Immersion into a culture, almost without saying, is the best way to learn a foreign language. If you have the option of moving to the country where the language is spoken, this is ideal for learning the language and becoming fluent quickly. However, relocating may not be an option for the majority of you who are looking to learn. Fortunately, here in North America many languages can be found in books, on the airwaves and with native speakers throughout the metropolitan areas on the continent. The degree to which you immerse yourself into a language and culture will vary the time it takes for you to become fluent. There are steps that you can take which will afford you great advantage in your learning process, travel included or not.
The first step you always want to take in the process of learning a foreign language is to sign up for an entry level class. Several resources in or near your community are likely available for a language class; a local college or university, continuing education center or even your local library. With an entry level language class, you are going to learn proper pronunciation of the alphabet, the most common words and phrases used; and you will get support on the correct syntax and sentence structure. As your instructor might tell you, repeatedly, repetition is the key at this point. Do not skip out on repeating what practices or homework you are given. This will give you a good foundation when you take on a more challenging part of hearing the language in the real world, as in conversation, radio or television.
Conversation is the second step you want move ahead to mastering a foreign language. Once you have a good start with the basics, work on your network of native speakers. This is easy with Spanish, Japanese or French, some of the more commonly spoken languages in North America. Others languages from Europe and Asia are very common as well and should not pose a problem finding a contact. Once you find a language partner or mentor, you will not likely encounter resistance getting help with practice in conversation. A person from another nation is going to be more than willing to help someone interested in their language it serves as a source of pride for them. You may even get some cultural lessons you might not hear in the classroom. Starting out with repeated conversation lines is the best approach, much like you would learn in class, while being sure to ask your partner to work with you on different levels of fluency and speed. Once you have practiced some basic conversation, speed the conversation up gradually each round, ending at a rapid pace. At any point in this practice, suggest that colloquialisms be substituted when possible, and swap words more appropriate for common conversation versus formal language. A good example of this is using "bueno" instead of "hola" in a phone conversation with someone from Mexico, or using the informal greeting "ni hao" instead of the more formal "ni hao mah" in Mandarin Chinese.
At any point in your quest to learn a language you can take on this third helpful step: listening to the language from fluent sources. Tune into local radio or television, check out videos at the library or go onto the internet and find a website with a feed or recording that can be played back. Radio is ideal for this type of practice. It is the absolute best way to help improve your skill in discerning words during conversation. Patience and time is needed when using this approach. At first, the conversation you hear may run together because the speakers are assuming the audience knows the language, and they will be speaking more rapidly with common colloquialisms or cultural references. Over time, your ability to recognize words and how they are used will improve, followed gradually by comprehension of the topic being discussed. Television is a good tool for this type of language practice, too. Try holding off on this until you notice your ability to follow a conversation has improved. The visual benefits will help you with the cultural references, not to mention typical mannerisms and behavior more common in the culture. If you can only get the language on television, avoid the video and use the benefits of audio only until you are ready. Visual clues may make it too easy to figure out the topic, leading you to think your understanding of the language is advancing faster than it might actually be. It is not bad practice to see video with the audio at first, but audio only will help graduate you to a more solid position in your conversation skills.
Reading is the fourth step in learning a language. It is naturally not the progressive fourth step but is logically the next step in becoming proficient with the grammar and syntax of the language. To start, choose a reputable source for reading such as a popular magazine, a textbook or newsprint. Advancing to more difficult reading may take some time. Things like novels, legal documentation or advanced textbooks should be saved for when the basics have been mastered, fluency has improved and proficiency is advanced to a stage where you feel you are ready to take on the big stuff. You will be reading at some level all throughout the learning process, but taking on this step at more challenging levels is important, especially if you are learning for a purpose such as to become a teacher, an interpreter or for business opportunities in areas where the language is spoken.
The final step in learning a foreign language is the survival test. You should set a goal ahead of time for this stage of the process, to have yourself ready to be immersed in a situation where only the foreign language is spoken. Depending on your time available to learn using the steps covered, you can choose a goal of two to ten months to reach a level of skill for survival in a situation where you will not be falling back on English to get by. Longer periods like a year or two are ok if you are taking the progressive route at a college or university, but a shorter goal to reach the survival test can heighten the challenge and is more life-like in terms of pressure to perform. Immerse yourself into a place where the language and related culture it is ubiquitous. If you can, take a trip to a country where the language is spoken or to the nearest city that has a prospering community of native speakers. If you can't get away, you should look for a related social or club event near your area and keep with a no English plan. Being stuck, so to speak, in a situation where you must speak the language to communicate what you want is the real test and the way to mastering the language. Once you have the basics, become fluent, proficient and finally are able to get along among the natives, you have made the move to being bi-lingual. And as you move ahead, always remember: use it or lose it. Repetition may get you off on the right foot in your beginning stages of learning, but repeated use is the key to keeping what you have learned.