The best way to learn a foreign language is to live amongst those who speak it as a native language. But the downside is that one needs to make sure that they are happy in that environment, otherwise their learning might suffer and then it becomes a pointless exercise.
Many people prefer to go on shorter language study vacations than actually living in the country where the language is spoken. And quite often, it’s actually the simple things that give people the opportunity to develop their language skills. For example, using public transport or buying something from the shop.
If a student was to be given some language study, or left for themselves to work out which areas of the language they should study, they will probably not choose the most difficult and complicated parts - thus stunting their learning. But conversely, if their main focus is simply on getting some sort of task completed (for example - catching public transport or buying something from a store) their main focus is on getting the task done, therefore they will deal with whatever language challenges are put in front of them - and therefore they will learn more, a lot more quickly. If you are going to go overseas for a language course it’s just as well to make sure that you retain as much as possible!
Yet another reason is because the language learner is not simply going through a book and reciting what is in front of them. The learner will have to do their best to be understood, and an unrelated conversation may even develop. It’s so mcu easier for someone to give up on a tricky challenge when they only have to close the book to get away from the problem. But if it involves giving up and getting off a bus, or leaving a shop frustrated and empty-handed then the student is mucn more likely to find a way to complete the task - and therefore learn the language. Embarassment can be an effective deterrent for failure.
There are many obvious benefits, and also many not so obvious ones, of being immersed in a situation where the student is surrounded by those who are speaking the target language naturally. For example, even if they are not actually involved, being surrounded by others can lead to many situations where the learner picks up language skills just by listening to others speaking it naturally as their mother tongue - often, they are not even aware that they are doing it. This type of learning is especially useful for picking up different tones and emphasis used in the language.
It’s clear that by distracting the mind from focusing on the fact that you are trying to force it to learn, more knowledge is likely to be retained. For example, if the student was to get bored then they will feel more tired and will do anything to avoid the pain of continuing with the boring task. Trying to learn a new language, like the English language for example, should be enjoyable, not a chore.
The ideal solution for this problem is to combine study sessions with other activities that are relaxing, exciting and fun. The double benefit of this is that not only will the student get less bored and retain more knowledge during the learning phase, but they will also have a more enjoyable time overall during their language course. These activities can be organised in order that they offer character building benefits, as well as also placing them in a situation where will be exposed to native speakers of the language, and can be required to converse with them as well.
Particularly if the student is young, this also provides the perfect opportunity to get them involved in character building activities that require and develop teamwork, communication skills, courage, leadership, listening to and acting on instructions whilst using initiative as well - and many other crucial abilities that will help them throughout their life. The end result is that the learner will probably feel like they have been intensively studying constantly, but in fact they will have picked up new language skills throughout all of the different experiences - perfect! Many English language course students will be pleased to hear this - you learn more when you’re having fun!
