Where Should I Learn?
Language Proficiency
If you really want to become fluent the best thing you can do for yourself is live in an immersion situation. Being immersed in the language forces you to find a way to communicate, without resorting to your native language. This is also the best way to learn how to think in the language (see "Am I fluent?" section), because in a real immersion situation, you simply don't have time to translate between the languages in your head. You'll learn to think "on the fly" and your language ability will increase exponentially.
| I feel very strongly about immersion, but some don't agree: what do you think? |
Note that simply living in France won't mean that you will magically become fluent. You have to use the language: go shopping, take taxis, negotiate... in other words, talk to people! Only by speaking French can you improve your language ability, no matter where you live and study.
If you can't live in France or another French speaking country, the next best way to study is in an immersion class, where the student is surrounded by the language but is not necessarily living in a region where the language is spoken. Because this is artificial, it is not as good as true immersion - the student can still use his native language, which is (ideally) not possible in a true immersion situation.
Another way to get practice is to join the Alliance française.
Continue reading about fluency...
| 1. | Introduction | ||||||||||
| 2. | What is fluency? | ||||||||||
| 3. | Am I fluent? | ||||||||||
| 4. | Where should I learn? | ||||||||||
| 5. | How should I study? | ||||||||||
| 6. | When will I be fluent? | ||||||||||
| 7. | LKL's fluency history | ||||||||||
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