself floundering even worse, possibly because I knew that I could speak in English and that kept me thinking in English.

When I returned home, Japanese kept coming out of my mouth, especially in the mornings. Now, I really have to think about the old forms. I spent time talking to myself in Japanese or while thinking, wondering how I would put a thought into Japanese, but this wasn't enough to keep me from regressing and I had hoped to even continue to develope my language ability.

Enter the next item in my list of independent learning necessities: human resources. There simply is no substitue to talking to other people in an authentic conversation in a second language. So, how do we find these people and these authentic situations? Here are some ideas:

1. The Internet--probably your best bet for international socializing. Practice typing or emailing in your secong language, join groups that include international members (example: Online Scrabble club or other social addiction).
2. Use video calling, Skype, etc.-- but have some face-to-face listening practice. Reading and writing and speaking and listening, though closely related, just aren't the same thing.
3. International Students--If you are a student, this is a great option. Often, like all developing language students, we have a tendency to interact with others like us, but many international students would like to branch out and a friend interested in their language can be very appealing.
4. Other immigrants and visitors--often in Community Ed ESL or at food merchants, people from other countries may be more than happy, if a little anxious, to talk with others interested in their language and culture. You also might help them and their language goals, too. Living close to Yellowstone National Park, more asian people than I realized have passed through or stopped to talk to locals at parks and restaurants. Often tourist sites in your hometown will bring in more international visitors than locals.

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