by Matthew Huddleston

Created on: June 02, 2009

Making Foreign Language a Part of Your Daily Life

Learning to use a foreign language and doing well in a high school foreign language class are not always inclusive. Due to the limited nature of exposure to language for most high school foreign language classes, emphasis is often on abstract vocabulary and phraseology which is linked only to textbooks, worksheets and, in the best cases, multimedia tools. Not only are the resources often inadequate, the structure of the average school day restricts the most proven method of foreign language mastery, submersion. Indeed, the diplomatic corps, military, and many international corporations use submersion as the most effective means of advancing foreign language mastery for their employees.

To succeed in the average high school foreign language classroom, there are three study skills to follow to create the illusion of foreign language submersion. To maximize the effectiveness of these skills, daily adherence to each practice is optimal.

Practice Reading and Writing: Keep a vocabulary log and write new words each day. Include pronunciation notes and definitions. Many courses will already have this process built into the graded assignments. Maximize the opportunity for points, if that is the case. Review the vocabulary list each day, emphasizing your focus on earlier words until they are mastered (meaning you can pronounce and understand them on sight). As more words are mastered, attempt to write the definitions of new words in foreign language terms already mastered. Writing and reading vocabulary and phrase lists each day, will quickly build up a mastery of basic foreign language knowledge.

Practice Speaking with a Study Partner: Finding a study partner you can speak the foreign language with is extremely important. In most cases, it will be more feasible to work with someone at a similar level, preferably taking the same course. If a native speaker is available who is bilingual and willing to work with someone of developing skills, such a pairing would be even more beneficial. Language is not learned simply from reading and writing. To truly master a language, it must be internalized as part of a daily routine. Start with verbally practicing vocabulary with a partner. Expand to learned phrases, and then steadily move on to describing the surroundings and creating original dialogue.

Make the Language Real: Look for opportunities in everyday life to practice the foreign language. Speak to people in the neighborhood or at places of business who are native speakers. Label everything you come across in the community. Visit historical connections to the foreign language in your area. For example, in California, Spanish language connections of early settlers exist in almost every region. Visit museums and historical sites and practice the language while studying the history. Similar examples of most languages exist throughout the United States (i.e. Russian in the Pacific Northwest; French in the Southeast and Central Northern states; and German in the Northeast). If you cannot physically visit living examples, the internet is a fantastic source for virtual tours.

Finally, a foreign language class is just like any other class in high school. Complete all assignments to the best of your ability, study for all quizzes and tests, and work with the instructor to insure they understand the class (and your grade) are important to you. In the mean time, choose a foreign language you find interesting, and have fun learning.

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